Encumbrance Certificate (EC)
Official record from the Sub-Registrar's office listing all registered transactions on a property — mortgages, sales, court orders — for a specified period. Proves the title is free of financial liens.
What is an Encumbrance Certificate?
An Encumbrance Certificate (EC) is an official extract from the Sub-Registrar office showing every registered transaction on a specific property during a specified period. Transactions recorded include: sale deeds, mortgage deeds, gift deeds, partition deeds, release deeds, and court attachments. A clean EC — one showing no mortgage or lien — is one of the key documents confirming a property title is marketable.
Form 15 vs Form 16
- Form 15: Issued when there are transactions on the property during the requested period. Each transaction is listed with document number, execution date, nature of transaction, and parties involved.
- Form 16 (Nil EC): Issued when there are no registered transactions during the requested period — confirms a clean title for that period. Banks and legal advisors consider this the ideal result.
How to Get an EC Online
- Karnataka: kaveri.karnataka.gov.in — Kaveri Online Services portal; enter survey number or property details. Fee: Rs 25 to Rs 200 depending on period.
- Maharashtra: igrmaharashtra.gov.in — Property Registration portal; ECs available for properties registered after 1985.
- Tamil Nadu: tnreginet.gov.in — complete online EC service
- Telangana: registration.telangana.gov.in
For older transactions pre-computerisation (typically pre-1990), you must visit the Sub-Registrar office in person and request manual records search.
How to Interpret an EC
- Request a minimum 30-year EC — this covers one full ownership cycle and exposes dormant mortgages or old disputes
- Verify every transaction listed matches the seller stated ownership history
- Check for any "mortgage deed" entries — if a mortgage exists, confirm it has been released with a Release Deed in the EC
- Look for any "court attachment" or "injunction" entries — these signal active litigation
- Confirm the most recent transaction is the current seller purchase deed
How Brickplot Uses This
For new projects, Brickplot legal review checks the land EC going back 30 years as part of Title Health verification. Any unreleased mortgages, joint development agreement entries, or court attachments on the land are disclosed in the project Brickplot profile under the Legal and Title section.
Related Terms
- Title Deed — the ownership document the EC validates
- Sale Deed — the primary transaction that appears in an EC
- Parent Deed — the chain of documents an EC traces
Related terms
Brickplot verifies encumbrance certificate (ec) disclosures on every reviewed project as part of the independent 11-axis score. No builder commissions. No editorial override.