Fair Value of Land in Kerala
how to check it, and why it decides what you pay
Fair value is the number the Registration Department will charge duty on whatever you actually paid. It also sets the land conversion fee and the regularisation fee, which makes it worth checking before you agree a price.
The fair value of land Kerala notifies is the minimum per-are value fixed for a survey number by the Registration Department, currently under Gazette notification SRO No. 420/2023 of 25 March 2023. Check it at igr.kerala.gov.in/index.php/fairvalue/view_fairvalue by choosing district, taluk or RDO, village and desom, adding the survey and sub-division number for precision. Stamp duty of 8% and registration fee of 2% are charged on the higher of fair value and the agreed price, and the Section 27A land conversion fee is a percentage of fair value, so an over-stated fair value costs money twice. A wrongly classified survey number can be taken to the RDO for correction.
Reviewed 19 September 2026 by J Group Consultancy, Ernakulam. Government portals, fees and timelines change — confirm the current position before you rely on it.
How to find the fair value of land in Kerala
- 01
Take the description from the deed, not from memory
You need the district, the taluk or RDO, the village and the desom, and ideally the survey and sub-division number. All four location fields are mandatory in the search; the survey number narrows the answer to your specific land rather than a block rate.
- 02
Open the Registration Department fair value search
Go to igr.kerala.gov.in and follow the fair value search, or straight to igr.kerala.gov.in/index.php/fairvalue/view_fairvalue. This is the department’s own database; the many private sites that mirror it are not authoritative.
- 03
Read the rate and the classification together
The result gives a rate per are and the land classification and access category it was fixed under. Both matter: the same village carries very different rates for dry land, garden land and commercial frontage.
- 04
Convert your extent to ares and multiply
Fair value is per are; your deed is in cents. Ares = cents × 0.4047, so 25 cents is 10.12 ares. Multiply the per-are rate by the ares for the total notified value. Use /tools/land-area-converter if the extent is in square feet.
- 05
Compare with the agreed price
Duty is charged on the higher of the two. If the price is below fair value, budget the duty on fair value; stating a lower price in the deed does not reduce the duty and creates a problem of its own.
- 06
Check the gazette if the number looks odd
The department asks users to confirm the website figure against the original notification issued by the RDO or Collector in the official gazette. For a large transaction that check is worth the effort before, not after, registration.
Everything fair value is used to calculate
| Where it is used | How fair value enters | Calculator |
|---|---|---|
| Stamp duty on a sale deed | 8% of the higher of fair value and price | /tools/stamp-duty-calculator-kerala |
| Registration fee | 2% of the same figure | /tools/stamp-duty-calculator-kerala |
| Gift and partition deeds among family | Concessional rates, still on fair value | /tools/stamp-duty-calculator-kerala |
| Land conversion fee, Section 27A | 10% of fair value above 25 cents to 1 acre; 20% above 1 acre, on the whole extent | /tools/land-conversion-fee-calculator |
| Pattayam regularisation, 2025 Rules | Up to 50% of fair value for resorts, quarries and other non-permitted uses | /services/real-estate/pattayam-regularisation |
| Land acquisition compensation | One input into market value under the 2013 Act, alongside registered sale prices | /services/real-estate/land-acquisition-compensation |
This is why a fair value fixed under the wrong classification is expensive: it inflates the duty at purchase and the conversion fee afterwards.
Two numbers that are not the same
- Fair value is a floor, not a valuation. It exists so that transactions are not registered at token prices. It is not evidence of what your land is worth.
- Market price is usually higher near demand. Around Kochi, along the Vizhinjam belt and near the corridor nodes, asking prices run well above notified fair value. Duty then follows the price.
- Sometimes fair value is higher. Land with no road access, or a survey number mis-classified as commercial, can carry a notified value above anything a buyer would pay — and the duty is charged on it anyway.
- Banks use neither on its own. A lender values the property itself for the loan-to-value calculation and treats fair value only as the registration benchmark.
