CMDA approvals, violations and sealed buildings
Type a name, a file or permit number, or a village, and pick the CMDA register. You get each matching record with its file and permit numbers, the owner or applicant, the site address and what the authority did, so a building or a builder can be checked before you pay.
Sign in with your phone to run it. You see the price and approve it before anything runs.
- Every CMDA register behind one search box
- File and permit numbers you can quote to the authority
- Nothing found is not charged
1 creditper run, charged only when a record comes back
What we need
One thing at a time. Fill it in and press Run.
The answer
From the register, with its date and source.
Nothing run yet. The answer appears here with everything this mini adds:
- Every CMDA register behind one search box
- File and permit numbers you can quote to the authority
- Nothing found is not charged
The CMDA registers, briefly
The Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority is the planning authority for the Chennai Metropolitan Area. It grants planning permission, issues completion certificates and acts against buildings put up in breach of the plan.
- Registers
- 8 in one box
Planning permissions, violations, locked and sealed buildings, sealing notices, completion certificates, registered developers, registered professionals and government orders.
- Red flags
- Violation or seal
A building on the violation list, or one locked and sealed, is a warning sign for anyone buying a flat or a shop in it.
- Where it applies
- Chennai Metropolitan Area
CMDA acts only inside the metropolitan area. Outside it, approvals come from DTCP and the local bodies.
How to check a building or builder with CMDA
- 1
Pick the register
Planning permission for an approval, violation or locked and sealed for trouble, completion certificate for a finished building, developer or professional for who you are dealing with.
- 2
Type what you have
A file number such as C4/1950/1991, a permit number, a name, or the village or street.
- 3
Read the records
Each row carries the numbers you can quote to CMDA, and the answer says how many records matched in all.
Which approval search to use
Approvals are kept in different registers depending on who sanctioned them and when. Pick the one that holds your building.
| CMDA registers | CMDA file registers | Planning permission approvals | Approvals on a survey number | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Covers | Permissions, violations, seals, completion, developers, professionals | Ordinary buildings, layouts, special buildings and other file series | DTCP, town panchayat and rural panchayat permits | Approvals matched to a survey number |
| Area | Chennai Metropolitan Area | Chennai Metropolitan Area | Tamil Nadu outside CMDA | Tamil Nadu |
| Search by | Name, file, permit number or village | File or approval number, applicant, street, year | Application or approval number, district, village, year | Survey number and place |
When it helps with land
Before buying a flat
Search the building's address on the violation and locked and sealed registers, and look for its completion certificate.
Checking a builder
See whether the developer is registered with CMDA and whether the registration is still in force.
Hiring an architect or engineer
The professional register shows the licence and its validity, so an expired licence shows up before you sign.
A record here shows what CMDA published, not who owns the land or whether the building matches its plan today. Ask for the approved plan and the completion certificate, and check the title in the revenue and registration records.
Questions people ask
How do I check if a building is CMDA approved?
Pick the planning permission register and search the file or permit number, the applicant's name or the street. If the building was approved under an older file series (an ordinary building or a special building file), search the CMDA file registers mini as well.
Which register should I search?
Planning permission for an approval, violation and locked or sealed for trouble, sealing notice for a notice served, completion certificate for a finished building, and developer or professional to check who you are dealing with.
How do I find a CMDA completion certificate?
Pick the completion certificate register and search the building's address, the applicant or the permit number. A completion certificate shows CMDA accepted the building as finished to its plan.
Is my architect or engineer registered with CMDA?
Search the professional register by name or registration number. The answer shows the licence validity, so check it has not expired.
Does it cover places outside Chennai?
No. CMDA acts only in the Chennai Metropolitan Area. For DTCP and panchayat approvals, use the planning permission approvals mini.
Is it charged when nothing matches?
No.