What it is
Patta is the Tamil Nadu revenue department's record naming the pattadar — the person registered as landholder — against a specific survey number and sub-division within a village. It used to exist as a separate document from chitta, which recorded the land's classification and extent; the two have since been merged into a single combined patta-chitta record.
Why it matters when you buy
Buyers check the patta to confirm the seller's name actually matches the pattadar on record, and that the extent shown lines up with what the sale deed describes. After a purchase, the buyer applies to have the patta transferred into their own name — skipping this step leaves the previous owner as the record-holder even though the sale is complete, which complicates any future transaction or record request.
Where you find it
The combined patta-chitta record can be viewed and printed for a given survey number through eservices.tn.gov.in, Tamil Nadu's e-services portal. The underlying record is still held at the village and taluk revenue offices, and it's the taluk office you approach in person for a patta transfer or for corrections to the name or extent on file.
What it does not prove
A patta names the person the revenue department has on file as landholder. It is not a title deed, and it is not evidence that the seller's ownership is clear — title comes from the registered sale deed and the chain of deeds behind it, and the patta follows that chain, often late and only once someone applies for the transfer. It also says nothing about who is physically on the land, whether the boundaries on the ground match the survey record, or whether the property is mortgaged or under dispute: a patta in the seller's name and an encumbrance certificate showing a subsisting mortgage can both be true at the same time.