Glossary · Legal
What is Succession certificate?
Also called: Varasat praman patra, Uttaradhikar praman patra
A succession certificate is a civil court certificate under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 letting heirs collect a deceased person’s debts and securities, such as deposits and shares.
Heirs apply to the district civil court where the deceased lived, listing the debts and securities (fixed deposits, shares, bonds, money owed to the deceased). The court publishes a notice, waits for objections, and then grants a certificate naming who may collect them. A court fee is charged as a percentage of the amounts covered.
A succession certificate is about movable assets. It is not needed to inherit land and does not, by itself, transfer land — for land, revenue offices usually work from a legal heir certificate, a will or a family tree for mutation.
It is mainly used when there is no will and a bank or company will not release money on a legal heir certificate or indemnity alone.
Why it matters if you live abroad
If a parent left money in Indian banks as well as land, you may need both a succession certificate (for the deposits) and mutation (for the land) — they are separate processes.
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