Document Guide · Goa

How to Check Escrituras Públicas in Goa — Complete Guide 2026

Escrituras Públicas in Goa are the public deeds, including sale deeds, succession deeds, wills, and partitions, drawn by the Special Notary Ex-Officio under the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012. Old escrituras must be certified and translated; missing pages mean a defective title.

Quick Reference

Also calledEscritura, Public Deed, Notarial Deed, Escritura de Compra e Venda (sale), Escritura de Partilha (partition)

Issued byCivil Registrar-cum-Sub Registrar acting as Special Notary Ex-Officio under the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012

Valid forPermanent record; preserved in Special Notary register volumes

CostNotarial Stamp of Rs 30 plus requisite fees for certified copies; full Goa stamp duty applies on registered transfer escrituras (3.5% to 6% slab plus 0.5% registration)

Time takenDrawing and registration on the appointed day; certified copies within 1 week of application under the Registration Department Citizen's Charter

Online portalgoaonline.gov.in (service requests); registration.goa.gov.in (Special Notary procedures) Goa

What is Escrituras Públicas in Goa?

Definition

Escrituras Públicas (Public Deeds) in Goa are the formal notarial instruments drawn by the Special Notary Ex-Officio that record property transfers, successions, wills, partitions, and other personal-law acts. They are governed by the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012 (Goa Act 23 of 2016).

Goa is the only Indian state that runs a parallel notarial system inherited from the Portuguese Civil Code era. Under Section 307A of the 2012 Act, the Civil Registrar-cum-Sub Registrar in each taluka acts as Special Notary Ex-Officio and is the only authority competent to draw a Deed of Declaration of Heirship, Deed of Renunciation, Ante-nuptial Contract, Adoption Deed, and similar Escrituras. Sale Deeds, Gift Deeds, and Partition Deeds for succession purposes are also classified as Escrituras and follow the same Special Notary appointment route.

Pre-1961 Escrituras Públicas drawn during the Portuguese era survive in the original Notary registers (Livros do Notario) and the Conservatoria books. They remain legally binding today and form a critical layer of the title chain for any ancestral Goa property. The full text of these old escrituras is in archaic Portuguese; banks and courts require a court-recognised certified translation before they will accept any reference to them. A missing page in an old escritura, or a single missing transfer escritura between two recorded owners, breaks the chain of title at that point.

State-specific note: Old Escrituras Públicas in Goa are written in Portuguese and survive in original Notary registers. Every page must be certified and translated, because a missing or untranslated page is a title defect that no buyer should overlook.

How to Get Escrituras Públicas in Goa: Step-by-Step

Drawing a fresh escritura requires an appointment with the Special Notary Ex-Officio. Certified copies of existing escrituras are obtained from the same Special Notary office where the original is registered. The goaonline.gov.in portal hosts the service requests.

Online method (recommended)

gov.in Visit [goaonline.gov.in](http://goaonline.gov.in). Complete citizen registration with Aadhaar-linked mobile, OTP verification, and a password. Log in.

Locate the Special Notary service

Under Registration Department services, select the relevant Special Notary service: drawing of will, declaration of heirship, renunciation, sale deed registration, or certified copy of an existing escritura

Have the line of succession verified in advance with all birth certificates, death certificates, and marriage certificates on hand.

Submit the draft and supporting documents Upload the draft escritura prepared by your lawyer along with identity proofs, PAN, marriage certificates, and birth or death certificates of all parties

Pay the prescribed online fee through the secured payment gateway.

Attend the Special Notary appointment The Civil Registrar-cum-Sub Registrar reviews the draft, fixes an appointment, and on that day records the escritura in the official register

Witnesses must remain present until the writing is concluded, the document read, and signatures recorded.

Apply for at least two certified copies on the same day; banks, the Sub-Registrar, and your lawyer each need a separate original.

Offline method (Sub-Registrar Office)

Identify the correct Special Notary office Each of Goa's twelve talukas has a Civil Registrar-cum-Sub Registrar acting as Special Notary Ex-Officio

The escritura must be drawn at the office having jurisdiction over the place where the succession opens or the property lies.

