Title & Ownership

Adding or Removing a Name on a Property Title in NSW

By Corporate Legal · 7 min read · Updated August 2026

“I just need to change the name on the title.” It sounds like one job. It is actually five different ones, and which one you need decides whether you pay nothing, pay a small registration fee, or pay stamp duty on the whole property.

Key takeaways

Correcting your own name — after marriage, divorce or a legal name change — is not a transfer. It is lodged as a request to record the change and does not attract transfer duty.
Adding or removing a different person is a transfer of an interest in land. It is dutiable, and between related parties it is assessed on market value.
Removing someone who has died depends on how the property was held: joint tenants use a Notice of Death, tenants in common need a Transmission Application to the deceased’s legal personal representative.
Severing a joint tenancy converts the ownership to tenants in common so each share can be left by will. It is a common and often urgent estate-planning step.
If there is a mortgage, the lender must consent before anything changes — and that usually sets the timetable.

First, work out which change you actually need

Almost every enquiry we get about “changing the name on the title” is one of five dealings. They look similar from the outside and are completely different in law, in cost, and in how long they take.

What you want to do	What it is in law	Transfer duty?
Update your own name after marriage, divorce or a deed poll	A request to record a change of name — the owner is unchanged	No
Add a partner, child or other person to the title	A transfer of an interest in the land	Yes, unless an exemption applies
Remove a person from the title	A transfer of their interest to the remaining owner	Yes, unless an exemption applies
Remove someone who has died	Notice of Death (joint tenants) or Transmission Application (tenants in common)	No
Change joint tenants to tenants in common	Severance — a transfer between the existing owners	Nominal, in the usual case

The distinction that saves the most money: changing your own name is not a transfer. Changing who owns the property is. People routinely describe both as “changing the name on the title” and are surprised to learn one is a form and the other is a dutiable transaction.

Updating your own name

If you are the same person and your name has changed — you married, you divorced and reverted, or you changed it by deed poll — nothing about the ownership changes. What is lodged is a request to record the new name against the existing registered proprietor, supported by evidence: a marriage certificate, a change of name certificate from the Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, or a divorce order.

There is no transfer, so there is no transfer duty. There is a registration fee and our fixed professional fee, both of which we confirm before you instruct us.

You do not always have to do this immediately, but leaving it can cause problems later: a mismatch between the name on the title and the name on your identification will hold up a sale, a refinance or a mortgage discharge at exactly the moment you cannot afford a delay. It is far cheaper to fix it in a quiet month than in the week before settlement.

Adding someone to the title

Adding a partner, a child or anyone else means giving away part of your ownership. In law that is a transfer, and it is dutiable unless an exemption applies.

The main exemption people rely on is the spousal one: a transfer between spouses or de facto partners of the home you live in, ending in equal shares, can be exempt from transfer duty in NSW. Both conditions matter — it has to be your principal place of residence, and afterwards you have to own it 50/50. An investment property, or a 70/30 split, falls outside it.

Adding anyone who is not your spouse or partner — a child, a parent, a sibling — is a related party transfer, assessed on the market value of the share being transferred, regardless of what is paid for it. We cover that in detail in our article on transferring property to a spouse or family member.

Not sure whether your situation is exempt? A ten-minute call will tell you.

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Removing someone from the title

Removing a person is the mirror image: their interest is transferred to whoever remains. The same duty analysis applies, and the same exemptions can be available — particularly the relationship-breakdown exemption, which is broader than the spousal one and covers transfers made under a binding financial agreement, consent orders or a court order.

Two practical points do most of the damage here.

The mortgage. If the person coming off the title is also a borrower, the lender must agree to release them — and will only do so if the remaining owner can service the loan alone. Very often this means a refinance. This is the step that decides whether the transfer is possible at all.
Being off the title is not the same as being off the loan. Removing someone as an owner does not remove them as a borrower or guarantor. Those are separate arrangements with the lender and both have to be dealt with, or the person walks away still liable for a debt secured on a house they no longer own.

Removing a deceased owner

What is needed depends entirely on how the property was held, and it is worth checking the title rather than assuming.

Joint tenants. The survivor takes the whole property automatically by survivorship. A Notice of Death is lodged with the death certificate to bring the title into line. No transfer, no transfer duty, and no need for a grant of probate for this step.
Tenants in common. The deceased’s share passes under their will or the intestacy rules. A Transmission Application is lodged to record the legal personal representative — the executor or administrator — which usually requires a grant of probate or letters of administration first. Only then can the share be transferred to whoever is entitled to it.

Why the distinction matters: couples often assume they hold as joint tenants and that the survivor simply keeps the house. If the title actually says tenants in common, the deceased’s share goes through the estate instead — which can be a very unwelcome discovery. Checking the title takes minutes.

Severing a joint tenancy

Joint tenancy means survivorship: when one owner dies, the other takes the whole property, and nothing in the deceased’s will can change that. Severing the joint tenancy converts the ownership to tenants in common, so each owner holds a distinct share that they can leave to whoever they choose.

