Disbursements are one of the most misunderstood elements of conveyancing costs. Clients frequently confuse them with legal fees and are surprised when the total bill significantly exceeds the headline fee quoted by the firm. Solicitors who fail to explain disbursements clearly — and estimate them accurately — risk complaints, SRA investigations, and damaged client relationships. This guide explains what conveyancing disbursements are, what each one costs in 2025, how they should be presented to clients, and the transparency obligations that govern the way they are quoted.

What Are Disbursements?

A disbursement is a payment made by the solicitor to a third party on the client’s behalf in connection with the transaction. Disbursements are distinct from the solicitor’s own legal fees: the solicitor does not profit from them (or should not — see below on the VAT treatment of search fees), and they represent genuine third-party costs that would be incurred regardless of which firm acted.

Common disbursements in residential conveyancing include search fees, HMLR registration fees, HMLR official copy fees, bankruptcy search fees, stamp duty land tax, and bank transfer (CHAPS) fees.

It is important for solicitors to understand the SRA’s definition: a true disbursement is a cost that the client is legally responsible for and which the solicitor pays as agent for the client. If a firm marks up search fees or charges an administrative handling fee on top of the third-party cost, this converts the disbursement (or the mark-up element) into a fee, which must be disclosed as such and is subject to VAT in a different way.

The SRA Transparency Rules and Disbursement Disclosure

The SRA Transparency Rules 2018 — now incorporated into the SRA Standards and Regulations — require conveyancing firms to publish, on their website, their fees and charges for residential conveyancing in a clear, transparent, and accessible format. This includes a list of disbursements, with either fixed amounts or a clear description of how they are calculated.

The purpose of the rules is to allow clients to compare conveyancing costs between firms before instructing. In practice, this means every conveyancing firm must have a publicly accessible page setting out:

The firm’s professional fees (or the range/basis of charging)
The typical disbursements for a purchase, sale, or remortgage at different price ranges
SDLT (noting that the amount varies and providing a link to the HMRC calculator)
Whether VAT is included in the quoted figures

Firms that hide disbursements (for example, quoting only the professional fee on the website and revealing disbursements only in the client care letter) are not complying with the Transparency Rules and risk SRA investigation. Several firms have been disciplined for this.

Key Disbursements in Residential Conveyancing Purchase

Property Searches

Local authority search: £50–£300 depending on the council; official searches typically take longer than personal searches (which generally cost £50–£150 but involve a search agent rather than the council directly). The local authority search reveals planning permissions, enforcement notices, road schemes, tree preservation orders, and land charges.

Drainage and water search: Approximately £35–£50, submitted to the relevant water company (via TM Group, Groundsure, or similar). Reveals whether the property is connected to the public water and sewer network, and whether any public sewer crosses the property.

Environmental search: Approximately £30–£70. Assesses contaminated land risk, flood risk (including surface water, river, and coastal flooding), ground stability, and radon. Providers include Groundsure, Landmark, and Terrafirma.

Coal mining search: Required in coal mining areas (much of Yorkshire, County Durham, Nottinghamshire, South Wales, and parts of the Midlands). Approximately £40–£60. Reveals whether the property is in a former mining area, and if so whether there are any recorded mine entries, shafts, or stability risks.

Chancel repair liability search: Approximately £15–£25. Reveals whether the property may be subject to an ancient liability to contribute to church chancel repair costs. If the search is positive, chancel repair indemnity insurance (approximately £25–£50) is usually recommended.

Tin mining and other regional searches: Required in Cornwall, Devon, and certain other areas. Costs vary by provider.

Total estimated search pack: A typical residential search pack in England costs between £150 and £400, depending on location and provider. Solicitors who use online search portals can obtain bundled search packages at a discount compared to ordering individually.

HMLR Fees

HMLR charges fees for official copies, official searches, and registration. Current fees (based on the Land Registration Fee Order 2023) for registration of a transfer of whole (the most common application on a residential purchase) are set on a sliding scale based on consideration:

Purchase price	Registration fee
Up to £80,000	£20
£80,001–£100,000	£40
£100,001–£200,000	£95
£200,001–£500,000	£135
£500,001–£1,000,000	£270
£1,000,001 and over	£455

Where there is a mortgage to be registered as well, an additional registration fee is payable on the charge, on a scale based on the amount secured.

Other HMLR fees:

Official copies (register and title plan): £3 each (digital); £6 paper
Official search OS1: £4 digital; £8 paper
Bankruptcy search K16: £2 per name searched

Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)

SDLT is technically a payment made to HMRC, but it is managed and remitted by the solicitor as part of the conveyancing process. It is the largest single disbursement in most residential purchases. For the current rates and reliefs, see our dedicated SDLT guide. SDLT should always be calculated precisely for each transaction — the amounts involved are too significant to estimate roughly.

