We give information about:
- highways and rights of way for the CON29R Form (part of the property conveyancing process)
- common land and village greens for the CON29O Form
We also give information about:
- road status
- highways that are maintained at public expense
- land to be acquired by us to carry out road works
- nearby road schemes
- nearby railway schemes
- traffic schemes
- outstanding legal notices relating to change to the highway
- compulsory purchase of land to be used as highway
To make sure the service we provide is always accurate, we also maintain the:
- highways map
- statutory List of Streets
- provisional maps of common land and village greens
We are also in charge of:
- issuing formal road adoption
- re-classification notices (e.g. changing the class of a road from A to B)
- stopping up of highway under the Highways Act 1980
Statutory registers and public documents
All registers and documents can be viewed for free in their standard format by visiting us.
To view them you will need to book an appointment. Our offices are open Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 12 noon and 2pm to 3.30pm.
Contact the Highway Searches Team by email, in writing or in person to book an appointment.
Full searches
A standard search is based on one road per search and costs £36.75 + VAT (£44.10).
This may be higher if the search request is for a larger area. Please email us for a quote.
What we need from you
To process your search, we need:
- your search request
- a plan clearly showing the area to be searched
How to get personal search information emailed to you:
- email us your request
- include an up to date site plan with the property or land clearly outlined in red
- payment of the fee (£18.90 (including £3.15 VAT))
Paying by card
Can be made by our online payment system. A link to this will be sent to you with a reference once you email your request to us.
Paying by cheque
You can submit your payment via cheque. Cheques should be made payable to Dorset Council and sent to the Highways Searches Team.