Short answer: You can view and download an encumbrance certificate (EC) free on tnreginet.gov.in. Click View/Download Encumbrance Certificate @ Free of Cost and enter the Sub-Registrar office, village, survey number and period. If you need a signed EC, for example for a home loan, log in, use Search and Apply EC and pay online. The Sub-Registrar signs it digitally within 3 days of payment.
This guide is for buyers checking land, a plot or a house in Tamil Nadu before they pay. It was checked against the official Registration Department website, tnreginet.gov.in, and its EC user manual, FAQs and Citizen Charter in October 2026.
What an EC is and why it matters
An encumbrance certificate, villanga saandrithazh in Tamil, lists the documents registered for a property over the period you choose, such as sale deeds, mortgages and gifts. The department's Citizen Charter tells buyers to get one before they buy. Banks ask for it too. Home loan lenders can ask for a digitally signed EC with a QR code from the Sub-Registrar, for a period they decide case by case.
How to view an EC free online
Keep ready the Sub-Registrar office, village, survey and subdivision number, any old survey number, and the dates to search. If you do not know the office, use Know Your Jurisdiction on the home page.
- Open tnreginet.gov.in. If it opens in Tamil, click English at the top.
- Click View/Download Encumbrance Certificate @ Free of Cost, or go to eServices, Encumbrance Certificate, View EC.
- Choose Survey Wise, Plot Flat Wise or Ward Block Wise. With a deed number, choose Document Number Wise.
- Choose Registration Village, or Revenue Village if you have the details from revenue records such as the patta (the land ownership record).
- Fill in the Zone, District, Sub Registrar Office, EC Start Date, EC End Date, village and survey number, and click Add.
- Type the code shown and click Search.
- With fewer than 200 entries, download the PDF at once. With more, enter your name and email and the PDF is emailed.
How to get a digitally signed EC
The free EC is for your own checks. For an official copy, apply online. This is not the same as a certified copy, which is a copy of a registered deed. The department's FAQ lists a digitally signed EC among the uploads for presenceless and paperless registration. You need a portal account, created through User Registration.
- Log in and go to eServices, Encumbrance Certificate, Search and Apply EC.
- Enter the village, survey, boundary and extent details.
- Click Search, check the documents listed and click Apply Online.
- Enter your name and mobile number and pay online.
- The Sub-Registrar signs the EC digitally within 3 days of payment, and you get an SMS.
- Download it from eServices, Encumbrance Certificate, Request List. Every page has a QR code.
The Duty and Fees page lists, for one survey number, a ₹1 application fee, a search fee of ₹30 for the first year and ₹10 for each further year, and ₹200 extra for the computerised period from 1987. Online delivery adds a delivery charge. The portal shows the amount before you pay.
How far back you can search
The online search accepts dates from 1 January 1975 to the day before you search. The "Click Here to know data availability period" link shows each village's start date, and some villages start later. A village may have been under a different Sub-Registrar office in earlier years, so search each office for its years.
No official rule sets how many years a buyer must check, so search the full period the portal allows. For older years, apply at the Sub-Registrar office. The form is free there, and the FAQ says such an EC should be ready within 4 days, not counting holidays.
How to read an EC
| Field | What it tells you |
|---|---|
| Document No. and Year | The deed's registration number |
| Dates | When the deed was signed, presented and registered |
| Nature | The type of deed, such as a sale deed or a mortgage |
| Executant | The person who gave the right, such as the seller |
| Claimant | The person who received it, such as the buyer |
| Consideration value and market value | The price in the deed and the value used for stamp duty |
| PR Number | The previous document for the property |
| Schedule details | Property type, survey number, extent and boundaries |
Read the entries in date order. The claimant of each sale should be the executant of the next, and the last claimant should be your seller. If you see a mortgage, ask for the lender's letter that the loan is closed.
If nothing matches, the portal shows "No Documents registered during the Search Period." This is often called a nil EC. It only means nothing matched what you entered, so check your details.
What an EC does not show
- Documents that were never registered, such as an unregistered sale agreement.
- Court cases. An EC is not a search of court records.
- Who holds the patta, or whether a layout is approved. See our guides on patta and chitta and DTCP approval.
- Entries under an old survey number you did not include. The Citizen Charter warns about this.
If a sale you expect is missing
- Recheck the survey, subdivision and old survey numbers.
- Search by revenue village, and search any office that held the village earlier.
- Search Document Number Wise with the number and year on the seller's deed. For deeds from 13 February 2018, Previous Document Number Wise also follows linked earlier and later deeds.
- If the deed shows by number but not by survey number, its details may have been entered wrongly. After login, a correction can be requested under Document Registration, Index Data Correction. Once the District Registrar approves it, the EC shows the correction.
- Otherwise ask the Sub-Registrar office, which the FAQ says must give information about registrations. Do not pay an advance until the gap is explained.
Next steps
- Match the owner with revenue records: how to check patta and chitta online.
- Check the value stamp duty uses: how to find the guideline value.
- Prepare for the day: the property registration process in Tamil Nadu.
- Every listing on Gmore has a video tour: property for sale in Tamil Nadu.
