Key points
- First establish how the property passed: under a will, or under the personal law that applies when there is no will.
- Probate is compulsory only for certain wills, mainly those made in or concerning property in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai; elsewhere buyers may still ask for it.
- A succession certificate is for debts and securities; for land and buildings, heirs usually rely on a legal heir certificate, the will or probate, and mutation.
- Every heir must sign the sale deed or first give up their share by a registered release or relinquishment deed.
- Inheriting is not taxed, but the sale is; the previous owner's cost and holding period carry over to the heirs.
The short answer
To sell a property you inherited, you need to show three things to a buyer and the buyer's lawyer: that the previous owner had good title; that you and any co-heirs are the people entitled to it, under a will or under the law of succession; and that the public records, such as the municipal tax record, the land record or the society's register, now show you. Then every person who owns a share must either sign the sale deed or have given up their share in writing before the sale.
The documents differ by state, by religion and by whether there was a will. The usual set is the death certificate, a legal heir certificate or equivalent, the will and, where required, probate, the mutation record in the heirs' names, and any release or settlement deeds among the heirs. This is general information, not legal advice. Succession, registration and tenancy rules differ by state and by personal law, and they change. For anything that turns on your own documents, ask a property lawyer in the state where the property is.
Step 1: find out how the property passed
If there was a valid will, the property passes as the will says. A will does not have to be registered to be valid, but a registered will is much harder to challenge. If there was no will, the property passes under the personal law that applies to the deceased. For Hindus, Sikhs, Jains and Buddhists that is the Hindu Succession Act, 1956, under which a man's Class I heirs, including his widow, sons, daughters and mother, take equal shares. Since the 2005 amendment, daughters are coparceners in joint family property in their own right, as the Supreme Court confirmed in Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma (2020). Muslims follow Muslim personal law, and Christians and Parsis the Indian Succession Act, 1925.
Work out the family tree, list every person entitled to a share, and note anyone who has died since, because that person's share passes to their own heirs. Missing an heir is the most common reason a sale of inherited property is later challenged.
Step 2: get the documents that prove heirship
Death certificate: from the municipal or panchayat registrar of births and deaths. Get several certified copies.
Legal heir certificate: issued by the state's revenue authorities, usually the tehsildar or taluk office, after an inquiry, and known by different names in different states (in some, a family member or surviving member certificate). It lists the heirs and is accepted for mutation, bank accounts and utilities. It is evidence of who the heirs are, not a final decision on title if there is a dispute.
Succession certificate: this is often misunderstood. Under Part X of the Indian Succession Act, 1925, a civil court grants a succession certificate so that heirs can collect debts and securities, such as bank deposits and shares, of a person who died without a will. It is not the usual document for land or buildings, and buyers do not normally need one for a house sale.
Probate and letters of administration: probate is a court's certification of a will, granted to the executor. Under sections 57 and 213 of the Indian Succession Act, probate is compulsory for wills made by Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs and Jains within the original civil jurisdiction of the High Courts of Bombay, Calcutta and Madras, or concerning immovable property within those limits, which in practice means property in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Elsewhere it is not compulsory by law, but some buyers, lenders and housing societies ask for it when a will is the basis of title. Letters of administration serve a similar purpose where there is no executor.
Step 3: put the records in the heirs' names
Mutation is the change of name in the government's records. For land, apply to the revenue office for the record of rights to be updated (dakhil kharij, ferfar or khata transfer, depending on the state). For a flat or house in a city, apply to the municipal body for the property tax record to be changed. For a flat in a housing society, apply to the society for transfer of the share certificate; for leasehold property allotted by a development authority, apply to the authority for transfer to the heirs.
A nominee in a society's or bank's records is not automatically the owner. Courts have generally treated a nominee as holding for the legal heirs, so the society may record the nominee for its own purposes while the heirs' rights are decided by the will or succession law. Mutation is also not proof of title in itself; it records who pays the tax and is presumed to hold. The mutation guide explains this.
Step 4: agree among the heirs who will sell
If several heirs inherit, all of them own the property together, and a buyer needs every one of them to sign the sale deed. The alternatives are a registered release or relinquishment deed, by which some heirs give up their share in favour of one or more others, or a family settlement or partition deed that divides the property. Each attracts stamp duty and registration fees at the state's rates; several states charge a concessional duty for transfers within the family, so check your state's current schedule.
Minors: a minor's share cannot be sold by a guardian without the court's permission under section 8 of the Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, for Hindu minors; other laws have their own rules. Buyers' lawyers will insist on the court order.