Take advance appointment Submit the draft escritura, birth and death certificates, marriage certificates, and identity proofs for scrutiny

The Special Notary fixes the appointment after verifying the documents and the line of succession.

Execute on the appointed day On the fixed date, all parties, declarants, and witnesses appear

The Special Notary draws the escritura in the official register, reads it aloud, takes signatures, and records the execution in the volume and folio.

Apply for certified copies For certified copies of any registered escritura, apply with a Notarial Stamp of Rs 30 and the requisite fees

Certified copies are issued within one week of application under the Citizen's Charter for the Registration Department.

Original Power of Attorney must now be submitted in office (not certified copies) following the 2024 Amendment Bill; ensure your POA is duly apostilled if executed abroad.

What Does Escrituras Públicas Contain in Goa?

Each escritura carries the formal recital of the act, the parties' identification, the underlying succession or property data, and the Special Notary's authentication.

Field	What it means	What to check
Type of deed	Identifies the act recorded (sale, gift, partition, declaration of heirship, renunciation, ante-nuptial, adoption)	Confirm the type matches the legal act needed for your transaction
Parties and declarants	Names, ages, civil status, and addresses of all executants and declarants	Match each party against their birth certificate, marriage certificate, and identity proof
Line of succession (where applicable)	Records the lineage from the deceased through all heirs	Verify every heir is named with correct dates of birth, marriage, and death
Property description	Boundaries, area, survey number or Artigo, and Chalta where relevant	Reconcile against Form I & XIV, Form D, and the Matriz / Registo Predial
Recital and operative clauses	The legal effect of the deed (transfer, renunciation, partition)	Read alongside the certified Portuguese translation if the deed is pre-1961
Volume, folio, and date of registration	The Special Notary register reference for permanent identification	Match the volume and folio number on every certified copy you receive
Witnesses and Special Notary signature	Ensures the deed is properly executed and authenticated	Verify the Special Notary's seal, signature, and the appointment record

Good sign: A clean Escritura Pública carries continuous numbered pages, the Special Notary's seal on every page, all witnesses signed, the line of succession matching every birth and death certificate, and a court-recognised certified translation if the original is in Portuguese.

Common Issues With Escrituras Públicas in Goa

Escrituras fail in Goa-specific ways tied to the dual Portuguese-Indian legal heritage.

Missing pages in old Escrituras

Pre-1961 escrituras are held in bound Notary registers. Pages can be torn, faded, or missing. A single missing page in a sale escritura between two recorded owners breaks the chain of title, and any descendant of the missing-link owner can later challenge the transfer.

Fix: Apply at the Special Notary office for the complete certified copy of the volume and folio. If pages are physically missing from the original register, only a Court declaration of title can substitute.

Untranslated Portuguese escritura

Banks, the Sub-Registrar, and modern courts will not enforce an escritura they cannot read. Older deeds use 19th-century Portuguese legal terminology that no online translator can render reliably for legal use.

Fix: Engage a court-recognised Portuguese translator. The translation must be notarised and attached to every modern title document referencing the old escritura.

Line of succession not properly verified

Goan succession follows the Portuguese Civil Code, 1867. A Deed of Declaration of Heirship that misses an heir, names the wrong civil status, or skips a generation is void. Sale escrituras drawn on such a defective declaration carry permanent risk of being unwound.

Fix: Verify the lineage in advance with the Civil Registrar's birth, death, and marriage certificates before the Special Notary appointment. Cross-check against any earlier Inventario or partition deed.

Spouse signature missing on transfer escritura

Under the Portuguese Civil Code, married couples in Goa hold all assets in communion. A sale or gift escritura signed by only one spouse is void for the other half. This is the single most common reason transfer escrituras are challenged years later.

Fix: Confirm the marital status of every executant. Both spouses must appear before the Special Notary and sign the escritura in person, except where a registered original Power of Attorney is produced.

Power of Attorney not in original

Following the 2024 Amendment Bill, the Special Notary no longer accepts certified copies of Power of Attorney. The original must be submitted in office for authenticity verification of the record.

