How long does a CBA discharge take?

Allow around 3 to 4 weeks as a planning buffer, then confirm the time needed with CBA. This is not a lender turnaround promise. Ask the lender to confirm it has all the information. Allow more time for a complex release, and tell your conveyancer or incoming lender about any settlement deadline.

Will CBA try to keep me when I ask for a discharge?

CBA may offer to review your rate if you are refinancing. You do not have to accept. Get any offer in writing and compare the rate, fees, features and remaining loan term with your new option.

Do I need a discharge form if I am refinancing?

You still need to authorise the outgoing lender to release its mortgage. Check where to send the authority before you lodge it. On an eligible fast refinance, the incoming lender may ask for it in the new loan documents and handle the discharge afterwards. Follow that lender’s instructions rather than sending a second request yourself.

What do I need before I start?

Have your loan account numbers, property details, borrower names, representative contacts and proposed settlement date ready. Check who needs to sign before starting, particularly if someone is overseas or separated from you.

Can I use the CBA discharge process to release a guarantor?

Check which security release or variation form your lender requires. The bank must agree to release the guarantee after assessing the remaining loan and security. Reaching 80% loan-to-value ratio does not by itself guarantee approval.

Do I need a discharge form if I sold my property?

If the property has a mortgage registered over it, you normally need the lender to release it as part of the sale. Ask your conveyancer when to lodge the authority and arrange the required signatures early. If there is no registered mortgage, there may be nothing to discharge.

Is a discharge authority the same as a discharge of mortgage form?

A discharge authority is your instruction to the lender. The land registry discharge of mortgage is the document used to remove the mortgage from the title. Lenders use different names for their authority forms, and the form you need may depend on whether you are selling, refinancing or changing security.

Can I do the discharge myself, or do I need a solicitor?

You can usually complete and return the lender’s authority yourself. For a sale or refinance, your settlement representatives coordinate the payout and title changes. If you have simply paid the loan off, ask your lender what it will lodge and whether you need help with any remaining title paperwork.

My settlement is sooner than the bank’s timeframe. What should I do?

Send the completed request promptly and tell the lender your settlement date. Ask whether it can meet that date, and have your conveyancer or incoming lender follow up. Faster processing is not guaranteed. If a sale may be delayed, ask your legal adviser about an extension before the deadline.

Can I discharge my mortgage if I am in negative equity?

A full discharge normally needs the debt and discharge costs paid, or another arrangement agreed with the lender. If the sale proceeds will not cover that amount, speak with the lender and your legal adviser before committing to settlement. A partial discharge is different: the lender assesses what must be repaid and what security remains.

CBA Discharge Form: Process, Contacts & Checklist

Start here

Start your CBA discharge request

CommBank has different routes for sales, refinancing and other changes. Start on its discharge page and choose the reason that applies to you.

Open CBA’s discharge instructions

Before you fill anything in

Refinancing? Call CommBank first

CommBank asks refinancing customers to call before proceeding with the discharge. It may offer to review your loan. You can compare any offer before deciding whether to stay.

CBA asks refinancing customers to call 1300 219 166. Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm Sydney and Melbourne time

What CBA says to consider

You may pay fees when refinancing or closing your current loan
A new lender may reassess your situation and run credit checks
Loan terms, features and repayments may differ

If the bank offers a better rate, get it in writing and compare the fees, features and repayments with the new loan. We can help with that comparison before you decide whether to refinance.

What the discharge form does

A discharge authority tells CBA to release its mortgage over your property. You may need one when selling, refinancing or paying the loan off yourself. Paying the balance down to zero does not automatically remove the mortgage from the property title.

Your settlement can be delayed if CBA has not received the completed authority. An agreed date or approved new loan does not replace that step.

How CBA handles it now

Selling: start CommBank’s online request, with or without NetBank. Refinancing: call 1300 219 166 first.

For a repaid loan, guarantor release or change of security, complete and print the authority, collect the required signatures, then return it using the email on CommBank’s page or take it to a branch.

Choose the reason
Select the right route for a sale, refinance, paid-out loan or change of security. CommBank’s next steps depend on why you are discharging.
Identify the accounts
Have the loan, line-of-credit and linked offset account details ready. Check which accounts are attached to the property being released.
Identify the properties
Set out the properties involved, especially if you are releasing one security while keeping another.
List your representatives
Include the solicitor or conveyancer, broker and incoming lender where required. Check the details for both transactions if you are selling and buying.
Check, sign and return as directed
Review the details before submitting. For a repaid loan, guarantor release or security substitution, CommBank asks you to download and print the authority, collect the required signatures and return it by email or at a branch.

