An encumbrance certificate (EC) — also called a non-encumbrance certificate when it comes back clear — is an official record of all registered transactions on a property over a chosen period, including sales, mortgages, and legal charges.
It matters because it's the clearest way to confirm a property has no pending loans, disputes, or claims registered against it before you pay for it — skipping this check is one of the most common ways buyers end up inheriting someone else's debt.
This guide covers what an EC actually shows, how to get one online or offline in Bihar, what it costs, and the gaps in Bihar's system that a buyer should know about before trusting a clean result.
Whether you're buying land, applying for a home loan, or verifying a property before a big-ticket purchase, this is the certificate that shows whether the title is genuinely free and clear.
Section 1 — What is an Encumbrance Certificate in Bihar?
Before you request an EC for a specific plot, it helps to confirm you have the right property and location details in hand — you can look up land in Bihar on the 2Bigha interactive map for Bihar to cross-check location before requesting official records.
Definition: An encumbrance certificate is an official record showing every registered transaction — sale, mortgage, lease, gift, or legal charge — recorded against a specific property over a chosen time period..
It's often confused with the sale deed or the Jamabandi record, but it serves a different purpose: the sale deed proves one specific transaction happened, and the Jamabandi shows current ownership, while the EC shows the entire registered transaction history — including any mortgage that hasn't yet been released. A property can have a valid sale deed and still carry an old, undischarged mortgage that only an EC search reveals.
A buyer needs this specifically before finalising a land or property purchase, when a bank asks for it as part of home loan processing, or when settling an inheritance where the property's history isn't fully known to the family.
State-specific note: Bihar's EC covers only IGRS-registered transactions from the specific Sub-Registrar office where the property is registered. Unregistered loans and Jamabandi-level disputes will not appear — always run a separate Khasra-Khatauni check alongside the EC, not instead of it.
Expert tip: Buyers often request an EC for only 10–15 years to save time, but a mortgage taken before a previous sale can survive if it was never formally discharged and registered — a short-period EC will miss it entirely. Ask for a minimum of 30 years of history, and go back further if the property itself is older.
Section 2 — How to Get an Encumbrance Certificate in Bihar?
You can search for an EC online through Bhumijankari, or request a signed certified copy directly from the Sub-Registrar's office. Here's how they compare:
Method | Cost | Time | Legally valid for registration? |
Online (Bhumijankari search/view) | Free to nominal | Instant to a few hours | Useful for due diligence, not always accepted as a signed legal copy |
Online (digitally signed request) | Nominal fee per period searched | A few days | Yes |
Offline (Sub-Registrar office, Form 15) | Fee per period searched | A few days to about a week | Yes — signed, certified copy |
Register on the portal
Visit bhumijankari.bihar.gov.in and register using your mobile number and email address.
Choose the EC / e-services option
Select the encumbrance certificate or property search option and enter the registration office, circle, and mauza/ward.
Enter property and period details
Provide the khata/plot number (rural) or holding/ward number (urban), and choose the years you want the search to cover — request at least 30 years.
View or download the result
Review the list of registered transactions shown, and download or print the result for your records.
Visit the Sub-Registrar's office
Go to the SRO where the property was originally registered and collect the EC application (Form 15).
Submit the form with property details
Fill in the deed number if known, or full property description, and specify the search period.
Pay the fee and collect the receipt
Pay the applicable search fee for the number of years requested.
A signed certified copy usually takes a few days to about a week to be issued. Before relying on it, check that the search period covers at least 30 years, and confirm with the office whether pre-computerisation registers (generally before 2006) were manually checked for your requested period.
Section 3 — What Does an Encumbrance Certificate Contain?
An EC lists every registered event tied to a property within the searched period, and reading it correctly matters as much as getting it — this is where a certificate of encumbrance on property earns its name, by showing exactly what's attached to the title.
Field | What it means | What to check |
Search period | The years covered by the certificate | Confirm it's at least 30 years, or covers the property's full history |
Registered transactions list | Every sale, mortgage, gift, or lease found | Check for any mortgage or charge without a matching "discharge" or "release" entry |
Deed numbers and dates | References for each transaction found | Cross-check against the seller's sale deed and any loan paperwork you've seen |
Nil encumbrance statement | States no transactions were found in the period | Confirm this reflects a genuine search, not a gap due to unavailable older records |
Issuing SRO and signature | Confirms which office issued the certificate | Should match the office where the property is actually registered |
Good sign: A trustworthy EC covers a search period of 30 years or more, lists every transaction with matching deed numbers you can independently verify, shows any past mortgage as clearly discharged, and is signed and issued by the correct Sub-Registrar office for that property.
If you're selling property online, having a clean, well-documented EC ready before you list gives buyers confidence upfront and can shorten the negotiation and due-diligence stage considerably.
Section 4 — Common Issues & How to Fix Them
EC shows "nil encumbrance" but the property is older than the online records — Bihar's digitisation covers records from a specific year onward. Fix: explicitly ask the SRO to manually search pre-computerisation registers for the same period.
Old mortgage not showing as discharged — the original loan was repaid but the discharge deed was never registered. Fix: ask the seller for proof of loan closure and get a discharge deed registered before completing the purchase.
Informal or private loans against the land — common in rural Bihar, these are never registered with the Sub-Registrar and won't appear on any EC. Fix: separately ask the seller and neighbours/local revenue officials about any known informal charges.
EC delayed at the SRO — a backlog in manual verification. Fix: follow up in person with the application receipt number, or request the online version as an interim reference.
Property details don't match between the EC and Jamabandi — differing khata/plot references across departments. Fix: get the mismatch corrected through Parimarjan before relying on either record alone.
Certificate issued from the wrong Sub-Registrar office — property was registered elsewhere. Fix: confirm the correct SRO from the original sale deed before requesting the EC again.
Section 5 — Recent Changes in 2026
No major changes have been reported as of August 2026.
Section 6 — Why an Encumbrance Certificate Matters for Land Buyers
Confirms the property isn't carrying an undischarged mortgage or loan you'd unknowingly inherit
Almost always required by banks before sanctioning a home loan or loan against property
Protects against buying land that's under a legal dispute or court attachment
Gives a documented transaction history that supports your own resale later
Helps confirm the seller named in the sale deed is consistent with the property's full registered history
Reduces reliance on the seller's word alone when it comes to the property's financial and legal cleanliness
Section 7 — Encumbrance Certificate vs. Jamabandi (Khatauni)
These two are often confused because both relate to a property's official standing, but they answer different questions.
Document | What it answers | Issued by | Key limitation in Bihar |
Encumbrance Certificate | What registered transactions exist on this property? | Registration Department (Sub-Registrar) | Only covers IGRS-registered events, not revenue-side disputes |
Jamabandi / Khatauni | Who currently holds the land, and what's its revenue status? | Revenue and Land Reforms Department | Doesn't show mortgages or legal charges registered elsewhere |
Neither document alone tells the full story — a clean EC with a disputed Jamabandi, or vice versa, both leave real risk. If you're selling property online, listing both a current EC and Khatauni on real estate websites signals to serious buyers browsing plots for sale that the title has actually been checked, not just assumed clean.
Section 8 — Related Documents
Title Deed Bihar
Khasra & Khatauni Bihar Land Records
Dakhil Kharij (Mutation) Bihar
Lagaan Receipt Bihar
Legal Heir Certificate Bihar
