Discharge of Charge Legal Fees in Malaysia (2026): The Full Cost Breakdown

The professional fee for a discharge of charge in Malaysia is fixed by law at RM400 for the first title, plus RM100 for each additional title in the same instrument, under the Fourth Schedule of the Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023. Most homeowners, however, end up paying somewhere in the region of RM1,000 to RM1,400 in total for a straightforward single-title discharge, because the scale fee is only one of four separate cost layers. This guide breaks down every one of them, using a real quotation structure, so you can see exactly where each ringgit goes.

Quick summary

• Professional fee: RM400 for the first title (RM100 per additional title) — fixed by the SRO 2023, and no discount is permitted on this schedule.

• Deed of receipt and reassignment (where there is no individual title yet): RM500 for the first property instead of RM400.

• SST: 8% on professional fees and reimbursements.

• Reimbursements and disbursements: typically the largest part of the bill — searches, land office registration, stamp duty and office expenses.

• Typical all-in range: roughly RM1,000 to RM1,400 for one title, one borrower, one chargee. Your final figure depends on your documents.

How much does a discharge of charge cost in Malaysia?

A discharge of charge bill is built from four separate layers, and only the first is fixed by statute. The table below follows the structure of an actual quotation for a single-title residential property in Kuala Lumpur, with one borrower and one existing chargee.

The figures above are indicative ranges, not a quotation. The registration fee alone varies from state to state, the number of searches depends on how many borrowers and titles are involved, and some land offices grant exemptions from the discharge registration fee. A firm figure can only be given once your documents have been reviewed.

What is the SRO 2023 scale fee for a discharge of charge?

The Solicitors' Remuneration Order 2023, which came into force on 15 July 2023, sets the fee in its Fourth Schedule. It is a fixed sum, not a percentage of your loan or your property value.

There is an important point buried in the SRO 2023 that very few people know. Solicitors are permitted to give a discount of up to 25% on the sale and transfer scale (First Schedule) and the financing scale (Third Schedule) — but no discount may be given on the Fourth Schedule. The RM400 is not a price any firm has chosen, and it is not something you can negotiate down. Any firm quoting you materially less on the professional fee line is not quoting the statutory fee.

This matters when you are comparing quotations. Because the professional fee is fixed for everyone, the only lines that can genuinely differ between firms are the reimbursements and the disbursements — which is exactly why those lines deserve your attention.

Discharge of charge or deed of reassignment — which one applies to you?

This is the single biggest reason two quotations for what looks like the same job come out differently. Which instrument you need depends on whether an individual or strata title had been issued when your loan was taken out.

If you are not sure which category you fall into, look at what you hold. If you have a geran with your name and the bank's charge endorsed on it, you need a discharge of charge. If all you have is a sale and purchase agreement and a deed of assignment, you are in reassignment territory — and you may also need to perfect the transfer of your title once the individual title is finally issued.

What are the disbursements and reimbursements for?

These two lines are often lumped together, but they are different things, and they are taxed differently.

Disbursements

Money paid out to third parties on your behalf. In a typical single-title Kuala Lumpur discharge these include the land office registration fee for the discharge (RM50 in the sample quotation), a fee for noting the power of attorney (RM20), a bankruptcy search against each borrower (RM20 each), an official land search (RM50) and a private land search (RM30). These are pass-through costs — the firm does not profit from them, and SST is not charged on them.

Reimbursements

Office expenses incurred in running your file: transport and travelling to the bank and the land office, printing and photocopying, postage and courier, telephone and internet, and sundry items. In the sample quotation these run to around RM500 in total across five categories, and SST at 8% applies to them.

It is fair to ask why the reimbursement block can exceed the professional fee itself. The honest answer is that the RM400 statutory fee has not kept pace with what the work actually involves. A discharge file means obtaining a redemption statement from the bank, dealing with the bank's own solicitors, procuring execution of the instrument by the bank, attending to stamping, attending at the land office for presentation and collection, and following the file through what is often two to three months of waiting. The searches and attendances are real costs, and a quotation that hides them simply moves them somewhere else.

Does SST apply to discharge of charge legal fees?

Yes. Service tax at 8% applies to legal professional fees in Malaysia, following the increase from 6% with effect from 1 March 2024. In a discharge quotation, SST is charged on the professional fee and on the reimbursements. It is not charged on the disbursements paid to third parties, nor on the stamp duty.

