Circular No. 2492/CA1/2024, Prior Document Verification, 25 January 2025
The Head of the Tamil Nadu Registration Department issued Circular No. 2492/CA1/2024 on 25 January 2025 to clarify how registration officers must mark and scan an original prior document when it supports multiple registrations. When the available space on the first page has been fully used for verification signatures, officers may use an attached white sheet at the back, but must scan both the original first page and the page carrying the new verification endorsement.
Purpose and scope
Circular No. 2492/CA1/2024, issued by the Head of the Tamil Nadu Registration Department on 25 January 2025, addresses repeated verification endorsements on one original prior document. The issue commonly arises when numerous lease deeds for offices or portions of different floors in a multi-storey building rely on the same original document.
Earlier instructions required registration officers to examine the original prior document, handwrite “VERIFIED” in the left margin of its first page, add the date and signature, and scan that page as the reference document. Repeated registrations could fill the margin with signatures and risk affecting the text already printed on the first page.
Required verification and scanning process
Circular No. 2492/CA1/2024 gives the following instructions when the available blank space in the left margin of the original document’s first page has been fully used:
- The registration officer must avoid writing over any text on the first page.
- A white sheet may be attached as a continuation on the blank reverse side following the first page.
- The officer must write “VERIFIED” and sign on that continuation page.
- The officer must scan both the original document’s first page and the continuation page containing the verification endorsement.
- The original document must then be returned to the concerned party.
- The continuation page containing the officer’s signature must never be scanned by itself while omitting the original first page.
Who is affected
Circular No. 2492/CA1/2024 directly affects Sub-Registrars and other registration officers who verify prior title documents. It is also relevant to owners, lessors, lessees and document presenters when the same original prior document supports many registrations, particularly multiple lease deeds concerning offices in a multi-storey building.
The circular changes where further verification endorsements are placed after the first-page margin is exhausted. It does not remove the requirement to produce the original prior document for verification or to preserve the first page as part of the scanned reference record.
Commencement and supervision
Circular No. 2492/CA1/2024 came into force immediately. Deputy heads of the Registration Department and District Registrars responsible for administration and audit were instructed to check compliance during inspections.
This summary is generated from the source document to help you find what is relevant. The PDF above is authoritative. For advice on your own property, use LandLens One or speak to a qualified professional.
Common questions
Can a registration officer keep adding VERIFIED signatures on the first page?
Only while blank space remains in the left margin and the document text is not affected. Once that space is fully used, the officer must use an attached white continuation sheet at the back.
What pages must be scanned when a white continuation sheet is used?
The original prior document’s first page and the continuation page containing the “VERIFIED” endorsement and signature must both be scanned.
Can the registration office scan only the page carrying the new verification signature?
No. Circular No. 2492/CA1/2024 expressly states that the signed continuation page must not be scanned without the original document’s first page.
Will the original prior document be returned after verification?
Yes. After the required pages are scanned, the original document must be returned to the concerned party.
