The Tamil Nadu Registration Department has announced a significant policy shift to streamline the online property registration process. Under the new directive, citizens opting for remote registration—where physical presence at a sub-registrar office is not required—will no longer be required to pay for an encumbrance certificate. Instead, a free version obtained through the department's online portal will be sufficient for their applications.
This initiative is part of the state's broader effort to digitize property-related transactions, including the registration of sale deeds for homes and plots, mortgage documents for bank loans, and loan discharge receipts. Following feedback from various stakeholders regarding procedural difficulties, the Inspector General of Registration, Arun Sundar Dayalan, issued a formal order to simplify these requirements.
According to the new guidelines, the department has clarified several key operational points. For the registration of loan discharge receipts, an encumbrance certificate is no longer necessary. Furthermore, mortgage documents submitted through the citizen portal will be accepted for processing without additional hurdles. The department also confirmed that no holiday fees will be charged for registrations conducted through the remote, non-physical attendance system.
However, the department noted a specific limitation regarding the remote registration process. Because the system allows applicants to register documents from any location via the internet, the use of 'presentation power'—a form of special power of attorney—will not be permitted for these specific online transactions.