- Compensation is a third calculation. Acquisition compensation under the 2013 Act starts from registered sale prices and the state multiplier, not from fair value alone.
- Never understate the price to save duty. The saving is small, the duty is charged on fair value anyway when it is higher, and an understated consideration weakens your own position on any later capital-gains or title question.
When the notified fair value is wrong
Wrong classification
Dry land recorded in a commercial category, or garden land valued as house plots. The classification drives the rate, so this is the commonest and costliest error.
Road access assumed
Rates step up with frontage on a notified road. A landlocked plot rated as though it fronts the road pays duty on that assumption.
Block rate applied to an odd parcel
Where no survey-number rate exists, a block rate can be applied to land quite unlike the block. Adding the survey and sub-division number to the search shows whether this is what is happening.
Not yet revised after a change
Notifications between general revisions update individual survey numbers. The website may lag the gazette in either direction.
How the correction is made
Application to the Revenue Divisional Officer with evidence of the actual classification, access and use. It is a revenue proceeding, not a registration one.
Do it before you register
Duty once paid on an inflated figure is not refunded because the value was later corrected. Check early in the transaction.
Questions about fair value of land in Kerala
What is the fair value of land in Kerala?
Fair value is the minimum value the Registration Department notifies for land in a given desom and survey number, expressed per are. It is the floor for stamp duty: a sale registered below it is still charged on the notified figure. It is a tax benchmark set by government order, not a valuation of what your land is worth on the market.
How do I find the fair value of land in Kerala online?
Open the Registration Department fair value search at igr.kerala.gov.in/index.php/fairvalue/view_fairvalue. Choose the district, the taluk or RDO, the village and the desom — these four are mandatory — and add the survey and sub-division number if you have them for a more precise result. The result is a rate per are for that land, with the classification it was fixed under.
Is fair value the same as market value?
No, and the gap runs both ways. In sought-after pockets the market price is well above the notified fair value; on poorly classified or badly accessed land the notified figure can sit above what anyone will pay. Stamp duty is charged on whichever is higher, so an unrealistically high fair value costs the buyer real money at registration.
How does fair value affect stamp duty in Kerala?
Stamp duty of 8% and a registration fee of 2% are charged on the higher of the notified fair value and the consideration in the deed. Work out the total fair value by multiplying the per-are rate by your extent in ares — cents × 0.4047 — and compare it with the price. Our calculator does both at /tools/stamp-duty-calculator-kerala.
Where else does fair value matter besides stamp duty?
The land conversion fee under Section 27A is a percentage of fair value — 10% above 25 cents up to an acre and 20% above an acre, on the whole extent; see /tools/land-conversion-fee-calculator. Regularisation of a building on assigned land is charged at up to 50% of fair value. Land acquisition compensation uses fair value as one input into market value under the 2013 Act.
When was the fair value last revised in Kerala?
The figures the portal shows follow Gazette notification SRO No. 420/2023 of 25 March 2023, which carried a general revision. Individual survey numbers are also revised and corrected between general revisions by RDO and Collector notifications, which is why the department itself asks you to check the gazette notification rather than relying on the website alone.
The fair value shown for my land looks wrong. Can it be corrected?
Yes. Fair value is fixed by classification and road access, and a survey number can be recorded under the wrong category — dry land valued as commercial frontage, or a plot with no road access valued as though it had one. The correction is applied for to the Revenue Divisional Officer with evidence of the actual classification and access. It is worth doing before registration, not after, because the duty follows the notified figure.
Does fair value apply to a gift or partition deed?
Yes. Concessional rates for gifts and partitions among family members are still calculated on the fair value of the property, not on a nominal figure. The rates are at /tools/stamp-duty-calculator-kerala.
Paying duty on a number that looks wrong?
Send us the survey number and the desom. We pull the notified fair value, check the classification it was fixed under, and tell you whether a correction is worth applying for before you register.