What to have ready

Gather the details relevant to your request before opening the form. Missing accounts, signatures or contacts can delay it.

People

The full name of every borrower on the loan
The full name of every guarantor, if the loan has one
Who is filling out the form, and in what capacity if it is not you

Accounts

Your home loan account number, and every one of them if there is more than one
Any line of credit account numbers secured by the property
Any Everyday Offset account numbers linked to those loans

Property and contacts

The details of every security property being released
Your solicitor or conveyancer, your broker, and the incoming institution
The contract of sale, if the property has been sold

Arrange every required signature early, especially if a co-borrower is overseas or you have separated.
Follow CBA’s signing instructions for your request.
List the representatives the bank needs to contact. If different legal firms handle your sale and purchase, check whether both need to be recorded.

Avoid these delays

Specific to CBA

The home loan account holder may get a phone call from CommBank asking why the discharge has been requested. That is normal, and you do not have to make a decision on that call.
Account numbers live in NetBank, on your home loan statements, and on your Consumer Credit Contract schedule or any letter of variation. Dig them out before you start rather than mid-form.

If you need to keep your personal details private from a co-borrower, CommBank allows a separate discharge authority. Call it to arrange the right process.

If you are releasing a guarantor

If a parent guaranteed your loan, the property you want released may be theirs rather than yours. The request goes through the lender’s discharge or security-release process.

Ask the lender which discharge or security variation request covers the guarantee. Releasing a guarantor needs the bank’s approval; submitting the form does not make the release automatic.

The bank will assess the remaining security and loan. A loan-to-value ratio of 80% means owing $80 for every $100 of property value. It can be a useful starting point, but it does not guarantee release. Our guide to removing a guarantor explains what to check.

The lender’s valuation of the property you keep as security matters. Different lenders can arrive at different values, so one valuation does not settle every option. A broker can help check the remaining loan and security before you apply to release the guarantee.

How long to allow

Allow around 3 to 4 weeks as a planning buffer, then confirm the time needed with CBA. This is not a lender turnaround promise.

Missing signatures, account numbers or contact details can delay the request. Ask the lender to confirm it has everything it needs.

Allow extra time if another party holds the title, a valuation is needed or only part of the security is being released. Tell your conveyancer or incoming lender about the settlement deadline and check the lender can meet it.

What it costs

Expect a discharge or settlement administration fee from CBA, plus a state government fee to register the discharge on the title. If any part of your loan is on a fixed rate, break costs can apply as well, and those are calculated by the lender rather than set by a schedule.

Ask for all of it in writing before you lock a settlement date. Break costs in particular move with the market, so an earlier quote may differ from the final amount.

Line up the discharge with the new loan

A discharge usually runs alongside a sale or a new loan, and the timing needs to match. If the new loan is ready but the outgoing lender is not ready to release its mortgage, settlement can be held up. If the new loan is not ready, sending the discharge request does not solve that gap.

This is where we can help with a refinance or your next purchase: work through the new loan and its timing, while your lender and settlement representatives confirm the discharge arrangements. Keep making required repayments until the old lender confirms the loan is closed. How refinancing works, step by step shows where the discharge fits.

How we can help with your next loan

You authorise the discharge and follow your lender’s return instructions. We do not offer a standalone discharge lodgement service.

If you are refinancing or buying again, we can help with the new loan and its timing. There is generally no fee for our service on a standard residential home loan. We are usually paid by the lender if the loan settles, and we disclose that in writing.

Tell us your current lender, why you are moving and any settlement date. Call 1300 088 065 or book a free assessment so we can help line up the new loan.

Planning a refinance or another purchase?

Our CBA home loan review
Compare CBA’s loan features and lending requirements before deciding whether to stay or switch.
Refinancing your home loan
When switching actually pays for itself once the fees, break costs and time are counted.
Removing a guarantor
What the lender checks before releasing a guarantee, and how to prepare.
All discharge forms
Looking for a different lender? The full list covers the rest.

General information only. It does not consider your circumstances and is not credit, legal or tax advice. Lender processes, fees and timeframes change without notice, so confirm the current requirements directly with Commonwealth Bank of Australia before you act. Hunter Galloway, Credit Representative 476903 of Australian Credit Licence 389328.

CBA discharge form FAQs

Usually. Most lenders charge a discharge or settlement administration fee, and there is a separate state government fee to register the discharge on the title. Fixed-rate loans can also attract break costs, which are calculated by the lender and can be substantial. Ask your lender for the exact figures in writing before you commit to a settlement date, because break costs in particular can change day to day.

Sources and lender instructions

CBA discharge instructions

CBA discharge form: how to discharge your CBA mortgage

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