RERA Registration Check: Step-by-Step Guide

This guide is for developers, buyers and sellers who need to confirm what the official authority publishes about a named project and its promoter. It does not decide whether a project must register, and it is not a title check.

In short

• A RERA check answers one question: what does the competent authority currently publish about this named project and promoter?
• Use the official authority for the project’s state. For Tamil Nadu, start at rera.tn.gov.in.
• Search by registration number, project name, legal promoter entity and location. A name-only match is not enough.
• Save the URL, the retrieval date and every document you rely on. An old update is a question to follow up, not proof of a violation.
• RERA is project-level evidence. Title, encumbrance, survey, possession and planning checks on the parcel stay separate.

Know the legal baseline first

Section 3 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016 prohibits advertising, marketing, booking, selling or offering for sale in a real estate project or part of it without registration, subject to the Act’s exemptions and the applicable state framework.

The central exemption includes projects where the proposed land area does not exceed 500 square metres or the number of apartments does not exceed eight, inclusive of phases. The proviso allows the appropriate government to reduce that threshold. Renovation, repair or redevelopment without marketing, advertising, selling or new allotment is separately addressed. Do not apply the central text without checking the current state rules and project facts.

Step 1: Use the correct authority

Identify the state or union territory where the project is located and use its official RERA authority. For Tamil Nadu, start at rera.tn.gov.in.

Do not use search-engine snippets or third-party directories as final evidence. Save the authority URL and retrieval date.

Step 2: Search four ways, then match the details

Search by registration number, exact project name (with common spelling variants), legal promoter entity and location. A name-only match is not enough. Match these five details: registration number, legal entity, address, district and project description.

If no result appears, record the search method. Absence can reflect spelling, phase, migration, exemption, another jurisdiction or an actual registration issue. It does not establish which explanation is correct.

Step 3: Save the registration evidence

Keep what the authority actually provides, which may include a registration certificate, project detail page, declarations, approvals, plans, professional details, extensions or orders. For each item, capture these seven fields.

Field	Evidence rule
Registration number	Copy exactly from the authority
Project and phase	Do not merge phases silently
Promoter	Preserve the legal entity, not only the brand
Location and land identifiers	Record as declared; verify against parcel records separately
Registration validity or completion field	Note original, revised and order dates where shown
Approvals and documents	Record issuer, reference, validity and conditions
Current authority status	Quote the label with retrieval date

Do not call a document “Form C” unless that is the form actually issued under the applicable state rules and record.

Step 4: Read updates and orders before drawing conclusions

Section 11 requires promoter updates on the authority website for specified project information. Read the state portal’s actual reporting fields and periods. Check extensions, revocations, complaints or other orders the authority shows.

An old update is a follow-up question. Confirm the record and contact the authority or obtain advice before asserting non-compliance, stalled work or financial distress.

Step 5: Check linked approvals with the issuer

When an uploaded planning, environmental, layout or other approval matters, check it with the authority that issued it. Record survey numbers, conditions, validity, approved plans and amendments.

RERA publication does not convert an expired, inapplicable or superseded approval into current parcel permission.

Step 6: Keep parcel due diligence separate

A project record does not replace:

• title and seller/promoter authority review;
• registration or encumbrance search;
• revenue and mutation records;
• cadastral record and physical survey;
• possession and access;
• litigation, acquisition and insolvency searches; or
• planning, environmental and other restrictions applicable to the target parcel.

Use the land due diligence checklist for those workstreams.

Write the result in precise words

Prefer outcomes such as:

• official record matched to the named project and legal promoter on the retrieval date;
• phase or entity mismatch requiring clarification;
• official search completed with no matching record under the documented inputs;
• authority document or order requires further review; or
• portal unavailable or evidence incomplete.

What this means for you

A developer’s land team: Search by registration number and legal entity, not brand name, and keep the retrieval date with each saved document. Treat a phase or entity mismatch as a question to clear before you rely on the record.

A single-plot buyer: Use the official authority, not a directory snippet, and save what you find. The project record does not tell you who owns your plot, so run the title, encumbrance and possession checks separately.

A land owner or seller: A buyer checking your project should search by registration number, legal entity and location. Have the registration number, legal entity name and approvals ready, and keep phases distinct.

What this guide does not prove

It does not decide whether a specific project is required to register, compliant, financially sound, on schedule or safe to buy. It also does not establish land ownership, promoter land bank, competitor strategy or project demand. Those require the applicable state framework and additional evidence.