Electronic submission of paper instruments

Submitting paper instruments

While electronic lodgment is now mandated for almost all conveyancing transactions in Victoria there are a small number of transactions that cannot be lodged electronically using an Electronic Lodgment Network (ELN).

In a strictly limited set of circumstances, a paper instrument can be submitted using the Generic Residual Document in an ELN for lodgment with the Registrar.

The reasons an instrument cannot be lodged in full electronic form include:

the folio is ineligible for electronic lodgment
the instrument type cannot be lodged electronically, for example, a memorandum of common provisions (MCP), or
one of the parties to the transaction is unrepresented.

A complete list of exemptions can be found in the Request to accept paper lodgment form (DOCX, 38.7 KB). This form must be completed and included with all Generic Residual Document submissions.

Preliminary requirements

The Registrar's Requirements for Paper Conveyancing Transactions (DOCX, 871.2 KB) apply to all transactions lodged with the Registrar.

All parties to a conveyancing transaction must have their identity verified. When a conveyancer or lawyer represents a client, the conveyancer or lawyer must take reasonable steps to verify the identity of their client and when required have a properly completed Client Authorisation. Find out more on our verification of identity page.

To submit instruments using the Generic Residual Document you must:

be a Subscriber to the PEXA ELN
have an active ELN-enabled Land Use Victoria customer code
ensure that this Land Use Victoria customer code is Direct Debit enabled.

Requirements for lodging

To submit instruments using the Generic Residual Document you must:

only submit a single case per GRD. A case is defined as one or more dealings affecting the same folio(s). For example, a single caveat presented for lodgement would be a case; a combination of dealings such as a discharge of mortgage/transfer of land/mortgage affecting the same folio(s) presented for lodgement would also be a case.
ensure that the applicant in the Generic Residual Document is a transacting party in the attached instrument(s) who is represented by the lodging Subscriber.
attach a completed “Lodging Summary Form” - this form is required to confirm lodgment order, reconcile fees and provide an email address for correspondence.
attach a completed "Request to accept paper lodgment" form
attach scanned PDF copies of the original paper instrument(s) that are eligible for paper-based submission - if the submission contains an instrument that is mandatory for electronic lodgment through an ELN (for example a mortgage or a transfer without a valid exception), then it cannot be considered an instrument that is eligible for submission using the Generic Residual Document
scanned documents of poor quality will not be accepted.
ensure the scanned PDF paper instruments comply with the requirements set out in Section 10 of the Registrar’s Requirements Version 8
attach any supporting documents required. Supporting documents may include statutory declarations, consents, probates, and letters of administration. Please refer to the relevant guide on the fees, guides and forms page for information specific to your transaction.
ensure all requirements from other agencies have been satisfied (for example, if an instrument is dutiable, duty must be dealt with prior to lodgement).
the Subscriber must retain all the original documents and supporting evidence.
ensure the scanned PDF paper instruments and supporting documents do not contain images of documents not suitable for recording in the Register (e.g. personal identity documents i.e copies of passports and driver licences, Verification of Identity and emails). Images or copies as listed above will not be accepted and if included, the lodgement may be refused.

How to submit a Generic Residual Document

When preparing a Generic Residual Document, there are two Land Title References (folios of the Register) that must be used. Only one of the following folios must be used:

12207/425 for any plan or survey-based instrument that can be lodged electronically using SPEAR including plans of subdivision, applications under section 60 of the Transfer of Land Act 1958 (TLA) (adverse possession) and applications under section 99 of the TLA (boundary realignment), other plans under the Subdivision Act 1988 - for eligible instrument types please refer to the SPEAR website, or

12198/325 for all other instrument types.

These folios should not be used for any other purpose.

Prior to submitting a Generic Residual Document, a Subscriber must ensure all the Lodging Requirements outlined above are met.

Subscribers must also ensure the Electronic Lodgment Network Operators (ELNO), currently only PEXA, guidelines in relation to the Generic Residual Document are followed. These guidelines can be found on the webpage of the ELNO you are using.

How to pay

You must pay by direct debit. Your ELN-enabled Land Use Victoria customer code must have up to date direct debit details prior to submitting. You can arrange this by completing the direct debit request form (DOCX, 96.8 KB) and sending it to us using the online enquiry form. Failure to use your direct debit enabled code will result in your documents being refused.

If you are unsure about how to complete the form, please check with your financial institution. We can't give you advice about which account types to use. Please also check your account details carefully to make sure your payment isn’t rejected.

How to complete paper instruments

Each approved form of paper instrument contains fields and a signing section that must be properly completed in order for the successful lodgment of the instrument. All forms are available on our fees, guides and forms page, along with guides to help you complete some of the more common instruments.

If completing an instrument by hand, information should be legibly written in black or blue ink. The use of correction fluid or self-correcting typewriter ribbon is not allowed. See Registrar’s Requirement 10 of the Registrar’s Requirements Version 8 for all requirements relating to paper quality and size.

Signing by conveyancers or lawyers

If you’re a conveyancer or lawyer, please select:

Australian Legal Practitioner, or
Licensed Conveyancer.

