Registration of Common Land

There are two key pieces of legislation that govern the registration of common land and the rights over it. These are the Commons Registration Act 1965 and the Commons Act 2006. This information aims to summarise the background to these and key elements of the registration process.

The Commons Registration Act 1965

The Commons Registration Act 1965 was a direct outcome of the Report of the Royal Commission into common land published in 1958. For more information, click below.

Common Land Exempt from the Registration Process

Some land is exempt from the need to register. Click below to find out more.

The Commons Act 2006

Part I of the Commons Act 2006 replaces the registration system enacted by the 1965 Act but it continues to use the registers prepared under that Act.

Its provisions apply to all land registered under the 1965 Act together with any other land registered under the provisions of the 2006 Act. It also applies to land exempted from the 1965 Act by way of an exemption order. However, it does not apply to the New Forest, Epping Forest or the Forest of Dean.

Registration authorities

The registration authorities in England are the London borough councils, metropolitan borough councils, county councils and district councils in areas without a county council. The registration authorities’ responsibilities are to compile, maintain and amend the commons registers, provide for inspection of the registers and relevant documents and to provide copies of the registers and documents when requested to do so. There is an Association of Commons Registration Authorities which has its own website.

For more information about land registration, click below.

Interpretation of the Registers

As explained in Creation and Quantification of Rights, the Commons Registration Act 1965 required that all rights of pasturage be quantified. Interpreting this quantification can be difficult and some explanations are provided below:

Further information and signposting

  • Association of Commons Registration Authorities for England and Wales Website (including Commons Commissioners’ Decisions)

  • Paul Clayden, Our Common Land: the law and history of common land and village greens (Henley-on-Thames: Open Spaces Society, 2003).

  • Defra Guidance Document: The Commons Registration Act 1965: how the commons registers were prepared (January 2010) - available from the Defra website

  • G. D. Gadsden, The Law of Commons (London: Sweet & Maxwell, 1988).

  • Angela Sydenham, Commons and Village Greens: The New Law (Corsham: Lime Legal, 2006).

Rozzie Weir