An encumbrance certificate (EC) is a list of the registered documents on a property for the years you ask for: sales, mortgages, gifts, leases, releases and similar deeds. In Andhra Pradesh you can search and download it from the IGRS AP portal. Reading it well means checking three things: that the chain of owners makes sense, that every loan has been closed, and that nothing was registered after the seller’s own purchase.
Where do you get an EC in Andhra Pradesh?
The Registration and Stamps Department’s portal, IGRS AP, has an encumbrance search. You can search by document number, or by the property details such as district, sub-registrar office, village and survey or door number. For older years that are not available online, or for a certified copy, you apply at the sub-registrar’s office.
Ask for a long period. Thirty years is common for a purchase. A short EC only proves there is nothing in the short window you chose.
What does each entry show?
Each line of an EC is one registered document. It usually shows:
| Field | What it means | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| Document number and year | The registration reference | You can order a certified copy of any deed using it |
| Date of registration | When it was registered | The order of events makes sense |
| Nature of document | Sale, mortgage, gift, release, lease, partition and so on | Every mortgage has a later release |
| Executant | The person who gave the right (seller, borrower) | Matches the previous owner in the chain |
| Claimant | The person who received it (buyer, lender) | Matches the next owner in the chain |
| Property description | Survey or door number, extent, boundaries | Same property as the one you are buying |
| Consideration | The amount shown in the deed | Large gaps from market value deserve a question |
If no documents were registered in the period, the office can issue a “nil” EC.
How do you read an EC, step by step?
- Line up the owners. Starting from the oldest entry, each claimant should become the next executant. A break means a missing link document.
- Pair every mortgage with a release. A mortgage to a bank followed by nothing means the loan may still be open.
- Look at the seller’s purchase. Any entry after the seller bought the property, such as a sale agreement, a lease or a gift, must be explained.
- Match the extent. If the seller bought 300 square yards and is selling you 400, the numbers do not add up.
- Check the name spellings. Small spelling changes are common. Different people with similar names are not.
What an EC can never tell you
An EC lists registered documents only. These can be missing from it:
- Loans against a deposit of title deeds. A bank can hold the original deeds as security without a registered mortgage. Ask the seller for the original documents, and check the CERSAI registry for registered security interests.
- Unregistered sale agreements and promises made to other buyers.
- Court cases and attachment orders that were never registered.
- Family claims from heirs who were left out of an earlier partition.
- Government restrictions, such as the prohibited property (22A) list, which is a separate search.
So an EC is necessary but never enough on its own.
Red flags on an EC
- A mortgage with no release.
- A sale agreement registered after the seller’s purchase, to someone other than you.
- Two sales of the same survey number to different people.
- A long gap in the chain with no explanation.
- A property description that differs from the deed you were shown.
How Ameya Artha helps
We read the EC together with the title chain, the land records, the approvals and a court case search, then visit the site. You get one written verdict instead of a pile of documents. See the Property & Seller Check