ScotLIS Land Register API
The ScotLIS Land Register API is designed for customers who need to download the details of many titles, automatically import title sheets and plans into case management systems, and extract or analyse title data.
The following data is available:
- Title data in JSON format
- Pending applications in JSON format
- Title report documents (title sheet and applications) in PDF format
- Title plans, supplementary plans and plan images in PDF format
All endpoints require a title number to be provided. At present, the API does not support searching for a title by address, coordinates or proprietor. The ScotLIS service can be used to look up a title number.
Request limits
Each organisation is permitted 2,000 API calls per calendar day, across all free and chargeable endpoints, FAS numbers and API clients. Further requests will receive a 429 response.
Each FAS account has a credit limit and once this is reached, further requests to chargeable endpoints will receive a 402 response with the error code CREDIT_LIMIT_EXCEEDED. Free endpoints will still accept requests.
Charging
Use of the API to retrieve title details incurs the same charges as using the ScotLIS website.
- Title summary with plan list and application summaries: Free
- Title data, title sheet and all plans: £3.00 plus VAT
- Pending application details: £3.00 plus VAT
The JSON data, PDF title sheet, and plans for a title can be retrieved via the API or website for a single charge even though this requires a minimum of three chargeable API calls. Fetching the same information again using the same FAS number and on the same calendar day does not incur an additional charge.
Title documents can include a title sheet and a list of pending applications within one document. Ordering a title document containing both will incur two charges.
The FAS number to be charged can be specified with a querystring parameter on each chargeable API call. Alternatively each API client can be configured with a default FAS number. The default is overridden by a querystring parameter if provided. This allows organisations with more than one ScotLIS enabled FAS account to ensure the correct one is charged for each request.
Unsuccessful requests resulting in a status code other than 200, or an empty list of applications, will not be charged. Details of charges incurred will be returned with API responses.
Structured data
The structure of data held in the Land Register allows the descriptions of title subjects and proprietors shown on title sheets to be generated from structured names and addresses with unstructured joining text.
Information important to the legal interpretation of a title may be held in joining text, for example trusts, executors, survivorship clauses and pro indiviso shares. The individual joining text strings are not included in API responses, but the generated descriptions are.
The structured data is provided to allow integrations to import names and addresses, but legal interpretation requires reading the descriptions.
It should be noted that proprietors are not always structured in the same way. For example an alternative name (e.g. JOHNSON otherwise TAYLOR) is usually represented with one party, but occasionally with two.
Pre-requisites
A Registers of Scotland business services account with a FAS account enabled for ScotLIS is required to use this API. New customers will be required to set up a Direct Debit account which will be charged for API usage.
Independent developers building API integrations can apply for a sandbox account. This is free and does not require a Direct Debit agreement.
Authentication
This API uses the industry standard OAuth 2.0 client credentials flow for authentication. A token must be provided with all endpoint calls.
Sandbox environment
To support development of API integrations without incurring charges, a sandbox environment is available. A small set of anonymised titles can be retrieved.
Simulated charges are returned in sandbox API responses