Non-Encumbrance and Mortgage Certificate for LPC in Arunachal Pradesh

What is a Non-Encumbrance Certificate in Arunachal Pradesh?

A Non-Encumbrance and Mortgage Certificate in Arunachal Pradesh is a certificate issued by the Department of Land Management confirming the mortgage and encumbrance position of a plot held under a Land Possession Certificate (LPC). The state lists it on its official eServices portal under the exact name "Application for Non-Encumbrance and Mortgage certificate for LPC", with the Department of Land Management shown as the line department.

Arunachal Pradesh does not work the way most of India does on this document, and the difference is the single most important thing to understand before you apply. In Telangana, Karnataka or Kerala an Encumbrance Certificate is extracted from a Sub-Registrar's index of registered deeds under the Registration Act 1908. In Arunachal Pradesh the overwhelming majority of land is held by Scheduled Tribe residents under customary and administrative title, recorded through the Land Possession Certificate issued by the district administration. The encumbrance question is therefore answered against the LPC and the land management records, not against a deed index, which is why the Scheduled Tribe certificate and the LPC itself are part of the document set.

Who can apply for this certificate?

Who can apply:

• The holder of a Land Possession Certificate for the plot in question.
• A Scheduled Tribe resident of Arunachal Pradesh holding land in the state, who is asked by a bank to prove the plot is unmortgaged.
• An applicant who needs to lease, mortgage or deal with the plot and must first establish that no charge already exists on it.
• The eServices portal also identifies business persons (G2B) among the beneficiaries of the service and describes the applicant category as institutional, so firms holding land through an LPC route can apply.

Who cannot apply:

• A person with no Land Possession Certificate cannot apply. The LPC in original is the first listed document, and the whole certificate is defined against it; there is nothing to certify without one.
• An applicant who cannot produce a Scheduled Tribe certificate will not meet the listed document requirement, because land holding in most of Arunachal Pradesh is restricted to Scheduled Tribe residents of the state.
• A prospective buyer cannot apply for a certificate on someone else's plot; the LPC holder must apply and hand the certificate over.
• Applications are rejectable. The portal classifies the service as "Regulatory", and states that such services can be denied by the government.
• Land in a different state or land not covered by Arunachal Pradesh's land management records is outside the scope of this service.

What documents do I need?

The Arunachal eServices service description lists exactly five documents, all in original:

1. Land Possession Certificate. The plot document itself.
2. Age proof; either a birth certificate or a matriculation certificate.
3. Sketch map of the plot: showing the plot and its boundaries.
4. Scheduled Tribe certificate.
5. Affidavit on stamp paper, sworn in the format attached to the service on the portal.

Download the affidavit format from the service page itself. A self-drafted affidavit is the commonest reason a land certificate application in Arunachal Pradesh comes back for correction, because the wording the office expects is prescribed.

How to apply for a Non-Encumbrance Certificate in Arunachal Pradesh

Arunachal eServices is built on the ServicePlus framework and follows a standard sequence. These are the steps.

1. Register as a citizen on eservice.arunachal.gov.in using the "Citizen Registration" option. You will need a working mobile number, because the portal notifies the decision of the authority by SMS.
2. Log in and open the service, "Application for Non-Encumbrance and Mortgage certificate for LPC" under the Department of Land Management. The direct service page is eservice.arunachal.gov.in/getServiceDesc.html?serviceId=18840001.
3. Read the service description first. It lists the documents, the applicant category and the fact that the output is a certificate or report. Use the "Check Your Entitlement" feature on the portal if you are unsure whether you qualify.
4. Fill the online form with the applicant details and the full description of the plot — district, circle, village, plot identification and area as they appear on the LPC.
5. Upload the five listed documents, including the affidavit sworn in the attached format and the sketch map of the plot.
6. Submit and save the acknowledgement. The portal generates an application reference number. Write it down; it is what you will quote for tracking and for any follow-up at the Deputy Commissioner's office.
7. Wait for the SMS conveying the decision of the authority, then collect or download the certificate as the office directs.

Can I apply offline instead?

Yes. The eServices portal states that citizens may also apply through a kiosk or in person with a downloaded form. In practice that means:

1. Download the service application form from the eServices service page, or collect it from the district land management establishment.
2. Attach the same five documents.
3. Submit it at the office of the Deputy Commissioner of the district in which the plot lies, or at a Common Service Centre / eServices kiosk that files it into the same portal on your behalf.
4. Collect the acknowledgement with the application reference number.

The offline route puts the same application into the same system. The reference number is issued either way, so insist on getting one.

What does it cost?

The Arunachal eServices service page for this certificate does not publish a fee, and it lists the service level agreement as "NA". Applying on the state portal itself carries no portal charge; where a counter charge or a stamp paper cost applies, it will be the amount the district office or the state's fee notification specifies.

Because no rate is published online, do two things. Ask the district land management establishment or the Deputy Commissioner's office directly what the current charge is, and pay only against a receipt. Do not accept a figure quoted by an agent or a private "certificate service" website. Those are not government charges, and the only unavoidable outside cost in the whole process is the stamp paper for the affidavit.

How do I check the status of my application?

Use the application reference number from the acknowledgement together with the track-status option on eservice.arunachal.gov.in. The portal also pushes an SMS to the registered mobile number when the authority records a decision. If the status has not moved for an unusually long time, take the reference number to the district land management office in person, because the service has no published SLA, an internal follow-up is often the fastest way to move it.

How long is the certificate valid?

No validity period is published for the Arunachal Pradesh Non-Encumbrance and Mortgage Certificate. Like every encumbrance document, it states the position as on the date it was signed and nothing about what happens afterwards. Banks and government departments will normally want a recent certificate, and if a mortgage is created on the plot after issue, the certificate stops reflecting reality and a fresh application is needed. There is no renewal procedure. You simply apply again.

Why do applications get rejected?

• The LPC is not in the applicant's name, or the plot details on the LPC do not match the sketch map.
• The affidavit is not in the prescribed format attached to the service.
• The Scheduled Tribe certificate is missing or is issued to a different person.
• The sketch map does not identify the plot clearly enough to be matched against the land records.
• A mortgage or charge is actually recorded against the plot, in which case the certificate will reflect it rather than being refused.
• The service is regulatory, and the eServices portal states plainly that such services can be denied by the government, so a reasoned refusal is a possible outcome that must be answered on its merits rather than by reapplying unchanged.

Where do I complain or get help?

The Arunachal eServices portal publishes its own support contacts:

• Department of Information Technology helpline: 155250, and serviceplus-arn@nic.in for portal problems.
• National Informatics Centre, Arunachal Pradesh: 0360-2212919, and sio-arn@nic.in, at the Civil Secretariat, Itanagar - 791111.

For the substance of the decision rather than the technology, approach the district land management establishment and then the Deputy Commissioner of the district, quoting the application reference number. The portal also carries user manuals, standard operating procedures, FAQs and a certificate verification tool, which is the correct way for a bank to confirm that a certificate produced to it is genuine.