The Complete Andhra Pradesh Land Document Glossary: 20 Terms Every Farm Plot Buyer Should Know in 2026

Quick Answer

Andhra Pradesh runs a layered land records system rooted in the^[1], and modernised through the Meebhoomi portal launched by the AP Revenue Department in 2015. AP was the first state in India to assign a unique 11-digit Bhudhaar number to every land parcel, the model the Centre later adopted as ULPIN.

This applies especially to farm plots near growth corridors like Lepakshi, Penukonda, and the Bengaluru to Vijayawada Expressway, where managed-farmland communities such as Agrocorp's Central Vista Farms operate on agricultural land along NH44. For institutional buyers, every one of the 20 documents below is verified before a plot is released. For independent purchases, the same diligence falls on the buyer.

TL;DR

• Scope: Buying a farm plot in Andhra Pradesh requires fluency in a state-specific revenue vocabulary covering 20 non-negotiable terms.

• Title documents: Sale Deed, ROR-1B, Pattadar Passbook, Title Deed/Mother Deed, and Patta.

• Identity and mapping records: Survey Number, ULPIN/Bhudhaar, FMB, Village Map, and Khata Number.

• Verification records: Adangal, Mutation, Saadabainama, Encumbrance Certificate, and the Section 22-A Prohibited Property List.

• Transactional terms: Market Value, Stamp Duty, Registration Fee, Transfer Duty, and NALA/Land Conversion.

• Where to access: Every record sits on two government portals,^[2] for revenue records and^[3] for registration records.

• 2025 regulatory updates: The Andhra Pradesh Legislative Assembly^[4], and statewide market values were^[5], so older registration estimates are out of date.

Title and ownership documents (terms 1 to 5)

1. Sale Deed. The Sale Deed is the primary legal document that transfers ownership from seller to buyer, registered at the Sub-Registrar's Office under the^[6]. The seller's name on the deed must match their Aadhaar exactly, since most disputes over AP farm plots originate in name-mismatch errors rather than fraud.

2. ROR-1B (Record of Rights, Form 1B). The ROR-1B is the official title record for agricultural land, listing the Pattadar (legal owner), Khata number, survey details, classification, extent, and any liabilities. It includes the mutation date showing when ownership last changed, which the Adangal does not. Banks rely on it for loans and courts use it for title verification (^[7]).

3. Pattadar Passbook (Electronic Pattadar Passbook). The Pattadar Passbook is the title-cum-passbook issued to the registered landowner. AP has migrated to the Electronic Pattadar Passbook (e-PPB), a digital version with QR code, photograph, and the Tahsildar's digital signature, downloadable through Meebhoomi after Aadhaar OTP verification.

4. Title Deed, Mother Deed, and Link Documents. The Title Deed is the formal proof of ownership. The Mother Deed is the originating title document from which the current ownership chain flows. Link Documents are the unbroken chain of registered deeds tracing the property's history. AP buyers should request the link chain going back at least 30 years, since older family disputes often surface only at this depth.

5. Patta. A Patta is a government-issued document recognising a person as the lawful holder of a piece of land for tax and revenue purposes. Land assigned to landless poor under "DKT Patta" or "LD Patta" carries restrictions and generally cannot be sold to non-eligible buyers. An assigned-land Patta is a hard stop, not a paperwork hurdle.

Land identity and mapping documents (terms 6 to 10)

6. Survey Number. The Survey Number is the unique identifier assigned to every land parcel in a revenue village. Since the Jagananna Saswatha Bhu Hakku resurvey program launched in January 2022, AP has been re-assigning survey numbers, so plots may carry both an "old survey number" and a new resurveyed number (^[8]). A mismatch between the two is a common diligence failure.

7. ULPIN (Bhudhaar). ULPIN is the 14-digit Unique Land Parcel Identification Number issued under the Digital India Land Records Modernisation Programme, administered by the^[9]. AP's parallel 11-digit Bhudhaar was legalised in land documents on 18 February 2019 (^[10]), and AP was the first state to achieve 100% ULPIN coverage.

8. FMB (Field Measurement Book), also called Tippan. The FMB is the official government map showing the precise shape, dimensions, and boundaries of each survey number. It is the document that resolves disputes when fence lines on the ground do not match the records. Buyers should compare physical boundaries against the FMB before paying any advance.

