Inaccuracy in the Register of Statutory Pledges (RSP) has a much wide application than in the Register of Assignations (RoA), leading to the 2023 Act providing for multiple routes to correction, depending on the type of inaccuracy and whom it is that is applying for correction.
Unlike the RoA, supervening events can, and will, cause the RSP to become inaccurate after a statutory pledge has been registered. In particular, statutory pledges can be discharged, otherwise extinguished, restricted, assigned and amended, all off-register.
A wide correction RSP correction regime is necessary to allow all types of inaccuracy to be corrected to maintain register accuracy, avoid parties appearing on the face of the register, and other third parties, being prejudiced against and to support the searching and correspondence regimes provided for under the 2023 Act.
The 2023 Act provides for four routes to correction:
- secured Creditor Correction (section 96(1))
- correction Demand Correction (section 98(6))
- court-directed Correction (section 101(1)(a))
- manifest Inaccuracy Correction (section 101(2)).
These correction routes collectively allow all inaccuracies in the register to be corrected, although such correction is largely voluntary.
It is, however, in the best interests of all prospective and existing users of the RSP, both borrowers and lenders, to ensure that the RSP represents as accurate a picture of current available finance as possible. Correction to reflect the off-register discharge of a registered statutory pledge, in particular, contributes significantly to maintaining register accuracy.
A low correction fee of £10 for Secured Creditor Corrections and Correction Demand Corrections is intended to encourage correction of the register and promote register accuracy, searchability and useability.
Background
Section 101(1) of the 2023 Act contains a definition of RSP inaccuracy:
“There is an “inaccuracy” in the Statutory Pledges Record where the record misstates what the position is, in law or in fact, in relation to a statutory pledge.”
Section 101(2) of the 2023 Act further provides that a correction of the Statutory Pledges Record:
“(a) may relate to an inaccuracy—
(i) which has existed since an entry in the record was made up, or
(ii) which has arisen due to circumstances that have occurred since the submission of the application in respect of which the entry was made up.”
Subsection (2)(a)(i) clarifies that a need for a correction may arise because the record has always been wrong.
By way of illustration, this would include:
- a typo made at the time of original registration
- an incorrect or incomplete name being given for the provider
- an incorrect document being submitted
- a frivolous or vexatious registered statutory pledge being identified.
Subsection (2)(a)(ii) clarifies that a need for a correction may arise because supervening facts have meant that the record has become wrong.
There are many ways in which a Statutory Pledges Record may become inaccurate after registration due to a supervening event having taken place.
Some events will be deed-related, for instance:
- a statutory pledge may be restricted or discharged off-register by written statement under section 59 of the 2023 Act
- a statutory pledge may be assigned off-register in accordance with section 57 of the 2023 Act
- a statutory pledge may be amended in accordance with section 58 of the 2023 Act but the amendment is unregistrable in terms of section 58(6).
Some events may not be deed-related, for instance, a statutory pledge may be extinguished off-register as a result of:
- the encumbered property being destroyed
- a purchaser of encumbered property acquiring that property unencumbered under one of the 2023 Act’s good faith acquisition rules
- a statutory pledge being enforced under section 64 of the 2023 Act (leading to mandatory correction by the secured creditor as a result of section 78(2) of that Act)
- the secured creditor acquiescing to the transfer of encumbered property under section 52 of the 2023 Act
- a secured creditor’s name or correspondence address details changing after the statutory pledge has been registered.
This section explains the statutory RSP correction processes provided for by both the 2023 Act and the 2024 Rules and details our approach to each route to RSP correction.
Approach to correction
With one exception, the 2023 Act provides for a wholly optional approach to RSP correction.
The one exception is where enforcement has extinguished a statutory pledge. In that instance, the secured creditor must apply for correction to remove the statutory pledge from the register (section 78(2) of the 2023 Act).
