A survey reference is often split across two labelled fields, rather than printed as one number with a slash. The patta and A-Register specimens below show 181 and 5A2 separately; the A-Register also retains an older reference. Start by copying the labelled fields and their location details, then use a map lookup when the documents do not identify the land clearly.
On a patta: read the two columns together
The parcel table begins with புல எண் (survey number) and உட்பிரிவு (subdivision). Patta 2147 is a separate holding number above the table.
The example is Ayyappan Thangal revenue village, Kundrathur taluk, Kancheepuram district. Reading 181 and 5A2 together gives 181/5A2. Preserve that suffix; using the base number alone changes the description you are asking the source to search.
The patta guide explains the rest of this row. A door number, a postal locality and a patta number do not substitute for these survey fields.
On an A-Register: distinguish current from old
Fields 1–3 separate the survey, current subdivision and old survey/subdivision reference; field 14 gives patta 2147.
This A-Register is for the same parcel as the patta above. Field 1 is 181, field 2 is 5A2, and field 3, labelled as the old reference, is 181-5A. The document does not tell you to replace the current subdivision with the older one. Record both with their labels when comparing an older deed with the current extract.
Check the property schedule in your sale deed or other acquisition document. If it uses an older reference, ask the revenue or survey office to establish the correspondence. Do not guess a new suffix from the sequence on neighbouring plots.
On an FMB or EC: keep the header’s place
The FMB specimen has Survey No: 30/1A1 in its header, for Chettipatti, Kulathur, Pudukkottai. The central drawing is labelled 1A1. The header supplies the base number and the location that a label in the outline alone does not carry.
The EC specimen is for Ponmar and prints Survey Details: 14/1B. Its registration offices and dates belong to the registration system. That specimen is not for Ayyappan Thangal or Chettipatti. A matching numeral on two documents without matching place and context is not a parcel match.
On a TSLR: use town, ward and block
The urban specimen puts the current Sur. Field and Sub Div. under Survey Number. O.Sur No and Letter is a separate older reference.
The specimen identifies Chennai district, Madhavaram taluk and town, 50 Madhavaram (Ward: A) and Block 0030. Its current Sur. Field is 15, Sub Div. is 7, and O.Sur No and Letter is 182/PT. Enter the current town-survey fields into a TSLR lookup; the old survey value is not the current T.S. number.
The Survey and Settlement Department’s rural-to-urban correlation service can help trace a rural reference into town-survey records. Its form asks for location and survey details. A city address alone does not establish that correspondence.
Enter the reference without losing part of it
View Patta’s form separates survey and subdivision. If you type a combined value such as 102/1, the form separates it into survey 102 and subdivision 1 when you finish the field. Check the displayed subdivision before submitting; a value that is not in the source list needs attention rather than an invented replacement.
An explicit 0 can be a real subdivision identifier. This is supported by the form’s behaviour, not by the Madhavaram specimen, which shows 7. For a sketch, leaving the optional subdivision blank requests the whole survey. For a register lookup requiring a subdivision, use the value the source or your current document supplies. Blank and 0 are different requests.
If you have a location but no readable number
The free Survey Number Finder accepts a map pin, coordinates, a Maps link or a plus code. The result depends on the available government survey data:
| Result | What you can take from it |
|---|---|
| Resolved parcel | Read the returned number, subdivision and location, then compare them with your documents. |
| Village only | The village was identified, but no parcel is drawn at that point. Use a document reference or adjust the pin to the land. |
| Several candidates or a boundary point | Compare the candidates with the documents; the tool has not chosen one exact parcel for you. |
| No match within available coverage | Check the location and seek a document or office reference. No match is not evidence that the land does not exist. |
A source outage is a separate result: the source did not answer, so no parcel conclusion follows. In a town-survey result, an outline may cover a block rather than the exact plot; the card labels that distinction. If ward or block information is incomplete, enter it from your document.
For official field descriptions, see e-Services help and the rural lookup instructions. Keep district, taluk and village with a rural reference, and town, ward and block with a town-survey reference. The map and documents help locate a record; neither a number nor an outline alone establishes ownership or the boundary on the ground.
