If you have inherited a flat in India and you live abroad, no single document does this in one step. Where an instrument between the heirs is registered, the Sub-Registrar charges Rs 50 plus Rs 10 for every Rs 1,000 of value, capped at Rs 30,000. Before that, the revenue record is updated by a heirship entry, called varasa nond in Maharashtra, recorded by the Talathi and certified by the Circle Officer.

And the certificate your bank asked for does not do this job. A succession certificate covers debts and securities. It does not transfer immovable property, which is why families who obtained one for a fixed deposit find it will not move the house.

Where this page sits

This page covers immovable property specifically: what a heirship entry in the revenue record does and does not give you, which office certifies it, what registration actually costs, how an heir abroad acts without travelling, and when a court grant is required on top.

If the estate is bank balances, deposits or shares rather than property, that is the other route: see succession certificate for an NRI.

Related guides:

• Transfer of property after death with a will in India
• Inheritance assistance for NRIs

What Does a Heirship Entry in the Revenue Record Actually Give You?

An updated record. Not title.

This is the distinction the whole subject turns on, and it is worth being blunt about because a great deal of published advice blurs it. Mutation, the varasa nond, changes whose name the revenue record carries against the property. It is what makes the property tax demand arrive in your name and what a buyer's lawyer will look for. It does not by itself decide who owns the property, and an entry obtained on an incomplete list of heirs does not extinguish the heirs who were left out.

So an heirship entry is necessary and it is not sufficient. Where the family agrees and the succession is straightforward, it may be all that is practically needed. Where anybody disputes the share, the record is evidence and the ownership question is decided elsewhere.

Which Office Handles It, and What Do You Give Them?

In Maharashtra the entry is made on the 7/12 extract, the satbara, or on the Property Card in city survey areas. The Talathi records it and the Circle Officer certifies it. The record itself is available through the state's digital satbara portal.

What the office needs is the death certificate, proof of relationship for every heir, and the current extract. What it does not need is a court order, in the ordinary uncontested case, which is why this route is faster and cheaper than most families expect once they stop looking for a single magic certificate.

What Does It Cost to Register the Instrument?

Where the family settles shares between themselves by an instrument, that instrument is registered and the registration fee is scaled.

The Department of Registration and Stamps sets it at Rs 50 where the value does not exceed Rs 5,000, and above that Rs 50 plus Rs 10 for every Rs 1,000 or part in excess, subject to a maximum of Rs 30,000. That works out at about 1 per cent, and the ceiling starts binding once the value passes Rs 30 lakh, which in most Indian cities means the fee on a family flat is the flat Rs 30,000 rather than a proportion.

Registration fee is not stamp duty and the two are charged separately. Stamp duty on a family arrangement is its own question and depends on the instrument chosen, which is a drafting decision rather than a filing one.

How Does an Heir Abroad Do Any of This?

Through somebody in India holding a power of attorney, because every step above happens across a counter.

The Talathi's office, the Circle Officer, the Sub-Registrar: none of them accept a courier. What travels is authority, and it travels in a specific form. The instrument is executed and notarised where you live, then legalised for India by apostille if your country is party to the Hague Convention or by attestation at the Indian consulate if it is not, and then stamped in India within three months of arriving there.

That last step catches people, because the three months run from the document reaching India rather than from the day you signed it, and nothing about a valid apostille tells you the clock has started.

When Is a Court Grant Needed On Top?

When there is a will, and where the will is one the law requires to be proved.

For wills made by certain communities in and around Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, probate is compulsory before the executor can act on it. Outside those, a will can often be acted on without probate, but a bank, a society or a buyer's lawyer may still insist on a grant before they will deal with the property, and their comfort is a practical requirement even where it is not a legal one.

This matters because the sequence is expensive to get wrong. A family that obtains a grant first and a heirship entry second has done the same work in a more costly order than one that establishes the record and seeks a grant only where an institution actually demands it.

What Should You Settle Before Anyone Files Anything?

Three things.

First, the complete list of heirs. An entry made on a partial list is the single most common defect, and it surfaces years later at the point of sale, when it is somebody else's lawyer finding it.

Second, whether an instrument is being executed between the heirs at all, because that is what decides whether a registration fee and stamp duty arise.

Third, the power of attorney, executed in the right order and stamped inside the three months.

Settle those and the counters are procedural.

FAQs

Does a succession certificate transfer inherited property in India?

No. It covers debts and securities such as bank balances, deposits and shares. Immovable property is dealt with through the revenue record and, where required, a court grant.

What is varasa nond?

It is the heirship entry made in the Maharashtra revenue record, on the 7/12 extract or the Property Card, recorded by the Talathi and certified by the Circle Officer.

Does mutation give me ownership?

No. It updates whose name the revenue record carries and it is evidence, not a determination of title. An entry made without all heirs does not remove the rights of those left out.

What is the registration fee on an instrument between heirs in Maharashtra?

Rs 50 where the value does not exceed Rs 5,000, and above that Rs 50 plus Rs 10 for every Rs 1,000 or part in excess, subject to a maximum of Rs 30,000.

Can an NRI complete this without coming to India?

Yes, through a power of attorney held by someone in India. It must be apostilled or consulate-attested depending on your country, and stamped in India within three months of the document arriving there.

Is probate always required for inherited property?

No. It is compulsory for wills made by certain communities in and around Bombay, Calcutta and Madras. Elsewhere a will can often be acted on without it, though an institution may still ask for a grant before dealing with the property.