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Land records and title checks

The documents that prove who owns a plot, and where to find them. Updated 31 October 2026.

This guide is general information to help you prepare. It is not legal advice. Records, portals and rules change, so always have a lawyer check the papers, and confirm with the Patwari, Tehsil or Sub-Registrar's office before you pay anything.

The short answer

Three things together show who owns a plot. Ask to see all three, and check them yourself.

The registered sale deed (or gift deed, partition deed, inheritance papers). This is what transfers ownership. It is registered at the Sub-Registrar's office.
The revenue record, called the jamabandi (record of rights). It shows whose name the land is in today. You can see it online in most of the North (table below).
The mutation (intkal / intiqal). It is the entry that moves the land into the new owner's name in the revenue record after a sale or inheritance. A mutation updates the record; it does not by itself transfer ownership. Only a registered deed does that. ¹³

If the deed, the jamabandi and the latest mutation all name the same person, for the same khasra numbers and the same area, you're off to a good start.

Words you'll hear

Jamabandi	The record of rights: owners, their shares, who cultivates the land, and the area. Rewritten every few years. ^1,14
Fard / Nakal	A certified copy (extract) of the jamabandi for particular plots. Banks and registrars ask for it. In J&K a fard is valid for a short time only, so get a fresh one. ²
Khasra number	The number of one field or plot on the village map. The most exact way to find land in the records.
Khewat / Khata	The owners' account number: all the land held together by the same owner or owners.
Khatauni	The cultivators' account: who actually farms the land (an owner or a tenant).
Girdawari	The Patwari's crop inspection record. It shows who is in possession and cultivating, season by season. ¹
Mutation (intkal / intiqal)	The entry that changes the owner's name in the record after a sale, gift or inheritance. ¹³
Shajra / Aks shajra / Musavi	The village map showing every khasra's shape and boundaries.
Demarcation (nishandehi)	Revenue staff measuring the plot on the ground against the map, to fix its boundaries.

Ten checks before you buy a plot

Get the khasra numbers and the village name from the seller. Without them you can't look anything up.
Look up the jamabandi online yourself (portals below). Check that the seller is named as an owner, with the share and area they are selling. Don't rely on a printout the seller hands you.
Count the owners. If the land is held jointly, every co-owner must sign the sale, or the sale covers only the seller's share. If an owner has died, the inheritance mutation should already be done.
Read the mutation history. Look at how the land came to the seller, and check every mutation number yourself on the portal. In Punjab, buyers have been shown mutation numbers that don't exist on the portal at all. ¹³
Ask for the chain of deeds. Collect the earlier sale or inheritance papers going back many years, and have a lawyer read them in order. Each owner should have got the land from the one before.
Check who is on the land. The khatauni and girdawari show who cultivates it. A tenant or someone else in possession is a serious warning sign. Visit the land and talk to the neighbours.
Match the map to the ground. Compare the plot with the shajra. For land, ask for a demarcation by revenue staff before paying in full.
Check for loans. Ask the Sub-Registrar's office about registered mortgages, and search CERSAI, the central register where banks record loans against property. A bank loan can exist even when nothing shows at the Sub-Registrar. A CERSAI search costs a small fee. ^19,20
Check for court cases. Search the owner's name and the village on eCourts, the official court records site. Ask the seller in writing whether any case or dispute exists. ¹⁸
Check the type of land and who may buy it. Agricultural land has special rules in Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh (below). Also check the land isn't government, grazing or village common land, which can't be sold.

Region by region: where to find the records

Jammu & Kashmir

Online: the Revenue Department's Land Records portal (LRIS) shows the record of rights (jamabandi), girdawari and mutations, searchable by village and khasra, khewat or owner name. ¹
JK Zameen Sudhar: the Revenue Department's portal for digitised records shows the jamabandi, khasra details and mutations; you register with your mobile number to search. The district administration asks owners to check their digitised record there and report any mistake, so a digitised record can still be wrong: the Patwari and Tehsil record is the final word. ^21,22
Use only the .gov.in address: the official site is jkzameensudhar.jk.gov.in. Look-alike websites with similar names (for example ending in .com) are not the Government's; don't enter your details there.
Certified copy (fard): from the Patwari or Tehsil office, or through the portal where available. A fard is valid only for a short period, so get a fresh one close to the sale. ²
Deeds: sales are registered through the Department of Registration (NGDRS). ^3,4
Watch out: since October 2020, any Indian citizen can buy non-agricultural land in J&K, but agricultural land can still only be sold to an agriculturist, unless the government permits it. ⁵ Our J&K buyer's checklist covers this in more detail.

Ladakh

Online: the Ladakh Land Records Web GIS portal was launched in December 2025, with records of rights, jamabandi, girdawari and mutations. ⁶
But: in January 2026 village mapping was complete in only 40 villages of Leh district, and not yet for the rest of Leh or for Kargil. If your village isn't online, ask the Tehsil office in Leh or Kargil for the records. ⁷

Himachal Pradesh

Online: HimBhoomi shows the jamabandi by district, tehsil, village and year, searchable by khewat, khatauni, khasra or owner name. ^8,9
Certified copy: online viewing is free; for a copy with legal value, go to the Tehsil office or a Lok Mitra Kendra. ⁹
Watch out: under Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, land can't be transferred to a non-agriculturist without the State Government's permission. The Supreme Court has refused relief to a buyer who skipped it. Ask a Himachal lawyer before you agree to buy. ¹⁰

Punjab

Online: the Punjab Land Records portal (PLRS) shows the jamabandi by owner name, khewat, khasra or khatauni, plus mutations, the daily register (roznamcha), registered deeds and fard status. ¹¹
Verify a copy: the portal has a nakal verification page to check a copy someone gives you. ¹²
Watch out: older records may not be online; ask the Tehsil office for anything before the digital records begin. Check every mutation number yourself. ¹³

Haryana

Online: the Haryana land records portal (HALRIS) shows the jamabandi and mutations by owner name, khewat or khasra, and also lets you search registered deeds and court cases on land. ¹⁴
Verify a copy: use the portal's “Verify Jamabandi Nakals” page. ¹⁵

Chandigarh

Different system: most property in Chandigarh's sectors is handled by the Estate Office, which deals with transfers, mutations, no-dues certificates and conversion from leasehold to freehold. ¹⁶
Check the tenure: find out whether the property is leasehold or freehold. The allotment and possession letters, or a conveyance deed, show which. For leasehold property, the Estate Office's transfer permission is needed before the sale deed can be registered. ¹⁷
Ask for a no-dues certificate from the Estate Office, so you don't inherit unpaid charges. ^16,17

Red flags: stop and ask a lawyer

The seller's name isn't in the latest jamabandi, or the area is smaller than what's being sold.
A mutation number that you can't find on the portal, or a mutation that is still pending.
Someone else farming or living on the land.
Only a power of attorney, with no registered deed in the seller's own name.
Agricultural land offered to a non-agriculturist “with no problem” in J&K or Himachal.
A loan or court case the seller didn't mention.
Pressure to pay a large advance before you've seen the records.

What Clayyard checks, and what it doesn't

Every listing on Clayyard has a “What we checked” box. We check the agent (ID, PAN, bank account and RERA registration) and that the photos were taken at the property. We don't check the legal title of the property. That's what this guide and your lawyer are for.

Sources

Have a question about land records? Contact us.