People do this for estate-planning reasons — often in blended families, or where one owner wants their share to go to children from a previous relationship — and sometimes on separation, before the financial settlement is finalised. It is effected by a transfer between the existing owners and, in the usual case where the shares are unchanged, only nominal duty applies.

It is frequently urgent. If the intention is that a share should pass under a will rather than by survivorship, the severance has to be registered while both owners are alive. After a death, it is too late.

What it costs, and what we don’t advise on

Our professional fees for each of these dealings are fixed and published on our pricing page. On top of our fee sit the Land Registry lodgement fee, any transfer duty payable, and — where duty is assessed on market value — a valuation, which is a separate third-party cost.

What sits outside our scope is the tax and financial consequence. Adding or removing an owner can trigger a capital gains tax event, change land tax exposure, and affect pension or aged-care assessments. Corporate Legal provides legal and conveyancing services only. Those questions belong with your accountant or financial adviser, and we will tell you plainly when we think you should have that conversation before the transfer, not after.

How we handle it

Title search. We confirm how the property is held, who is registered, and what mortgages, caveats or restrictions are on it.
We tell you which dealing you need. And what duty, if any, attaches to it — before you incur cost.
Lender consent or refinance. Started early, because it usually drives the timetable.
Documents prepared and evidence assembled. Marriage or name-change certificates, death certificate, probate, family law orders — whatever your dealing requires.
Duty assessed or exemption claimed with Revenue NSW.
Lodged and registered. Electronically through PEXA with NSW Land Registry Services, and we confirm the updated title back to you.

Tell us what you’re trying to change and we’ll tell you what it takes.

Book a Consultation

Corporate Legal is an Australian property law firm acting in residential, commercial and SMSF conveyancing and in title and ownership dealings. A qualified property lawyer runs every file. Call 02 7813 4754.

This article is general information only, current as at August 2026, and is not legal, financial or taxation advice. It focuses on New South Wales; requirements, duty treatment and terminology differ in other states and change over time. Whether a particular exemption or dealing applies depends on your specific circumstances. You should obtain advice specific to your situation before acting. Corporate Legal provides legal and conveyancing services only and does not provide tax, financial or investment advice.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I change the name on a property title in NSW?

It depends what you mean. If your own name has changed — through marriage, divorce or deed poll — a request is lodged to record the new name against the existing owner, supported by a marriage certificate, change of name certificate or divorce order. There is no transfer and no transfer duty. If you want to change who owns the property, that is a transfer and is treated very differently.

How do I remove a name from a property title?

Their interest is transferred to whoever remains on the title, which is a dutiable transaction unless an exemption applies. If there is a mortgage, the lender must consent to releasing them first, and that often requires the remaining owner to refinance in their sole name. Removing someone from the title does not automatically remove them from the loan — that has to be dealt with separately with the lender.

Do I pay stamp duty to add my partner to the title?

Not necessarily. A transfer between spouses or de facto partners can be exempt from NSW transfer duty where the property is your principal place of residence and, immediately afterwards, you hold it in equal shares. If it is an investment property, or the split will not be 50/50, the exemption does not apply and duty is assessed on the market value of the share transferred.

My co-owner has died. What do I need to do?

Check how the property was held. If you were joint tenants, you take the whole property by survivorship and a Notice of Death is lodged with the death certificate — no transfer duty and no probate needed for that step. If you were tenants in common, the deceased’s share passes under their will or the intestacy rules, and a Transmission Application is lodged to record the executor or administrator, usually after a grant of probate.

What is severing a joint tenancy, and why would I do it?

It converts joint ownership into tenants in common, so each owner holds a distinct share they can leave by will rather than it passing automatically to the survivor. People do it for estate planning — commonly in blended families, or where someone wants their share to go to children from a previous relationship — and sometimes on separation. It has to be registered while both owners are alive; after a death it is too late.

Do I need my bank’s permission?

Yes, if there is a mortgage on the property. The lender holds a security interest and has to consent before the ownership changes. Depending on their assessment they may consent to the existing loan continuing, require a refinance, or require the loan to be repaid. It is worth raising with them early, because it usually determines both feasibility and timing.

How long does it take?

Where there is no mortgage and no duty assessment required — a straightforward change of name, for example — it is usually a matter of a couple of weeks once we have the evidence. Where a lender’s consent or a refinance is involved, or duty has to be assessed on a valuation, the lender and Revenue NSW set the pace rather than we do. We will give you a realistic timeframe once we have seen the title.

How much does it cost?

Our professional fees for title and ownership dealings are fixed and published on our pricing page. Additional to that are the Land Registry lodgement fee, any transfer duty payable, and a valuation where duty is being assessed on market value. You get the whole picture in writing before you instruct us.

Work out which dealing you need — before you pay for the wrong one

Send us the property address and tell us what you are trying to change. We will search the title, tell you which dealing applies and what it costs, and handle it from there. Fixed fee, quoted up front.