9. Village Map (LP Map). The Village Map is the cadastral plan of an entire revenue village, showing how survey numbers fit together, where roads and water bodies sit, and which adjoining plots border the parcel under purchase. Layout Permission (LP) Maps additionally show approved layouts within the village. Both are downloadable from Meebhoomi.

10. Khata Number (Account Number). The Khata or Account Number is the Pattadar's unique account number under which all their land holdings in a village are aggregated. It stays constant across multiple survey numbers held by the same person and is used for tax assessment, subsidy delivery, and PM-Kisan eligibility.

Cultivation, use, and verification records (terms 11 to 15)

11. Adangal (Pahani). The Adangal, also called Pahani, is the village-level revenue register maintained by the Village Revenue Officer. It records the current cultivator, soil type (wet or dry), crop pattern, water source, area, and liabilities (^[11]). The Adangal shows how land is currently used; it does not by itself prove ownership. ROR-1B and Adangal must always be checked together.

12. Mutation. Mutation is the administrative process of updating land records to reflect a new owner after sale, gift, or inheritance. The buyer applies to the Tahsildar in^[12] within 90 days of registration (^[13]). Without mutation, the new buyer's name will not appear in the ROR-1B even after a registered sale.

13. Saadabainama. A Saadabainama is an unregistered or "white paper" sale agreement, common in rural AP for past informal transfers. It carries limited legal weight under the Indian Registration Act, 1908, and creates significant title risk if it appears anywhere in the ownership chain. Any farm plot with one in its history requires specialist legal review before purchase.

14. Encumbrance Certificate (EC). The Encumbrance Certificate, issued by the Sub-Registrar's Office, lists every registered transaction on a property over a chosen period. AP buyers should request a 30-year EC rather than the standard 13-year version, since older family disputes and bank liens can resurface decades later. The EC is downloadable from the^[14].

15. Section 22-A Prohibited Property List.^[15] lists categories of land that cannot legally be registered, including assigned lands, government lands, endowment lands, lands under court attachment, and lands under the AP Land Reforms (Ceiling on Agricultural Holdings) Act, 1973. Buyers must verify their survey number against this list before paying any token amount.

Transactional and regulatory terms (terms 16 to 20)

16. Market Value (Guideline Value). Market Value is the government-notified minimum rate per unit area for property registration, fixed by the AP Registration and Stamps Department. Stamp duty is calculated on the higher of actual transaction value or Market Value. The state revised market values across 16,997 villages and 9,054 wards effective 1 February 2025.

17. Stamp Duty. Stamp duty in AP is 5% of the higher of market value or transaction value for sale deeds. Slab variations apply, with 6% on properties between ₹50 lakh and ₹1 crore and 7% above ₹1 crore (^[16]).

18. Registration Fee. The Registration Fee is 1% of the property's market value, paid at the Sub-Registrar's Office at the time of executing the sale deed (^[17]). It is a separate line item from stamp duty.

19. Transfer Duty. Transfer Duty is an additional 1.5% levy applicable to property transfers in AP. Combined with stamp duty and registration fee, the all-in registration cost of a standard sale deed is approximately 7.5% of the property's market value (^[18]).

20. NALA / Land Conversion (post-2025 repeal). The AP Non-Agricultural Lands Assessment (NALA) Act, 1963, and the AP Agricultural Land (Conversion for Non-Agricultural Purposes) Act, 2006, historically governed conversion of agricultural land to non-agricultural use. The AP Legislative Assembly unanimously repealed these frameworks through the^[19] (^[20]). Conversion is now self-declaratory upon payment of External Development Charges.

The diligence workflow that produces a clean farm-plot purchase

A clean farm-plot purchase in AP requires four cross-checks, in order. The Sale Deed must match the ROR-1B on owner name, survey number, and extent. The ROR-1B must match the Adangal on cultivator, soil type, and current possession. The FMB must match physical boundaries on the ground. The Encumbrance Certificate must be cross-checked against the Section 22-A Prohibited Property List. After registration, mutation must be filed within 90 days.

Premium managed-farmland developers such as Agrocorp complete this entire verification cycle institutionally before plots are released, which is how Agrocorp has maintained a zero-litigation track record across more than 1,200 acres transacted since 2012. Central Vista Farms, the company's NH44 community along the Bengaluru to Vijayawada corridor, is built on plots that have cleared this 20-document framework. For independent purchases, the same checks must be done by the buyer's own property advocate.

Frequently Asked Questions