What is the legal standing of the digital extract?
The enabling legislation permits the issue of digital extracts, and these extracts will have equal standing in law to paper extracts and can be used in all instances where a paper extract would have been used previously.
Can I joint record QES deeds in the Register of Deeds and the Land Register/Register of Sasines?
No. Any deeds which require joint recording in registers in addition to the Register of Deeds should continue to be submitted on paper.
Can I submit copies of QES documents for registration (including those that include e.g. a Docusign Certificate of Completion)?
No. Only original deeds may be registered in the RoD, and QES metadata must be associated with the electronic deed submitted for registration. RoS check the QES on all deeds submitted for validity, and this requires the original electronic document.
If an extract is forwarded by email to another recipient (e.g. court / another solicitor or client) does the digital certificate remain intact in terms of authenticating what we’ve sent?
Yes, it is possible to forward the digital extract to another recipient without affecting the digital certificate.
However, any attempt to remove or add to the content of the digital extract would result in the RoS certificate being invalidated and no longer meeting the requirements of a digital extract.
Do I need to add in date and place of signing details after it has been QES signed?
No. There is no requirement to add date and location of signing details to the face of the deed as this information is captured as part of the QES metadata.
Do I still need to put a docquet on each annexation?
Yes. Regulation 4 of the Electronic Documents (Scotland) Regulations requires that an annexation to an electronic document must identify on its face that it is the annexation referred to in that document.
If a short lease signed by QES is registered in the Register of Deeds, and is then varied at a later date to become a long lease, can this be registered in the land register?
Yes. In this situation, the Deed of Variation (which must be wet-signed in order to be registered in the Land Register) would be submitted for registration, and the original lease would be deemed registered by virtue of registration of the underlying plot. This would be the case regardless of whether the landlords plot title is registered (in which case the Variation will form a transfer of part application) or unregistered (in which case the Variation will trigger automation plot registration).