Legal Charge document for the deeds of an house showing a £2 10/- (two pounds ten shilling
By , founder·13 min read·Published 2026-06-19·Updated 2026-10-12

Short answer: A legal heir certificate is an administrative document from the tahsildar or revenue office that names the heirs of a deceased person, used for pension, PF, insurance, utilities and starting mutation, and issued in weeks. A succession certificate is a District Judge's order under Sections 370 to 390 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 that lets the holder collect debts and securities such as bank deposits and shares. Neither transfers a house.

Succession Certificate vs Legal Heir Certificate vs Probate: Which One an NRI Needs

A legal heir certificate names the heirs of a deceased person. The tahsildar or revenue office issues it in weeks, and you use it for pension, PF, insurance, utilities and to start mutation. A succession certificate is a District Judge's order under Sections 370 to 390 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 that lets you collect the deceased's debts and securities: bank deposits, shares, bonds. Neither one transfers a house.

That last line is where NRIs lose months. A relative says "get a succession certificate," the family files nothing else, mutation never starts, and the certificate that arrives cannot move the flat. This guide separates the two certificates, then probate and letters of administration, and tells you which one your task needs.

Succession certificate vs legal heir certificate in India: the difference

Legal heir certificate Succession certificate
Issued by Tahsildar or revenue office, under state rules (district civil court in some states) District Judge where the deceased lived (Section 371)
Legal basis State government orders and revenue practice Indian Succession Act 1925, Part X, Sections 370 to 390
Covers Identifies the heirs. Pension, PF, insurance, utility transfer, starting mutation Debts and securities only: bank balances, fixed deposits, shares, debentures, bonds (Section 370)
Process Application, local enquiry, in some states a public notice for objections Petition (Section 372), notice and hearing, summary decision (Section 373)
Effect Records relationship. Decides no title Conclusive against the bank or company that pays, and a full indemnity to it (Section 381). Decides no title (Section 387)
Cost Low, state fee Court fee under the Court Fees Act 1870, deposited with the petition (Section 379)
Typical time Weeks Months

Two more court documents sit beside these. Probate is a court-certified copy of a will, granted to the executor. Letters of administration give someone authority over an estate when there is no will or no executor. Both are covered below.

Legal heir certificate: the cheap, fast one you need first

A legal heir certificate names the surviving heirs of a deceased person. The tahsildar or revenue office issues it. In some states a district civil court does. You use it for pension claims, provident fund release, insurance payouts, transfer of a phone or electricity connection, and to begin mutation of property records.

It is the fast document. Administrative process, no court hearing, issued in weeks at low cost. Each state sets its own rules. Puducherry's G.O.Ms. No. 17 of November 2021, modelled on Tamil Nadu, is one example. The tahsildar issues the certificate only to Class I heirs under Section 8 of the Hindu Succession Act 1956. After a local enquiry, the list of heirs is displayed for seven days for objections. Class II heirs and disputed cases go to the civil court. An aggrieved person may appeal to the Sub-Divisional Magistrate within one year. The order states that the certificate is not equivalent to a succession certificate issued by the District Judge.

It also has a limit you must respect. The Madras High Court full bench held that a legal heir certificate issued by the tahsildar reflects the relationship between heirs and the deceased and nothing more. The bench called the "legal heir" label a misnomer: the document is a relationship certificate, not a finding on title. It does not decide your rights under personal law, and it does not settle a dispute between heirs. If two siblings disagree on who inherits what, this certificate will not resolve it. For that you are in different territory, covered in our guide on the co-heir deadlock on inherited property.

For most NRIs, the legal heir certificate unblocks the first real step: starting khata and mutation so the revenue record carries your name.

Succession certificate: debts and securities, nothing else

A succession certificate comes from a civil court under Sections 370 to 390 of the Indian Succession Act 1925. Section 370 limits it to one thing: debts and securities of the deceased. Bank balances, fixed deposits, shares, debentures, bonds. That is the full list.

The same section bars the certificate where the right must be proved by probate or letters of administration instead. The Repealing and Amending Act 2025 also amended Section 370, cutting the old cross-reference to Section 213. The scope of the certificate did not widen. Debts and securities, still.

Why it exists: Section 214 stops a court from passing a decree for the deceased's debt in favour of a claimant who holds no certificate, probate, or letters of administration. A bank will not release a large deposit, and a registrar will not transfer shares, on a death certificate and a family tree alone. The succession certificate is the court's order that tells them whom to pay. It protects the institution as much as it serves you.

The process is set in the Act. You petition the District Judge where the deceased lived at death, or where any of the property is found if there was no fixed residence (Section 371). The petition lists the family, your right, and the debts and securities claimed (Section 372). The judge fixes a hearing, serves notice, posts it at the court-house, and decides the right in a summary manner (Section 373). Where the facts are too intricate for a summary hearing, the judge may still grant the certificate to the applicant with the best prima facie title.

Once granted, Section 381 makes the certificate conclusive against the bank or company that owes the money and gives it a full indemnity for payments made in good faith to the holder. That is why banks ask for it.

It does not settle ownership. In Madhvi Amma Bhawani Amma v. Kunjikutty Pillai Meenakshi Pillai (27 April 2000), the Supreme Court held that a grant under Section 373 decides only prima facie title, and Section 387 leaves the same question open to a regular suit between the heirs.

The cost is real. The applicant deposits the court fee payable under the Court Fees Act 1870 with the petition (Section 379). The fee is a percentage of the value of the debts and securities covered, around 2 to 3 percent, set and sometimes capped by each state. The timeline runs to months because of the notice and hearing.

