Stamp duty and registration are not the same thing

People use the two words interchangeably and then discover, usually during a dispute, that they only did one of them. They are separate obligations with separate costs and separate consequences.

What stamp duty does

Stamp duty is a tax on the document. Paying it, before the agreement is signed, is what makes the agreement admissible as evidence. An under-stamped agreement can be refused by a court until the shortfall and a penalty are paid, which is the practical reason to get the figure right rather than round it down.

What registration does

Registration records the tenancy with the state. It creates a public entry showing who holds possession, on what terms, from what date. That is what a court leans on when the term, the rent or the date of possession is contested, and it is why a registered agreement is stronger than a stamped one.

When registration becomes compulsory

Section 17 of the Registration Act, 1908 requires leases from year to year, or for a term exceeding one year, to be registered. Below twelve months it is optional in most states. Maharashtra is the exception: every leave and licence agreement there is to be registered whatever its length, and the responsibility sits with the licensor.

Where notarisation fits

Nowhere, legally speaking. A notary confirms that the people who signed are who they say they are. It creates no public record and adds nothing to the document's standing as evidence of possession. A notarised agreement is not a registered agreement, however official the stamp on it looks.

What registration costs

Usually a flat fee rather than a percentage on short residential agreements, and it varies by state and by whether the property is in a municipal or rural area. The calculator adds the registration fee only where it actually applies to the term you entered.

Reviewed 8 September 2026. Sources and method are set out on the sources page.