On a RM400 professional fee plus RM500 of reimbursements, that comes to RM72 of SST — one of the smaller lines on the bill, but one that should always be shown separately on a proper quotation together with the firm's SST registration number.

What could make your final bill different?

• More than one title. Each additional title in the same instrument adds RM100 to the scale fee, plus the extra searches.

• More than one borrower. A bankruptcy search is needed against each borrower.

• Which state the property is in. Land office registration fees are set by each state and are not uniform across Malaysia.

• Land office exemptions. Some land offices waive the discharge registration fee. Where that happens, a properly drawn quotation should be adjusted downward on the final invoice to reflect what was actually paid.

• Who the chargee is. Banks, LPPSA and other lenders each have their own redemption and execution procedures, which affects how the file runs.

• A lost title. If the issue document of title has gone missing, you will need to deal with replacing the lost title before the discharge can be registered, and that is a separate matter with its own cost.

Who pays the discharge of charge fee?

The property owner does. Where the discharge happens because you have finished paying off your loan and simply want the bank's charge removed, the cost is entirely yours. Where the discharge happens as part of a sale, it is the seller who bears it — the buyer pays their own lawyer for the transfer, and each side pays their own firm. Where it happens as part of a refinancing, it forms part of the cost of moving your loan to the new lender, and some banks absorb part of that cost as a package incentive. It is worth asking your new lender before you assume otherwise.

A note from our principal

"The RM400 in the Fourth Schedule of the SRO 2023 is a statutory fee, and no firm is permitted to discount it. So when clients ring us to compare prices, what they are really comparing is the disbursements and reimbursements — and those are the lines most quotations leave vague. We would rather show a client every line and explain why it is there, then confirm the final figure once we have seen their documents, than quote a round number we may have to revise later." — Akmal Saufi Mohamed Khaled, Principal, Messrs Akmal Saufi & Co

Frequently Asked Questions

How much does a discharge of charge cost in Malaysia in 2026?

The professional fee is RM400 for the first title under the SRO 2023, and the typical all-in cost for a straightforward single-title discharge falls somewhere around RM1,000 to RM1,400 once SST, reimbursements, disbursements and stamp duty are added. The exact figure depends on your documents and the state your property is in.

Can a lawyer charge less than RM400 for a discharge of charge?

No. The SRO 2023 expressly prohibits any discount on the Fourth Schedule, unlike the sale and transfer and financing schedules where a discount of up to 25% is permitted. The RM400 is the same at every firm in Peninsular Malaysia.

Why is my discharge of charge quotation more than RM400?

Because the RM400 is only the professional fee. The rest of the bill is 8% SST, reimbursements for office expenses, disbursements paid to third parties such as land searches and the land office registration fee, and a nominal stamp duty on the instrument itself.

What is Form 16N?

Form 16N is the statutory discharge of charge form prescribed under the National Land Code (Act 828). Under section 278, the chargee — usually your bank — executes it to release the land from all further liability under the charge, and the discharge takes effect from the date the instrument is registered at the Land Office.

How long does a discharge of charge take?

There is no fixed statutory timeline. In practice the time is driven by how quickly your bank issues the redemption statement and executes the instrument, and by the land office's processing time in your state. It is sensible to plan for a matter of months rather than weeks, particularly if you need the title for an onward sale.

Do I need a lawyer for a discharge of charge?

The instrument has to be executed by the bank, stamped and presented for registration at the Land Office, and banks deal with solicitors for this. You do not need to be on any bank's panel to instruct a firm for your own discharge — you are free to appoint the lawyer of your choice.

Need a clear quotation for your discharge of charge?

If you have finished paying your loan, sold your property, or are refinancing, we can take the discharge from redemption statement through to registration. At ASCOLAW (Messrs Akmal Saufi & Co), our conveyancing team handles discharge of charge and reassignment matters for bank and LPPSA borrowers across Malaysia, from our Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru offices. Send us your documents and we will come back with an itemised quotation showing every line. Request your discharge of charge quotation here, or read more about our discharge of charge service.

This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Every property transaction is unique. Please obtain specific advice from a licensed lawyer before acting on any part of it.

Related guides

• Discharge of charge: how the process works

• Land title transfer procedure in Malaysia

• Common legal terms in a Malaysian property transaction

• Appointing a property lawyer and what the fees cost