What does form K16 ask for, and what comes back?
Form K16 is an application to the Land Charges Department for an official search, bankruptcy only, in the index of pending actions and writs and orders under the Land Charges Act 1972. Almost every K16 is now submitted electronically, but the fields are the same as the paper form. The fields below follow the edition dated 21 November 2025; check against the form in force when you search. HM Land Registry Practice Guide 63 (land charges: applications for registration, official search, office copy and cancellation) explains the form and how names are matched.
What comes back is a certificate of result. It either states that no subsisting entries are revealed against the name, or lists the entries found: the register they are in, PA(B) for a pending bankruptcy petition, WO(B) for a bankruptcy order, with the court, the case number, the date of registration and the name and address as registered. Practice Guide 63 section 3.5 gives those two codes in terms, and a clear result comes back on form K17 while revealed entries come back on form K18 (updated 13 April 2026, checked 20 September 2026). The certificate carries its own date and a protection period of fifteen working days under section 11 of the Land Charges Act 1972.
| Field | What it asks for | Common mistakes |
|---|---|---|
| 1, Names to be searched | Each borrower's forenames and surname, one person per line, with former names searched separately | Initials instead of forenames; a middle name omitted; a maiden name not searched |
| 2, Fee | The Land Charges fee per name searched, paid by credit account or, on paper, by cheque | Fee for one name where two are searched |
| 3, Applicant's key number | The credit account key number of the conveyancer making the search | A key number that does not match the account |
| 4, Applicant's name and address | Where the certificate is to be sent | A DX or address that has changed |
| 5, Reference | The applicant's file reference, printed on the result | A reference that cannot be matched to the file when the result arrives |
| 6, Signature and date | Signature of the applicant or conveyancer | Undated, so the search cannot be shown to be recent |
| What comes back, clear | Certificate of result: no subsisting entries against the name | Reading a clear result against a misspelt name as a clear result against the borrower |
| What comes back, entries | For each entry: register (PA(B) or WO(B)), court, case number, date, and the name and address as registered | Assuming the entry is the borrower's, or that it is not, without obtaining the full entry on K19 |
Can I make a bankruptcy search myself?
You can search the Land Charges Register by post on form K16 without a credit account, and there is no identity requirement for a search. The identity evidence HM Land Registry asks of unrepresented applicants, ID1 (with ID5 where the check was by video), applies to registrations, not to searches (Practice Guide 67, updated 1 September 2026). But the search exists because a lender requires it, and the lender will require it to be made and certified by the conveyancer acting for it. Which on a residential mortgage is normally the conveyancer acting for the borrower as well. A borrower's own search does not satisfy the lender's instructions.
The Insolvency Service's individual insolvency register, searchable free online, shows current bankruptcies, debt relief orders and individual voluntary arrangements, and is worth checking if you are worried about your own position before applying for a mortgage. Entries stay on it until roughly three months after discharge or completion under rules 11.14 to 11.19 of the Insolvency (England and Wales) Rules 2016. It is not a substitute for the K16: it searches a different register, it carries none of the priority protection a land charges search certificate gives under the Land Charges Act 1972, and it is the K16 the lender asks for.
| Doing it yourself | With Property Law Online | |
|---|---|---|
| Making the search | By post on K16; no credit account | Electronically, the same day |
| Names and former names | Your own list | Taken from identity documents and the mortgage offer |
| Reading an entry | Your own interpretation | Full entry obtained on K19 and compared |
| Certifying to the lender | Not accepted | Certified in the form the lender's instructions require |
| Timing against completion | Your judgement | Made with the OS1 in the pre-completion window |
| Cost | Land Charges fee per name; your time | Included in the transaction fee, or one fixed fee for a stand-alone search |
What happens if the K16 reveals an entry against my name?
First, nobody assumes it is you. An office copy of the entry is obtained on form K19, which gives the address and, where recorded, other details of the person the petition or order relates to. Those are compared with your date of birth, your addresses over the relevant period and your own account. If they do not match, we certify to the lender that the entry does not relate to you; some lenders also want a short statutory declaration from you, which our statutory declarations service prepares (each lender sets its own rule in part 2 of its UK Finance handbook entry).
If the entry is yours, the position is different. A bankruptcy petition that has been dismissed or an order that has been annulled can be evidenced and the entry cancelled. A subsisting order means the property, or your share of it, vests in the trustee in bankruptcy, and neither a purchase nor a charge can proceed without the trustee. A discharged bankruptcy does not remove an entry automatically, and an old order can still show. Entries in the registers of pending actions and of writs and orders expire five years after registration unless they are renewed, under section 8 of the Land Charges Act 1972, and cancelling one before then is an application in its own right on form K11 supported by evidence such as the order annulling or rescinding the bankruptcy (Practice Guide 63, updated 13 April 2026, checked 20 September 2026). The lender decides whether to proceed; our job is to tell you the position accurately and quickly.