Fix: Bring the original POA to the appointment. If executed abroad, ensure it is apostilled and stamped by the competent Collector in Goa under Section 52 of the Act before submission.

Escritura drawn outside territorial jurisdiction

Section 307A of the 2012 Act fixes the territorial jurisdiction of every Special Notary. A Declaration of Heirship drawn by a Special Notary outside the place where the succession opened is procedurally invalid, and registrars can refuse mutation on its basis.

Fix: Confirm the place where the succession opens (last residence or location of the major property of the deceased) and apply only to the Special Notary having jurisdiction over that taluka.

Why Escrituras Públicas Matter for Land Buyers in Goa

Every transfer of Goa property, ancestral or recent, is recorded in an Escritura Pública.

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Records the legal act of transfer or succession The escritura is the formal notarial record of every sale, gift, partition, succession, or renunciation

Without it, the transfer has no public record and cannot be registered with the Sub-Registrar or mutated in Form I & XIV or Form D.

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Goa-specific: missing pages and untranslated text break the title chain The WARNING is the rule

Old Portuguese escrituras must be certified page-by-page and translated by a court-recognised translator. A missing page is not a clerical gap; it is a title defect that no bank or court will overlook.

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Required for home loans and bank legal opinion Banks lending against any Goa property require the full chain of escrituras with certified translations of every Portuguese-era document

Files with broken page sequences or untranslated text are rejected at legal vetting before loan sanction.

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Goa-specific: drawn only by the Special Notary Ex-Officio The Special Notary system is unique to Goa

The Civil Registrar-cum-Sub Registrar acts as Special Notary Ex-Officio under the 2012 Act. Section 307A fixes the jurisdiction; deeds drawn by anyone else, or outside that jurisdiction, are procedurally void.

Red flag: A seller who cannot produce a complete, page-numbered escritura, or who insists "the missing pages don't matter," is hiding a title defect. Treat any missing page or untranslated section as a refusal to sell, not a paperwork issue.

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is Escrituras Públicas in Goa?

Escrituras Públicas in Goa are public deeds drawn by the Special Notary Ex-Officio under the Goa Succession, Special Notaries and Inventory Proceeding Act, 2012. They include sale deeds, declarations of heirship, renunciations, partitions, wills, and ante-nuptial contracts.

Who is authorised to draw an Escritura Pública in Goa?

The Civil Registrar-cum-Sub Registrar acting as Special Notary Ex-Officio under the 2012 Act. Section 307A of the Act fixes the territorial jurisdiction. Deeds drawn outside that jurisdiction or by anyone else are procedurally void.

Do I need a certified Portuguese translation of an Escritura in Goa?

Yes, for any pre-1961 escritura. Banks, the Sub-Registrar, and modern courts require a court-recognised certified translation. Untranslated archaic Portuguese will not be accepted, and missing or untranslated pages are treated as title defects.

What happens if pages are missing from an old Escritura in Goa?

A missing page breaks the chain of title at that point. Apply at the Special Notary for a complete certified copy of the volume folio. If pages are physically missing from the register, only a Court declaration of title can substitute.

How much does a certified copy of an Escritura cost in Goa?

A Notarial Stamp of Rs 30 on the application plus the requisite fees prescribed by the Registration Department. Certified copies are issued within one week of application under the Goa Registration Department Citizen's Charter.

Can a Power of Attorney be used to sign an Escritura in Goa?

Yes, but following the 2024 Amendment, the original Power of Attorney must be submitted in office. Certified copies are no longer accepted. If executed abroad, the POA must be apostilled and stamped by the competent Collector in Goa.

What types of deeds are classified as Escrituras Públicas in Goa?

Sale deeds, gift deeds, partition deeds, declarations of heirship, renunciations of inheritance, wills, ante-nuptial contracts, adoption deeds, and other notarial acts the Special Notary is authorised to draw under the 2012 Act.

Where do I find old Escrituras Públicas drawn during the Portuguese era?

They survive in the original Notary registers (Livros do Notario) and the Conservatoria books, now held by the Civil Registrar-cum-Sub Registrar of the relevant taluka. Apply for a certified copy of the specific volume and folio reference.

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