If a supervised non-practitioner employee is signing, please select:

Law Practice, or
Conveyancing Practice.

The form will auto-populate a signing section and display the required certifications when these are selected.

Deciding how many signing sections to complete

If there is one applicant, only one signing section is required.

If there are two or more applicants/relinquishing parties/receiving parties, each party must have their own signing sections.

If an applicant is both a relinquishing party and receiving party, a signing section must be generated for each capacity.

Guides are available at Fees, Guides and Forms to assist with completing approved forms under the relevant instrument type.

Processing of Generic Residual Documents

The Generic Residual Document is submitted using an ELN and each attached PDF instrument is assessed to see if it can be lodged or must be refused. Submitting the Generic Residual Document does not mean that the substantive instruments have been lodged. As a result, these submissions take a significant amount of additional time to be processed. If the PDF instrument(s) can proceed to lodgment, you will be sent an email with the Lodgment Summary and Receipt. The lodged instrument(s) will be assigned a new dealing number.

If the instrument(s) are found to be deficient then you will be sent an email with the refusal advice.

Emails will be sent to the email address associated with your Land Use Victoria customer code.

Following assessment, the document status in PEXA for the Generic Residual Document will show as ‘Withdrawn’.

Queries relating to the progress of a Generic Residual Document submission will not receive a response.

Common grounds for refusals when submitting using a Generic Residual Document

There are several reasons instruments submitted with a Generic Residual Document do not proceed to lodgment and are refused.

Subscribers are encouraged to review the following common issues to ensure their Generic Residual Document submission is accepted for lodgment and that lodgment can proceed as quickly as possible:

The certificate of title has not been nominated to the paper instrument

If any of the instruments attached to the Generic Residual Document require nomination of the certificate(s) of title set out in the instrument, the Subscriber must ensure that relevant nominations are lodged prior to submitting the Generic Residual Document.

If a nomination is required and the certificate of title is electronic (eCT), and in the eCT Control of an eligible Subscriber, the ‘Nominate eCT to Paper Instrument’ administrative notice must be lodged in a separate workspace using the volume and folio number(s) set out in the paper instruments.

If the eCT is controlled by the Registrar of Titles, the Subscriber who is entitled to receive control of the eCT will first need to use the Administrative Notice ‘Request to take control of electronic certificate(s) of title from the Registrar’ to request control, and then follow the nomination advice for eCTs as above.

If a nomination is required and the certificate of title is paper (pCT), you will need to convert the certificate of title to an eCT by completing the ‘Application to convert a paper certificate of title to an electronic certificate of title (PDF, 1.3 MB)’ and sending it to us using the online enquiry form. Once the certificate of title is converted to an eCT it can be nominated to the paper instruments as above.

Incomplete or incorrect documents

We are unable to make any changes to the instrument(s) and other supporting documents. Please ensure that you check the instrument(s) and any supporting documents for completeness and correctness before submission of the Generic Residual Document. Please ensure documents are signed, the correct folios are referenced and all party information is complete. Please refer to the relevant guides on the fees, guides and forms page.

Supporting documents not provided

All supporting documents required for an instrument must be attached to the Generic Residual Document.

Supporting documents might include statutory declarations, consents, grants of probate and letters of administration. Please refer to the relevant guide on the fees, guides and forms page for information specific to your instrument type.

PDFs not of good quality

Please make sure that the submitted PDFs are:

of good quality
in the .pdf file format
without any encryption or password protection.

Evidence to support lodgment through Generic Residual Document

The Generic Residual Document submission pathway is only available for lodgments that cannot be made through an ELN or are not mandatory for electronic lodgment in PEXA, Sympli or the SPEAR ELN. Please ensure you attach a ‘Request to accept paper lodgment’ form for all Generic Residual Document submissions.

If the reason for your Generic Residual Document submission is not available on that form, please supply a covering letter explaining your request to submit through this channel.

If the reason you are using the Generic Residual Document is that you have encountered an error message in PEXA, Sympli or SPEAR and lodgment cannot proceed, you will need to provide a screenshot of the error message in your Generic Residual Document submission as a supporting document.

Issues with relodging a withdrawn instrument

If you have lodged an electronic instrument that has subsequently been withdrawn, you may relodge the withdrawn instrument using the Generic Residual Document. The Registrar will only accept the instrument that was provided in the withdrawal email that you will have received and not a printout from the PEXA or Sympli workspace or a newly prepared paper instrument.

The relodged instrument(s) is no longer an electronic instrument within the meaning of the Electronic Conveyancing National Law (Victoria).

All applicable supporting evidence must be produced with the relodged instrument(s). Customers are required to provide all relevant consents, statutory declarations, court orders, copies of probates etc that would be required for the lodgment of a paper instrument.

The instruments being relodged must be wet signed and re-dated in all panels containing a digital signature. If an individual who previously signed a document is not available, someone else within the same firm can sign the instrument but must ensure that the signer’s name is updated.

Page last updated: 19/03/24