Tamil Nadu Patta and Chitta Documents: A Complete Guide

If you own or are buying land in Tamil Nadu, the Patta is the document that proves it is yours. The good news is you no longer need to visit a taluk office to get it — you can view and download your Patta Chitta online in a few minutes, for free, on the state's e-services portal.

This guide explains what Patta and Chitta are, the difference between them, and exactly how to view and download yours online by patta number, name, or survey number — plus why a Patta is not the same as an Encumbrance Certificate, and why you often need both.

What is Patta Chitta?

Patta Chitta refers to two Tamil Nadu land records: the Patta, which is the record of ownership, and the Chitta, which records the land's classification and revenue details. The Patta is issued in the owner's name and lists the survey number, subdivision, extent, and land type. The Chitta records whether the land is wet (nanjai) or dry (punjai), its area, and its cultivation history.

Together they answer the two questions a buyer or owner cares about: who owns this land, and what kind of land is it. In Tamil Nadu both are now accessed through the same online land-records portal, which is why people refer to them together as "Patta Chitta."

Patta vs Chitta: what's the difference?

The Patta proves ownership; the Chitta describes the land. A Patta is the Record of Rights that names the legal owner. A Chitta is a revenue record that classifies the land — wet or dry — and tracks its extent and use.

Comparison	Patta	Chitta
Answers	Who owns it	What type of land it is
Key contents	Owner name, survey no., subdivision, extent, type	Wet/dry classification, area, cultivation history
Purpose	Ownership proof	Revenue and land-use record

For most transactions the Patta is the document banks and buyers ask for, but the Chitta matters when land classification affects value or what you can build.

What's on your Patta

A Patta typically shows:

Patta number — the unique record number
Owner name(s) — the person or people holding the land
Survey number and subdivision — the parcel identifier
Extent — the area of the holding
Land type — wet, dry, or Natham (village housing) land
District, taluk and village

Check the owner names and survey number first. If more than one name appears, all of them may need to sign at the time of sale, which changes the transaction.

How to view and download Patta Chitta online

There are two ways to get your Patta Chitta online: through JaaGa, which fetches a ready-to-use copy from the land details in a few steps, or directly on the Tamil Nadu government portal, which is free but slower.

Option 1 — Get your Patta Chitta through JaaGa (fastest)

JaaGa pulls your Patta Chitta for any Tamil Nadu survey number without you having to navigate the government portal. You only need the land details and your phone for the OTP.

Go to the JaaGa Patta Chitta page.
Select your Village / Division — and the district and taluk it falls under.
Choose the Land Type.
Enter the Survey Number.
Enter the Sub-Division Number.
Enter the owner's contact number and verify the OTP.
Get your Patta Chitta — JaaGa fetches the record and delivers it to you, ready to use.

Option 2 — View it free on the government portal (eservices.tn.gov.in)

If you would rather do it yourself, the Tamil Nadu e-Services of Land Records portal lets you view and download a copy for free.

Go to eservices.tn.gov.in — the official portal. Avoid the many lookalike sites; only the tn.gov.in address is official.
Select "View Patta & Chitta" — choose Rural or Natham (village housing) land.
Select the location — your District, Taluk, and Village.
Choose how to search — by Patta number, owner name, or survey number.
Verify with the OTP sent to your mobile, then view and download the PDF.

The free online copy is fine for your own reference. For registration, a loan, or a court matter, you may need a certified copy — which is exactly what JaaGa delivers in Option 1.

Watch: How to download Patta Chitta by survey number

Download your Patta & Chitta

JaaGa pulls your certified Tamil Nadu Patta and Chitta for any survey number — proof of ownership, online.

Download Patta Chitta →

How to search when you only have a name or survey number

You do not need the patta number. Through JaaGa, the survey number and sub-division are enough to fetch the record. On the government portal, choosing "search by name" finds the Patta from the owner's name plus the district, taluk, and village, and "survey number" works backwards from the parcel. Name search can return several similar matches, so confirm the survey number to be sure you have the right record.

Patta Chitta and EC: why you need both

A Patta and an Encumbrance Certificate (EC) are not the same, and one does not replace the other.

A Patta tells you who the recorded owner is and what the land is.
An EC tells you the transaction history — sales, mortgages, and other charges registered against the property.

A clean Patta with a name on it does not mean the land is free of loans, and a clean EC does not by itself prove current ownership. You read them together. Note that they come from different systems: Patta Chitta from the e-Services land-records portal, and the EC from the Tamil Nadu registration department (TNREGINET). See our Encumbrance Certificate guide for how the EC works, and the Tamil Nadu land records guide for how Patta, Chitta, Adangal and FMB fit together.

Common problems, and what they mean

The name on the Patta isn't the current owner. A transfer happened but the Patta was never mutated into the new name. It must be corrected before the land can be cleanly sold again.

Your survey number or subdivision doesn't appear. The subdivision may never have been formally recorded — common where land was divided informally among family.

Name search returns several matches. Names repeat and spellings vary. Confirm using the survey number rather than the name alone.

You can't find a Patta for a flat or apartment. Patta applies to land. For an apartment, the land Patta usually sits with the undivided share; check what applies to your specific property.

Before you rely on a Patta

A Patta confirms the recorded owner today — it does not, by itself, confirm clear title. A property can have a clean-looking Patta and still carry an unrecorded family claim, a break in the ownership chain, or a charge revealed only by the EC. Verifying a Tamil Nadu property properly means reading the Patta, Chitta, EC, and FMB together. Our guide on how to prove legal ownership shows how these records corroborate each other.