Patta, chitta and A-register in Tamil Nadu

The rule

• The records. The DoLR study lists the registers kept by revenue authorities as the A-register, chitta, the field measurement sketch (FMS or FMB) and adangal, and says the A-register, chitta and FMS are maintained online while adangal is kept by the Village Administrative Officer (VAO). Urban land is in the Town Survey Land Register (TSLR), maintained by the Revenue and Disaster Management Department.
• Digital copies are the legal record. The state told the DoLR that digitally signed records of rights are available for download, are a legally valid document, can be checked through a QR code or unique ID, and that manual records have been discontinued, so digital records are the sole legal record.
• Patta pass book (Act 4 of 1986). The Tahsildar issues a patta pass book to every owner of agricultural land on application (s. 3), and also for a house site (s. 23). It shows the survey or sub-division number, extent and local name, and the owner’s name and address (s. 3(8)).
• Legal weight. Entries are “presumed to be true and correct until the contrary is proved or a new entry is lawfully substituted” (s. 4) and are “prima facie evidence of title… free of any prior encumbrance, unless otherwise specified” (s. 6). No suit lies against the government about an entry, but a person may sue for a declaration of their rights, and the entry is then amended to match (s. 14).
• At registration. The Act says a transfer of land by sale, gift, mortgage, exchange or settlement shall not be registered unless the patta pass book is produced (s. 5(1)). The Act comes into force on dates and in areas the government notifies (s. 1(3)); the notifications were not read for this guide, so ask the Sub-Registrar whether the pass book is required for your land.

Step by step: checking a property before you buy

1. Get the survey number and sub-division from the seller’s documents.
2. View the patta and chitta on the e-services portal (eservices.tn.gov.in). The Chengalpattu district page lists the land services: View Patta & FMB / Chitta / TSLR Extract, View A-Register Extract, Verify Patta and Verify Poramboke Land. The last one tells you whether a parcel is recorded as government (poramboke) land.
3. Match the names and extent. The patta holder should be the seller (or the sellers, for a joint patta), and the extent should match the sale deed.
4. Check the FMB (field map) against the boundaries in the deed, especially where a sub-division is involved.
5. Check the A-register for the classification of the survey number.
6. Run the title search and encumbrance certificate separately: the patta is not a list of registered deeds. See title search and encumbrance certificate. The DoLR study notes that loans or legal disputes “may not immediately appear in the records”.

Patta transfer after the sale

According to the DoLR study, the Tamil Nilam land records portal and the registration department’s STAR 2.0 are interlinked. When no sub-division is involved, the patta changes automatically, within about two days; when a sub-division is involved, the survey and revenue departments must check it, which takes longer. Applications for patta transfer can be made online through any Common Service Centre; the applicant receives SMS messages on receipt, on the field inspection date set by the firka surveyor and on approval or rejection by the Tahsildar or Deputy Tahsildar, and the digitally signed patta can be downloaded. Under the Patta Pass Book Act, a person who acquires land by inheritance, partition or court decree must report it to the Tahsildar within three months; a person whose right comes from a registered document is exempt (s. 7). For the wider picture by state, see mutation of property records; for inheritance, inheriting property in India.

What a patta does not do

• It does not replace the sale deed. Ownership passes by a registered conveyance: see agreement for sale and sale deed and property registration process.
• It is not the property tax record. In a city, the municipal tax assessment is separate: see property tax in Indian cities.
• It does not settle a dispute. Title disputes go to the civil court (s. 14).

Which professional to consult

A property lawyer (advocate) enrolled with the State Bar Council reads the patta, chitta and FMB against the chain of title. See property lawyers. A licensed surveyor or the taluk survey office measures the land on the ground. This guide states the published rules and is not legal advice.

Sources and limits

The Tamil Nadu e-services, Tamil Nilam and registration portals did not open from outside India on 18 October 2026: fees and the current online screens are not described. The notifications bringing the Patta Pass Book Act into force area by area were not read.