If you are the secured creditor for a registered statutory pledge which has been extinguished by virtue of the enforcement of the pledge, enforcement of any other secured right, or the enforcement of diligence, you are legally required to correct the register to remove that statutory pledge. You can correct the register to do this.
Otherwise, correction of the RSP is wholly optional.
It is in the best interests, however, of all prospective and existing users of the RSP, both borrowers and lenders, to ensure that the RSP represents as accurate a picture of current available finance as possible.
Updating the register to give effect to discharges and restrictions of registered statutory pledges is therefore particularly important.
A searcher of the register will wish to be able to establish whether party A has previously granted a statutory pledge over property B or not.
A prospective lender to party A may not lend if that search reveals existing borrowing over property B. Party A, in that case, may not be able to obtain required finance over property B.
Alternatively, post-search investigation may be required in order to determine whether a registered statutory pledge by party A over property B still exists or not. Enquiries of the registered secured creditor will be required.
The RSP correspondence regime introduced by the 2023 Act is impacted upon, however, where the register is not updated to give effect to an assignation from a registered secured creditor to a new secured creditor who then holds that security right off-register.
Updating the register to remove defunct statutory pledges, restrict existing statutory pledges and to reflect assignations has an important play in the ongoing accuracy and effectiveness of the RSP as a searchable public register and also promoting ease of access to available finance.
A key feature of the Registers of Moveable Transactions is that they are online and automated. This applies equally to RSP correction.
The main route to correction of the RSP is therefore via automated correction where online applications for correction are made by or, on behalf of, the secured creditor under section 96(1) of the 2023 Act.
Online Secured Creditor Correction forms part of the Keeper’s online RSP system.
Applications for such correction will generally be submitted by, or on behalf of the registered secured creditor. It will also be possible for unregistered secured creditors to apply for correction under section 96(1) of the 2023 Act – for instance:
- a secured creditor to whom the registered secured creditor has assigned the statutory pledge can apply;
- the previous registered creditor in an assigned statutory pledge can apply;
- the successor of a current registered creditor can apply; and
- a true secured creditor who, for whatever reason, is not accurately described as such in the Statutory Pledges Record entry to be corrected can apply.
Secured Creditor Corrections attract a fee of £10 per Statutory Pledges Record entry corrected as provided for in The Registers of Scotland (Fees) Order 2014 (as amended by The Registers of Scotland (Voluntary Registration, Amendment of Fees etc.) Order 2015, The Registers of Scotland (Fees) Amendment Order 2021, and The Registers of Scotland (Fees and Plain Copies) Miscellaneous Amendments Order 2024).
Where the applicant in a Secured Creditor Correction application is a non-RoS account holder, the applicant must have a valid credit/debit card in order to make payment.
A Secured Creditor Correction application must be submitted using the Keeper’s online RSP system.
A secured creditor can correct any identified inaccuracy in a Statutory Pledges Record entry and need not provide any evidence to the Keeper to support the correction being made, other than where replacing either a statutory pledge constitutive document or a statutory pledge amendment document.
A secured creditor should not, however, use the Secured Creditor Correction route to change a name appearing in a Statutory Pledges Record entry where that name change relates to gender reassignment. Such a change requires to be made under the Manifest Inaccuracy correction route. Read our guidance as to how to effect such a correction.
A secured creditor can optionally, however, upload any documentation considered by them to disclose, or to contribute to disclosing, the inaccuracy to be corrected (Rule 36(4) of the 2024 Rules).
All optionally submitted correction documentation will be added to the RSP Archive and will be publicly viewable to anyone requesting an extract or plain copy from that Archive.
The Keeper will not actively participate, nor have any manual involvement, in the Secured Creditor Correction process and will not make any determination or assessment regarding the accuracy of any part of the correction application being made (Rule 36(1)) of the 2024 Rules.