Electronic Money Transfer (CHAPS) Fees

CHAPS transfers are used to send completion funds, pay off existing mortgages, and remit the purchase price. Most firms charge clients for CHAPS transfers as a disbursement. Typical charges:

Bank CHAPS fee: £15–£35 per transfer
Some firms charge a fixed administrative fee: £25–£40 per transfer

In a purchase with a mortgage, there may be two or three CHAPS transfers on completion day (receipt from lender, payment to seller’s solicitor, and possibly payment of the mortgage redemption). Each transfer may attract a fee.

Identity Verification Fees

Firms that use digital identity verification platforms typically pass the cost on to clients as a disbursement. Costs vary by provider:

Thirdfort: approximately £20–£30 per client
Credas: approximately £10–£20 per client

Where the firm absorbs this cost internally (charging it as an overhead), it should not be separately itemised as a disbursement. Where it is charged to clients, it must be disclosed in the costs estimate.

Indemnity Insurance Premiums

Where a title defect is resolved by indemnity insurance — for missing planning documentation, inadequate search results, or other issues — the insurance premium is a disbursement. Premiums are typically one-off payments ranging from £25 for a straightforward single-risk policy to several hundred pounds for a bespoke policy covering multiple risks. The premium is agreed with the insurance broker and passed on to the client at cost.

Key Disbursements in Residential Conveyancing Sale

The disbursements on a sale are typically fewer and less costly than on a purchase:

HMLR official copies: £3–£6 per document
Redemption statement fee: Many lenders charge a fee (£25–£75) for providing a mortgage redemption statement
Title guarantee insurance (if applicable): varies
CHAPS fee: for remitting net proceeds to the seller

There is no SDLT on a sale, and there are no property searches (the searches are carried out by the buyer’s solicitor). However, where the property is leasehold, the seller’s solicitor must obtain a management pack from the managing agent, which costs approximately £150–£400 depending on the managing agent.

Key Disbursements in Remortgage

Remortgage disbursements are generally lower than purchase disbursements because there is no SDLT and the searches required depend on the lender’s instructions:

HMLR official copies: £3–£6
Official search OS1: £4–£8
Bankruptcy search K16: £2 per name
CHAPS fee: for paying off the existing mortgage
Searches: Many lenders will accept search insurance in lieu of full searches, reducing the disbursement significantly. Where full searches are required, the cost is the same as for a purchase.
Lender’s re-inspection fee (if applicable): Some lenders charge for a revisit by their surveyor if works are required.

VAT on Disbursements: An Important Distinction

Under HMRC VAT guidance, a true disbursement — one where the solicitor pays the third party as agent for the client, and the client is the recipient of the supply — is outside the scope of VAT. SDLT paid to HMRC and HMLR fees are true disbursements: no VAT is charged on them.

However, where the solicitor contracts with the third party themselves (for example, ordering a search from a search provider), the supply is made to the solicitor, not directly to the client, and the solicitor is effectively buying in a service and on-charging it. In this case, HMRC’s view is that the charge to the client is subject to VAT at the standard rate (if the firm is VAT-registered). The underlying search fee may or may not include VAT depending on the provider’s VAT registration status.

This means that for VAT-registered conveyancing firms:

SDLT and HMLR fees: no VAT
Search fees: VAT applies on the on-charge to the client (unless the firm can demonstrate it contracted as agent)
CHAPS fees: VAT applies on the on-charge

This is frequently misunderstood and results in some firms undercharging VAT, creating a regulatory risk. Firms should take advice from their accountant on the correct VAT treatment of each disbursement category.

Presenting Disbursements to Clients

In the Initial Costs Estimate

The initial costs estimate should itemise each anticipated disbursement and give either a fixed amount or a realistic range. Estimates that simply list “searches: £variable” or “HMLR fees: £variable” without any further detail do not give clients the information they need and may not comply with the Transparency Rules.

Where an amount genuinely cannot be fixed at the outset (for example, SDLT on a purchase where the price is not yet agreed), the solicitor should either:

Provide a best estimate with a clear caveat, or
Explain how the amount will be calculated and provide a link to the HMRC calculator

In the Completion Statement

The completion statement must itemise all disbursements paid or to be paid, with the actual amounts. The completion statement should be sent to the client in advance of completion so they can check it and raise any queries. Discrepancies between the completion statement and the original estimate should be explained.

Obiter automatically generates draft completion statements from matter data and incoming correspondence, calculates the correct disbursements from the recorded transaction details, and flags any discrepancy between the estimate and the actual amount — so your solicitors can focus on advising clients rather than reconciling figures.

Conveyancing Disbursements: A Complete Guide