How to check if the Land Title is Authentic or Fake

Despite a strong regulation, there are still a lot of cases reported of people being scammed on fake land titles. So just to make you aware and not to fall unto these scams, here is a quick guide on how to identify authentic land titles from fake land titles.

Physical Qualities

• It has a faint watermark that says LRA
• Tiny fibers and dots should be noticeable
• The texture is similar to that of a bank check
• If you could use a UV light, these fibers should fluoresce or shine slightly when subjected to UV light
• If it’s an old title (before the newer e-Titles being used today), the color of the paper is light yellow
• If it’s an e-Title, the color should be pale straw

Contents

• If it’s an Original Certificate of Title (OCT), it should indicate “Judicial Form No. 108-D” at the top.
• If it’s a Transfer Certificate of Title (TCT), it should indicate “Judicial Form No. 109-D“
• The serial number label (SN No.) should be in red color, while the digits should be in black for the owner’s duplicate.
• The last two digits of the page number in the upper right hand side should correspond to the last two digits of the TCT number.
• The red/blue border should be slightly embossed and not flatly printed.
• For e-Titles, all entries should be computer encoded and printed, unlike the old versions which were manually type-written
• The seal on the lower left hand side should be dark red and does not blot when a litle water check is done.
• Signatures: for Judicial OCT, it should have 2 signatures present – the Administrator and the Registrar; while for TCT, only the signature of the Registrar is present. For Administrative Titles: one signature from a PENRO or CENRO officer and another from the registrar.

Final Thoughts
To be a 100% sure that it is authentic, you must verify it with the LRA and the Registry of Deeds. The guide above is just your initial test to identify its authenticity.