At the heart of our digital transformation is the ambition to provide a better, more efficient service to our customers, and we’re hard at work to deliver this across all our services. A key part of achieving this aim was put in place on 30 January 2018 when new statutory rules that will lay the groundwork for future improvements to come were approved by the Scottish Parliamentary Committee on Economy, Jobs and Fair Work.

The changes introduced in the Regulations will be implemented gradually over the next two years and are rooted in the input from our customers during our digital transformation consultation in early 2017. We combined that learning with customer feedback through our user research sessions, events and individual meetings over the course of the year.

The first of the digital registration services, the Digital Discharge Service (DDS), has been available since May 2017 with customers enjoying a secure, efficient service. RoS is presently undertaking user research on the Digital Security Service. By 2020 customers will submit the majority of applications to the land register via further digital registration services.

A new land registration application form is the first change we are implementing in mid-March 2018 following several rounds of user research activity with members of our User Experience panel. The form will become more streamlined and flexible, delivering a better customer experience and helping to reduce the likelihood of rejections. Further information on the implementation of these changes will follow:

What we’re changing – and why

Here’s an overview of the changes to the application form that we’re proposing to make:

• Removal of signature requirement and update to Declaration section – this will remove a significant administrative stage in your own office, and reduce rejections due to unsigned forms
• Removal of the Certification of Links in Title question – this is part of our efforts to re-examine and streamline the application process. By eliminating this question, which doesn’t apply to the vast majority of cases, we’ll further decrease the likelihood of rejections
• Amendment to the Servitudes and Burdens questions – We’ve used considerable customer research to refine the wording here, improving clarity to reduce inconsistency and, ultimately, rejections

These updates represent small amendments to the form overall, but are designed to bring significant improvements in reducing the number of minor errors that lead to rejections.

Looking to learn more?

If you have any questions on the application form changes, contact your RoS account manager to learn more. You can also learn the latest news on our application form and all other business areas by following our social channels, which can be accessed at the top of the blog.

Stay in the loop

You can follow the team via @RegistersOfScot on Twitter and on Facebook, LinkedIn and YouTube for more updates. Want to comment? Let us know below.