A secured creditor must, however, provide the following information to support their correction application (Rule 36(3) of the 2024 Rules):
- the registration number of the record entry to be corrected
- the name and address of the secured creditor making the correction (in accordance with Rules 27 to 30, and 32 of the 2024 Rules)
- the type of correction to be made
- details of the correction(s) to be made
- the email address for the provider and registered creditor (if different from the applicant).
The submission of this information is mandatory. An application for Secured Creditor Correction will not be acceptable for submission unless all mandatory information fields in the Keeper’s online registration system are completed.
Upon the successful submission of a Secured Creditor Correction application using the Keeper’s online registration system, and a successful virus check of any submitted correction documentation, the relevant Statutory Pledges Record entry will be automatically corrected and notification of that correction will be automatically sent to relevant parties.
When the RSP is corrected as a result of a successful Secured Creditor Correction application, the Keeper will send email notifications of the fact of correction having taken place to:
- the secured creditor who has made the correction application (if an email address is supplied for them)
- the registered provider
- the registered secured creditor (if different from the applicant).
The Keeper’s default approach, however, will be to notify the fact of Secured Creditor Correction having taken place to all email addresses held by the Keeper in relation to the corrected Statutory Pledges Record entry.
Notification may, as will be the case for the majority of applications, be to the respective agents of the above parties.
In all cases, the Keeper need only to notify where an email address is provided in the correction application for the parties to be notified.
Applicants for Secured Creditor Correction should provide email addresses for those parties to be notified, or as the case may be, their respective agents, where asked for by the Keeper’s online registration system, for notification purposes.
If no email address is given this will not result in rejection of the application but will mean that no notifications will be sent.
It will be possible to supply more than one email address for each of the parties to be notified. The Keeper will send a notification to each email address provided by the applicant for this purpose.
These email addresses will also be held by the Keeper for use in connection with the notification of any future correction of the Statutory Pledges Record entry to which the correction application relates.
Secured Creditor Correction Notifications will contain a link to a web page or "landing page", which will contain details of the correction to which the Correction Notification relates, including a PDF version of the full record entry. The PDF will be a snapshot of the Statutory Pledges Record entry position as at that date, and, although it does not have the evidential status of an extract requested under section 106 of the 2023 Act, it fully reflects the Statutory Pledges Record entry after completion of the application to which the Correction Notification relates.
All parties notified by email will receive the same Correction Notification, and all parties will be able to access the respective PDF. The parties notified will be free to forward on the link to the landing page as they see fit and it will be possible to print or to save the PDF's locally to their own systems. The link to the landing page will be available for a 30-day period, which should allow the parties adequate time to access it following the correction of the record entry.
Rejection of secured creditor correction applications
In terms of section 96(3) of the 2023 Act, if rejecting a Secured Creditor Correction application, the Keeper must inform the applicant, or, as will be the case with the majority of applications, their agent, accordingly.
Any rejection of a submitted Secured Creditor Correction application will be due to an uploaded document(s) failing to pass virus scan stage.
Where this occurs, the Keeper will notify the applicant or, as the case may be, their agent, by email that the application cannot be progressed until a virus-free document is submitted and give instructions to replace the document.
If the document isn't replaced, the Keeper will issue an email reminder after 20 days, advising that the application will be rejected in another 10 days (30 days after submission) unless a replacement document is submitted.
If no virus-free document is submitted by 30 days after submission, the application will be rejected and the applicant, or, as the case may be, their agent, notified by email.
Secured creditor correction liability
Before making any correction application, a secured creditor should be mindful that the effect of section 109(4) of the 2023 Act is that the Keeper is entitled to reasonably believe all information, including all documentation, provided by a secured creditor in connection with a Secured Creditor Correction application.
As such, if the Keeper introduces inaccuracy into the RSP as a result of reflecting on the register wrong information supplied to them as part of a Secured Creditor Correction application, then this will not be an inaccuracy for which they are liable.
Rather, the secured creditor making that correction application may be liable under section 110(1) of the 2023 Act for any loss suffered in consequence of that inaccuracy being introduced into a Statutory Pledges Record entry.