Settlement, partition and gift deeds in Tamil Nadu

From 2 November 2026, news reports say a family settlement, a release, a partition, and a cancellation of a settlement in Tamil Nadu must be registered paperless. The parties still go to the sub-registrar office to be identified. This page does not print the charge. Read it on tnreginet.gov.in.

Last checked 11 November 2026. This is not legal advice. Inherited and settled land is a large share of plot listings. A broker needs to know which paper the seller holds, and whether anyone can still challenge it. This page does not answer that second question. A lawyer does.

What each deed is

A settlement deed (தான செட்டில்மெண்ட்) is a deed by which an owner transfers property, usually to a family member, without a sale price. It is not a sale.

A gift deed also transfers property without a sale price. A gift may be to someone outside the family. The registration department’s 2024-25 policy note groups gift and settlement among non-family members together, and says the registration fee on that group was reduced from 4% to 2%. That line is not a family-settlement rate. The note is linked from stamp duty and registration charges.

A partition deed is the paper co-owners use to divide the property, each taking a stated share.

A release deed (விடுதலைப் பத்திரம்) is a paper by which a co-owner gives up their share in favour of another co-owner. It is common among legal heirs. DT Next reported it among the four family deeds covered from 2 November 2026.

People ask how a settlement differs from a gift. Both move property without a sale price. A settlement is usually inside the family. A gift may be outside it, and that non-family case is the 2% registration-fee line above. Whether the deed in your hand is one or the other is a question for the document and for a lawyer. This page does not decide it.

Paperless registration from 2 November 2026

From 2 November 2026, paperless registration is reported as mandatory for four family-arrangement deeds: settlement, release, partition, and revocation of settlement. The New Indian Express on 9 October 2026 reported a government order of the Commercial Taxes and Registration Department, dated 7 October 2026, as Phase 2 of Anywhere Registration under STAR 3.0. The Hindu and DT Next reported the same four categories. The order text was not read for this page. The reports said the rollout was subject to software readiness. Oneindia Tamil on 5 November 2026 reports the method as in force from 2 November.

The reports describe these steps:

1. The deed is prepared online.
2. Supporting documents are uploaded.
3. The executants, claimants and witnesses e-sign with Aadhaar OTP or biometrics.
4. The parties still appear before the sub-registrar for identification and Aadhaar authentication. The method is paperless. It is not presence-less. There is still an office visit.
5. The registered document goes to the citizen’s login.

Check the current steps on tnreginet.gov.in. This page does not redraw the form. tnreginet.gov.in did not load for this check on 11 November 2026.

Presence-less registration is a different method. The registration department’s 2026-27 policy note, and salem.nic.in, date it from 17 August 2026 for a first sale of a plot, and a first sale of a flat, when each is filed with a deposit of title deeds. That method does not need an office visit. The Hindu also notes that a deposit of title deeds, and a deed of receipt, presented by a bank or a financial institution, are already under that presence-less method. The four family deeds above are not in that group. The charges page explains the difference: stamp duty and registration charges.

Charges

This page prints no stamp duty and no registration fee for a family settlement, a partition, a release, or a gift. Open tnreginet.gov.in and read the fee for the instrument you are registering. Do not copy a percentage from a private calculator.

The only registration-fee figure this site prints for gift and settlement is the non-family cut from 4% to 2% in the 2024-25 policy note. It is on the stamp duty page, with the government PDF. It is not a family rate.

If the survey number is missing

Since the STAR 3.0 change, news reports say survey numbers for some newly formed house plots are not appearing on tnreginet in several districts, so those plots cannot be registered. Oneindia Tamil on 5 November 2026 and Dinakaran reported this. No date for a fix was given. The Hindu on 31 October 2026 reported the minister acknowledging delays and technical glitches in the new software, and a promise to fix them within a month. He also said about 40,000 online registrations had been completed. The 5 November reports still described missing survey numbers and no date. A Dinamalar report from Theni described old survey numbers that could not be selected for town-survey plots.

First check whether the number appears on the online patta at eservices.tn.gov.in. If it is there but not on tnreginet, write to the sub-registrar office with the patta extract and the layout approval. Do not let anyone type a nearby survey number to get past the screen. A wrong survey number in a deed is a title defect.

What to ask when the title came by settlement

• Which deed it is: settlement, partition, release, or gift. Note the document number, the year, and the sub-registrar office.
• Whether the patta is already in the seller’s name. Transfer after registration is on patta transfer online. Patta, chitta, and the FMB sketch are on patta and chitta.
• An encumbrance certificate for the years since that deed. How to search one is on the EC page. A short EC is not a clear title.
• Whether anyone has talked about cancelling the settlement. Ask a lawyer. Do not tell the buyer it cannot be revoked.
• If the plot was newly formed, whether its survey number appears on tnreginet. See the note above.

Keep the owner’s phone in your own notes. Send the buyer your listing link, not a photo of the deed with the owner’s number on it. The state map is Tamil Nadu. Words such as settlement deed and release deed are also in the glossary.

Questions