Heirs abroad: an heir living outside India can sign through a power of attorney executed before an Indian consulate, or notarised and apostilled where the country is party to the Hague Convention, and then adjudicated for stamp duty in India within the time the state allows. See the power of attorney guide.
If one heir refuses to sell, the others cannot sell the whole property. They can sell their own undivided shares, which few buyers want, or file a suit for partition; under the Partition Act, 1893 a court can order a sale where division is impractical. That takes time, so negotiation or mediation is usually worth trying first.
Step 5: clear loans and dues
Get an encumbrance certificate for the period since the previous owner bought the property. If there is an outstanding home loan, the lender holds the original title documents and will release them only after the loan is closed; ask the lender what it needs from the heirs, usually the death certificate, proof of heirship and an indemnity. Clear property tax, society maintenance and utility dues, and get no-dues letters.
Step 6: the sale itself
From here the sale follows the usual route: agreement to sell, the buyer's due diligence, payment, and registration of the sale deed at the sub-registrar's office, with all selling heirs present or represented. The buyer's lawyer will want the full chain: the previous owner's purchase deed, the death certificate, the will and probate or the heirship documents, the release or settlement deeds and the mutation record.
TDS: a resident buyer paying ₹50 lakh or more deducts 1 per cent, and the threshold is tested on the whole property, not on each heir's share. The buyer deducts from the amount paid to each seller and files against each seller's PAN, so every heir needs a PAN. If any heir is a non-resident, the buyer must deduct on that heir's share at the non-resident rates.
Step 7: tax on the sale
Inheriting property is not taxed in India. When the heirs sell, each is taxed on his or her share of the capital gain. The cost of acquisition is the previous owner's cost (or the fair market value on 1 April 2001 if the previous owner acquired it before then, capped at the stamp duty value on that date), and the previous owner's holding period is added to the heirs', so the gain is almost always long-term. Each heir can claim the reinvestment exemptions separately. The guide on selling inherited or gifted property has a worked example. This is general information, not tax advice. Tax law, rates and forms change with each Finance Act, and the Income-tax Act, 2025 renumbered most sections from 1 April 2026. Confirm how the rules apply to your own sale with a chartered accountant before you agree a date, sign or file.
Common mistakes
Leaving out an heir, such as a married daughter or the heirs of a sibling who has died.
Treating the society nominee as the sole owner.
Selling a minor's share without the court's permission.
Assuming a succession certificate is needed for a house, or that probate is never needed outside Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai when a buyer or lender asks for it.
Skipping mutation, so the buyer's own mutation is later refused.
Not keeping the previous owner's purchase papers, which decide the tax.
Common questions
Can I sell inherited property without probate?
Yes in most of India, where probate is not compulsory. It is compulsory for certain wills, mainly those made in or concerning immovable property in Mumbai, Kolkata and Chennai. Elsewhere a buyer or lender may still ask for it where a will is the basis of title.
Is a succession certificate needed to sell a house?
Usually not. A succession certificate under the Indian Succession Act, 1925 is for debts and securities. For land and buildings, heirs normally rely on a legal heir certificate, the will or probate, and mutation.
Can one heir sell the whole property?
No. All co-owners must sign the sale deed, or the others must first give up their shares by a registered release or relinquishment deed, or the property must be partitioned.
Do I pay tax when I inherit a property?
No. There is no inheritance tax in India. Tax arises when you sell, on your share of the gain, using the previous owner's cost and holding period.
What if one heir lives abroad?
That heir can sign through a power of attorney executed before an Indian consulate or apostilled abroad, then stamped in India as the state requires. The buyer must deduct TDS on that heir's share at the rates for non-residents.
Sources
- Indian Succession Act, 1925, sections 57 and 213 (when probate is required) and Part X, sections 370 to 372 (succession certificates), indiacode.nic.in; checked 9 October 2026
- Hindu Succession Act, 1956, as amended by the Hindu Succession (Amendment) Act, 2005, section 8 and the Schedule (Class I heirs), indiacode.nic.in; Supreme Court of India, Vineeta Sharma v. Rakesh Sharma, 11 August 2020; checked 9 October 2026
- Hindu Minority and Guardianship Act, 1956, section 8 (court permission to transfer a minor's immovable property); Partition Act, 1893; checked 9 October 2026
- Registration Act, 1908, section 17 (compulsory registration of non-testamentary instruments, including releases and partitions of immovable property); checked 9 October 2026
- State revenue departments' legal heir or family member certificate services (for example through state e-district portals); checked 9 October 2026
- Income-tax Act, 2025, section 73 (cost with reference to inheritance), and Income-tax Act, 1961, section 49, Income Tax Department (incometaxindia.gov.in); checked 9 October 2026
Last checked 2026-10-09.