So you need a succession certificate when the deceased left bank deposits, shares, or other securities, and the institution holding them demands a court certificate to release. You do not need one to inherit a house.

Probate: the certified will, no longer mandatory by statute

Probate is a court's certified copy of a will, granted to the executor named in it. It confirms the will is genuine and the executor may act on it.

For decades, probate was compulsory in a narrow set of cases. Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act required probate (or letters of administration) before a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain, or Parsi could enforce a right under a will made within, or disposing of immovable property within, the former presidency towns of Bombay, Calcutta, and Madras: today Mumbai, Kolkata, and Chennai. Muslims and Indian Christians sat outside the rule, as did wills executed outside those towns.

That requirement is gone. The Repealing and Amending Act 2025 omitted Section 213. The President gave assent on 20 December 2025. There is no longer a statutory mandate to obtain probate before enforcing a will, regardless of religion or where the property sits.

Removing the mandate did not abolish probate. The institution stays, and probate remains available. Khaitan & Co reads the change as removing the legal basis for housing societies and financial institutions to insist on probate, while noting buyers may stay uneasy and the effect turns on how courts and authorities apply it. Trilegal calls voluntary probate a defence against later disputes. If you expect a challenge from another heir, probate is worth the time. On a presidency-town property, ask a lawyer whether probate still serves you.

Letters of administration: when there is no will, or no executor

If the deceased left no will, or left a will with no executor named, no one holds automatic authority to administer the estate. The court grants letters of administration to fill that gap. You apply for it when there is property to administer and no valid appointment to do it.

What transfers immovable property

None of the four documents transfers a house by itself. Probate certifies a will; the will is the instrument, not the certificate.

Immovable property passes by the chain that fits your case:

  • If there is a will: the will is the source of title. Mutation follows, and the registered deeds and the will carry the record forward.
  • If there is no will: succession runs by the personal law that applies (Hindu Succession Act, Muslim personal law, or the Indian Succession Act for others), the heirs are identified, and mutation records the change.
  • If heirs share the property and want separate ownership: a registered partition deed, or a partition suit if they cannot agree, divides it.
  • In every case: mutation updates the revenue record so the new owner's name appears, and the registered instruments hold the title.

Mutation is the step people skip while they wait for the wrong certificate. Mutation is not title, but it is the record that lets you pay tax, draw rent and sell clean. Start it with the legal heir certificate. Our full walkthrough is in inheriting property in India as an NRI.

So which one do you need

  • Bank deposits, FDs, shares the bank or registrar will not release? Succession certificate. Civil court. Months.
  • Pension, PF, insurance, utility transfer, or starting mutation? Legal heir certificate. Revenue office. Weeks.
  • A will, and a buyer who wants it court-confirmed, or another heir likely to contest? Probate.
  • No will, or a will with no executor, and an estate to administer? Letters of administration.
  • A house to put in your name? No single certificate. The will or the personal-law succession, then mutation, then the registered deeds, and a partition deed if heirs split it.

Most NRIs reaching for a succession certificate needed a legal heir certificate and mutation. Confirm what the institution in front of you demands, in writing, before you file anything in court.

FAQ

Do I need a succession certificate or a legal heir certificate? A legal heir certificate for most needs: pension, PF, insurance, utility transfer, and to start mutation of property. The revenue office issues it in weeks. A succession certificate only when the deceased left bank deposits, fixed deposits, or shares, and the institution demands a civil-court certificate under Sections 370 to 390 of the Indian Succession Act before releasing them.

Does a succession certificate transfer property in India? No. Section 370 of the Indian Succession Act 1925 limits a succession certificate to debts and securities: bank balances, deposits, shares, and bonds. It does not transfer immovable property. A house passes by the will or personal-law succession, then mutation and the registered deeds.

Is probate mandatory to inherit property in India? No longer, as a statutory rule. The Repealing and Amending Act 2025 omitted Section 213 of the Indian Succession Act, with Presidential assent on 20 December 2025, removing the mandate that once applied to Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Jains, and Parsis for wills in the presidency towns. Probate stays available as a voluntary step, and law firms such as Trilegal describe it as a defence against later disputes over the will.

Does a succession certificate decide who owns the estate? No. In Madhvi Amma Bhawani Amma v. Kunjikutty Pillai Meenakshi Pillai (2000), the Supreme Court held that a grant under Section 373 of the Indian Succession Act decides only prima facie title in a summary hearing. Under Section 387, any heir may still sue to decide ownership.

What document transfers immovable property after death in India? No single certificate does it. The will is the instrument when one exists; without a will, succession runs by the applicable personal law. Title then moves through mutation of the revenue record and the chain of registered deeds, plus a registered partition deed when co-heirs divide the property. A legal heir certificate starts mutation. A succession certificate, limited to debts and securities, does not transfer land.

Get the right document moving, on the ground

Most of this stalls because no one in India is doing the legwork while you sit abroad. 66 MG Road fixes that. We assign one vetted manager per property, who walks the tahsildar's office, the bank, and the sub-registrar in person, and sends you dated photo proof of every visit and document filed. Billing is itemized, with no spread on third-party fees, and any rent collected goes straight to your NRO account. We run property with our own teams in Delhi NCR and Bangalore. A Property Health Check or Watch covers the rest of India through vetted local partners. We do not give legal opinions. For the document call, work with a lawyer, and we will run the errands and the paper trail so the right filing happens. See inheritance & succession or request a proposal.

Saurabh Garg, founder, 66 MG Road

Sources

Information on this page is as on 2026-10-12. Rules, rates, deadlines and government portals change without notice, so verify against the official source before you act. This page is for information only. It is not tax or legal advice, and it is not a substitute for a qualified adviser who knows your position.