Have you ever heard of the Varisu Certificate? If not, here we are explaining the importance of a varisu certificate with a step-by-step guide for obtaining an offline/online varisu certificate to make your application process easy.
Varisu Certificate
The Varisu Certificate is required by the remaining family members of the deceased to legally assert their claim on the deceased’s assets or debts. It defines the relationship between the deceased and the name(s) or legal heir(s) of the family. The Varisu Certificate is also known as the legal heir certificate, which also helps in choosing the right replacement of the deceased.
Importance of the Varisu Certificate
Upon the death of the registered property owner, a Varisu certificate serves as an important legal document required by the deceased’s family member (spouse, children, or parents) to prove that they are the rightful heir in order to be entitled to the deceased person’s assets or properties. There have been cases involving erroneous property claims where the varisu certificate played a pivotal role. This certificate is issued by the government after conducting a thorough inquiry into the eligible heir(s)
Here's how the Varisu certificate helps you:
- Transfer the deceased's movable or immovable properties and assets.
- Identify the rightful owners upon death.
- Make claims for the provident fund, insurance policy benefits, and gratuities.
- Get approval for a family pension
- Obtain employment on compassionate grounds
- Purchase an ancestor's property or transferring the deceased's property
- Transfer investments or deposits
- Receive salary arrears
- Transfer of utilities
Varisu Certificate vs. Surviving Certificate
It is observed that many times, people get confused between a varisu/legal heir certificate and surviving certificate, which are ideally two different documents used for two different purposes. Yes, despite having similarities, both certificates cannot be used interchangeably.
A surviving certificate is a document issued by the government to confirm the legitimate heirs of a deceased person. This document enables you to claim the deceased person's debts and assets from banks, insurance companies, and other financial organisations, whereas a varisu certificate is an official government document that establishes the relationship between the decedent and the legal heirs. This document is required to transfer the deceased’s assets, such as real estate property, to the rightful heirs.
Both documents can be obtained by the immediate family members, i.e., spouse, children, or parents, by providing the necessary documents to the revenue departments or tehsildars’ office. However, the surviving certificate is valid for only six months and does not grant legal or property ownership rights, whereas the varisu certificate grants legal and property ownership rights with lifetime validity.
Varisu certificate applicants
The Varisu Certificate is the legal heir document that can be applied by immediate family members. The immediate family members include the spouse (wife or husband) of the deceased person, the parents of the deceased person, or the children of the deceased person.
Documents required for the Varisu Certificate
For every legal process, there’s a bunch of documentation, which makes the process even more complicated. Therefore, we have collated a list of documents required for obtaining the Varisu Certificate:
- Applicant’s identity proof (Aadhar card, driving licence, government-issued employee ID, voter ID, etc.)
- Self-undertaking affidavit
- Proof of address (valid identity proofs, electricity bill, telephone or mobile bill, gas bill, bank passbook with name and address printed)
- Certificate of the legal heir of the deceased
- Address proof of the deceased
- Proof of birth of all legal heirs (Certificate of Birth, PAN or passport, school leaving or transfer certificates)
Obtain the Varisu Certificate offline
In order to apply for a varisu certificate offline, you need to follow the below steps:
Step 1: Reach out to the tehsildar office of your district and collect the legal heir certificate application form.
Step 2: Fill out the application form and submit it with all the necessary documents listed in the form.
Step 3: Take the signature of your village administrative officer and seal it in the presence of all heirs.
Step 4: Your application is then sent to the revenue inspector for further verification. If he or she approves your request, your application passes down to the tehsildar.
Step 5: Now, if the Tehsildar approves your request, a token number is issued to you, which authorises you to get your Varisu Certificate offline.
Varisu Certificate: Apply Online
As the offline process is quite time-consuming, the digitalization of India has made the online application process quite easy.
- Log onto the Tamil Nadu government's e-Sevai portal.
- Enter your details and log into the portal. If you have already registered yourself on the portal, you may directly login and access your information.
- Fill up the necessary details and enter your email address, password, and Captcha code to finish the verification process. Now, you can successfully sign up for the portal.
- After clicking on Sign up, you will receive an OTP on your phone. Enter the OTP and then click on the "SERVICE WISE" button and proceed.
- Here, provides all the necessary information, add your CAN number, and search. Now you can download the application form online.
Check Varisu Certificate status online
The best part of going digital is the application process and tracking the status of any request. To check your varisu certificate status online, we have provided below a step-by-step tutorial on how to verify the status of a varisu certificate online.
- Log in to the Tamil Nadu Government's registered e-service portal.
- Next, select Legal heir from the list of services on the left-hand side.
- A pop-up window will show up, and you'll be taken to a different website.
- You may examine the most recent legal heir certificate status in Tamil Nadu by selecting the "Check Status" button there.
Now that you have all the required information about the Varisu certificate, you can go ahead and apply for it yourself without any hassles.
