How to Buy Land in Andaman & Nicobar: Complete Property Buyer's Guide 2026

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands are 572 islands in the Bay of Bengal - only about 37 are permanently inhabited. For property buyers, the good news is that any Indian citizen can purchase property here without a residency restriction, which sets it apart from states like Himachal Pradesh or hill UTs. The complexity, however, comes from an extraordinary concentration of overlapping restrictions that apply to practically every parcel of land.

Approximately 86% of the islands are forest-covered. Virtually every habitable part is coastal, meaning CRZ rules apply everywhere. Large swathes are tribal reserves under the 1956 Regulation where any purchase - even by an Indian citizen - is a criminal offence. And before any land transaction can be registered, the Deputy Commissioner must issue a Sale/Gift Permission, a process that takes 45–60 days and cannot be bypassed.

Unlike any other state or Union Territory in this guide, Andaman & Nicobar requires a formal Sale/Mortgage/Gift Permission from the Deputy Commissioner before any property transaction can be registered. The Sub-Registrar will simply not accept a sale deed without this permission as a supporting document. It is not a formality - it involves multi-department review, a site inspection, and typically 45–60 days to complete.

Documents required to apply for DC Sale/Gift Permission:

The 13-step registration process after DC Permission:

Andaman & Nicobar has its own distinctive land records system. Unlike mainland India - which uses Jamabandi, 7/12, Patta, or Khatiyan depending on state - A&N Islands use Form F as the primary Record of Rights document under the 1966 Land Revenue Regulation. Every buyer's first verification step should be to check the Form F on the Dweepbhoomi portal.

These three restrictions - forest land, tribal reserves, and CRZ - individually each make large portions of the islands unavailable for private purchase. They overlap in many areas. Understanding all three before selecting any property is non-negotiable.

A. Forest Land - 86% Coverage

Andaman & Nicobar is approximately 86% forest-covered - one of the highest proportions in India. Reserved Forests and Protected Forests cannot be privately owned or purchased. Any transaction on classified forest land is void. Forest land can only be de-reserved by the Central Government - an extremely lengthy process requiring MoEFCC approval.

B. Tribal Reserves - Absolute Prohibition for Everyone

The Andaman and Nicobar Islands (Protection of Aboriginal Tribes) Regulation, 1956 protects six indigenous tribes: Great Andamanese, Jarawa, Onge, Sentinelese, Nicobarese, and Shompen. This regulation is one of the strongest tribal land protection laws in India - it applies to Indian citizens and foreign nationals equally.

C. CRZ - The Most Extreme Coastal Restriction in India

Because virtually every habitable part of the islands is coastal, CRZ Notification 2019 applies with full force across most of A&N's buildable land. CRZ-IVA and CRZ-IVB categories apply specifically to A&N Islands as island territory.

Stamp duty is calculated on the higher of: the circle rate (government reference value) OR the actual transaction/market value. Circle rates in A&N are published by the A&N Administration. The online registration portal at onlineregistrationani.gov.in calculates stamp duty automatically - use this as a preliminary guide but confirm the final figure with the Sub-Registrar before payment.

Building permissions in Andaman & Nicobar are issued by the Town & Country Planning (TCP) Unit of Andaman Public Works Department (APWD). For plots up to 500 sq m and layouts not exceeding 8 plots, planning permission and building plan approval is delegated to local bodies - Port Blair Municipal Council (PBMC) and Gram Panchayats. Larger developments go to TCP/APWD directly.

Mandatory clearances BEFORE building plan approval:

TNRERA for builder projects: Andaman & Nicobar is uniquely governed by Tamil Nadu RERA (TNRERA) - not a separate A&N RERA. All projects with land area > 500 sq m or 8+ apartments must be registered on tnrera.in. Developers cannot take more than 10% advance before RERA registration. Verify any builder project on tnrera.in before booking.

The Nicobar Islands are technically part of the same Union Territory as the Andamans and are theoretically accessible to Indian citizens - but in practice, they function as a completely separate and heavily restricted territory. Most of the Nicobar Islands are tribal reserves governed by the Nicobarese (officially protected tribe) and the Shompen (a particularly vulnerable isolated tribe in Great Nicobar who have been accorded the highest level of protection under Indian law).

A safe property in Andaman requires all of the following to be true simultaneously. These are not optional checks - each one is a mandatory clearance in the DC Permission process itself.

No price discount justifies proceeding when any of these are present. In Andaman, many of these red flags represent not just a legal risk but a criminal offence.

You will need the survey number, village or locality name, and holder name to verify land records. Obtain these from the seller before any site visit or payment.