How to read a 7/12 extract and Form 7: Maharashtra, Gujarat, Goa, Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diuसातबारा (7/12) उतारा और फॉर्म 7 कैसे पढ़ें

If you are looking at farmland in Maharashtra or Gujarat, the first document a seller hands you is almost always a 7/12 extract, called satbara in Marathi. The name is simply two form numbers put together. In Maharashtra it is Village Form VII, the record of rights, printed with Village Form XII, the register of crops. Gujarat pairs its own Form 7 and Form 12; Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu keep Form I & XIV.

What the document is and who keeps it

The 7/12 is kept village by village. In Maharashtra the village revenue official is the talathi, who works under the tahsildar of the taluka; in Gujarat the equivalent village official is the talati, under the mamlatdar. Both states have computerised the record.

What our source, the Glossary of Revenue Terms published by the Department of Land Resources, says about each:

Where the source gives no label, we have not supplied one. Read the labels on your own copy and confirm them with the talathi or the mamlatdar’s office.

How to read it, part by part

Layouts differ a little between states and between print versions, so read by what each block says rather than by where it sits on the page.

• The heading: village, taluka, district. Check these first. A correct survey number in the wrong village is a different piece of land.
• The survey or gat number, and any sub-division. In Maharashtra this is the bhumapan kramank, often with a pot hissa (sub-division) number after it. In Gujarat it is the sarve nambar. If the seller’s papers and the 7/12 give different numbers, stop and find out why. Our note on survey numbers and khasra numbers explains how these identifiers relate.
• Tenure or occupancy class. Maharashtra records the occupant (bhogvatadar) with a class: Varg 1 is broadly freely transferable, Varg 2 carries restrictions and usually needs permission before transfer. Gujarat extracts commonly carry a tenure entry distinguishing old tenure from new tenure, and new-tenure land carries restrictions of its own. Whatever the wording, a restricted class means the sale may need sanction first.
• The holder, and the khata number. The names of the occupants, with the account (khata) number under which the land is held. Beside each name there is usually a mutation entry number. That number is your route to how the name got there.
• Area and uncultivable area. Area is recorded in hectares and ares. Maharashtra extracts show pot kharab, the part of the plot that cannot be cultivated, separately.
• Assessment. The land revenue assessed on the plot. It tells you nothing about market value.
• Tenant and other rights. A tenant’s name, and a block for other rights and encumbrances: bank charges, loans against the land, government dues, restrictions, rights of way. An entry here is a claim someone else has on the land. Read every line.
• The crop part (Form XII / Form 12). Year, season, crop, area under each crop, and whether it is irrigated and by what source. It is where you notice that a plot sold as "irrigated" has been recorded as rain-fed for years.

Goa and Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu. Form I & XIV follows the same idea: one part records the rights in a survey number, the other records cultivation. Goa records area in hectares, ares and centiares, where one are is 100 square metres. Our source does not give the column-by-column layout for these forms, so we have not described one; ask the village office if a column is unclear.

What it does not prove

The 7/12 is a revenue record. It exists so that the state knows whose name a holding stands in, what it is classified as and what is grown on it. Indian courts have long treated entries of this kind as records kept for fiscal purposes rather than as documents of title. A name on the extract is strong evidence of who the revenue office recognises today; it is not, on its own, proof that the person can give you clean title.

Before you rely on it, put these next to it:

• Mutation history. Ask for the mutation entries that brought the land to the present holder, and read each one. A name that appears without a mutation behind it is a question, not an answer.
• Encumbrance certificate. Obtain it from the sub-registrar for a long enough period to cover the chain of sales. Mortgages and agreements registered with the sub-registrar do not always reach the revenue record.
• Registered deeds. The sale deeds, partition deeds, gift deeds or settlement deeds that make up the chain of title. The revenue record should follow these, not the other way round.
• The village map. The 7/12 gives an area, not boundaries. Match the survey number on the map and on the ground.

Our guide to land fraud red flags lists the patterns that show up when a revenue extract and the deeds do not agree.

Where to get a copy

These are the portal addresses the Department of Land Resources itself lists. Type them into your browser rather than following a link from a message or an advertisement.

• Maharashtra: mahabhumi.gov.in
• Gujarat: anyror.gujarat.gov.in — the source notes that AnyROR is the public window onto the E-Dhara system, not the system itself
• Goa: dslr.goa.gov.in
• Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu: sugam.dddgov.in

For a transaction, ask whether a signed or digitally signed copy is needed. Portals change; our verify land records page is kept up to date.

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Common questions

What is the 7/12 extract in Maharashtra?

It is Village Form VII, the record of rights for a survey or gat number, printed together with Village Form XII, the crop register. The Glossary of Revenue Terms names the record itself as Village Form 7, with 14 fields, kept in Marathi.

Is the 7/12 extract proof of ownership?

No. It is a revenue record that shows whose name the land stands in and what is grown on it. Title comes from the chain of registered deeds, and the 7/12 should follow those deeds. Read it alongside the mutation entries, an encumbrance certificate and the deeds themselves.

What is Form 7 in Gujarat, and is it the same as 8-A?

Form 7 is the record of rights for a survey number, usually printed with Form 12, the crop record, which is why it is also called 7/12 in Gujarat. 8-A is a different extract: an account that lists the land held under one khata. Our source gives Form 7 as the record, with 17 fields, in Gujarati.

What is the equivalent of the 7/12 in Goa?

Goa keeps Form I and XIV. The Glossary of Revenue Terms gives it 24 fields, kept in Konkani, with the plot recorded as Survey Number and the holder account as Khata Kramank.

Related guides on AgriZameen

• How to read land documents — the full series
• Land records by state — what each state calls its record
• Verify land records — the official portals, state by state
• Khasra, survey number and plot number: the difference
• Maharashtra state page
• Gujarat state page
• Goa state page
• Legal help — when to bring in an advocate