Legal heir or succession certificate?

By Parish Rao · 30 August 2026 · 5 minute read

Families are sent back and forth between offices because they applied for the wrong one. The names sound interchangeable and the difference is rarely explained, so here it is plainly.

Legal heir certificate

This establishes who the surviving family members are. It is issued by the local revenue or municipal authority, and it is comparatively quick and inexpensive.

It is used for the everyday consequences of a death. Transferring a utility connection, claiming employment benefits or gratuity, updating records, and often as a supporting document for property mutation.

What it is not is a determination of who owns what. It says who the family is, not how the estate divides.

Succession certificate

This comes from a civil court, and it is a bigger exercise. It authorises the holder to collect debts and to deal with the movable assets of someone who died without a will.

Banks, companies and financial institutions ask for it before releasing deposits, shares or balances to heirs. It takes longer, involves court fees and usually needs a lawyer.

Note the emphasis on movable assets. For immovable property, families are frequently directed elsewhere.

And where probate fits

Probate is a third thing, and it applies where there is a will. The court confirms the will is genuine so the executor can act on it.

Which of the three you need depends on whether there is a will, what kind of assets are involved, and where the property is. Our post on whether you actually need probate covers the cities and communities where it is compulsory rather than optional.

A rough way to orient yourself

• There is a will, and property in a probate city. Probate.
• No will, and bank accounts or shares to release. Succession certificate.
• No will, and you need to prove who the heirs are for records and mutation. Legal heir certificate.
• Property to transfer between heirs. Usually mutation, supported by whichever of the above applies.

Confirm with a lawyer. Requirements differ between states and the offices themselves are not always consistent.

Why valuation keeps appearing

Court based routes carry fees calculated on the value of what is being claimed. That makes the valuation a financial decision rather than paperwork, exactly as it is with probate.

Meanwhile any deed the family signs to divide or release property states a value, and stamp duty follows that figure. Understate it and the duty can be reopened later with penalty.

So whichever route you take, you will be asked what the property is worth. Having an evidenced answer ready is faster and cheaper than improvising one under pressure.

What we can do

One inspection, then whichever certificates the route requires, including past dates. We work alongside your lawyer rather than duplicating them. Read about inherited property valuation, or tell us what stage you are at.