Adoption of the Land Registry’s electronic signature system remains extremely limited, with the service being used just five times during the first three months of 2026, according to fresh analysis.
Research by Novus Strategy found that only two organisations have submitted Qualified Electronic Signatures (QES) since the Land Registry introduced the option in August last year as part of its push towards greater digitalisation of the conveyancing process.
The figures, obtained through a Freedom of Information request, also reveal that only a single e-signature had been used by the end of 2025, highlighting the slow pace of adoption across the sector.
Despite the low numbers, Novus Strategy said the technology remains in its early stages and argued that take-up could accelerate quickly if confidence and awareness increase among conveyancers and other property professionals.
Claire Van der Zant, CEO of Novus Strategy, commented: “You can’t just flick a switch and start using QES tomorrow. QES is just one of the components that unlocks interoperability in the property transaction.
“Lenders, conveyancers and every organisation involved should be actively assessing where data and processes cause friction and break the customer journey. Only once you do that, both internally and externally, can you build the foundations that unlock solutions such as QES, and start to tackle the fall-throughs and excessive completion times that plague the industry.”
“It’s less about whether the technology is fit for purpose, and much more about redesigning the customer journey to leverage new digital components, Smart Data and orchestration infrastructure,” she added.
