Land Mutation in Bangladesh 2026: Namjari, Mutation Khatian, Fees and Appeals

Land mutation Bangladesh: what namjari does and why it matters in 2026

Land mutation Bangladesh land offices carry out, known locally as namjari or kharij, is the step that moves land out of the seller's or the deceased owner's name and into yours in the government record of rights. Registration transfers title on paper; mutation makes the state recognise it. Until the khatian, the holding and the land development tax account show the new owner, that owner cannot pay tax in their own name, cannot meet the khatian requirement for a resale and remains exposed to a second sale by the person still on the record.

This guide is about the mutation itself. It explains what a mutation khatian is, how to apply through the e-mutation portal at mutation.land.gov.bd, the documents each type of acquisition needs, the official fee of Tk 1,170, realistic timelines, the hearing before the Assistant Commissioner (Land), why applications are rejected, and how to object, seek review, appeal or revise an order in a mutation case. The wider property framework and full land dispute litigation are covered in companion TRW guides, which we link to rather than repeat.

Summary: Mutation is the correction of the record of rights under section 143 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950 after a sale, gift, inheritance, decree or other change of ownership. The application is made online, the Union Land Office reports on the file, the AC Land hears any objection and passes a reasoned order, and the applicant pays the fee and downloads the new mutation khatian and the QR-coded DCR. Official fees total Tk 1,170. An adverse order can be reviewed by the same officer within thirty days, appealed to the Collector within thirty days, and taken further up the revenue hierarchy.

Key point: Mutation records title; it does not create it. But since the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act 2023, a person without the latest operative khatian and proof of up-to-date land development tax cannot sell, gift, transfer, give a power of attorney over or register a deed for the land. An owner who skips mutation has effectively frozen their own asset.

At a glance

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Table of Contents

What a mutation khatian is, and what it is not

A khatian is an entry in the record of rights. It identifies the mouza, the khatian number, the plot (dag) numbers, the area, the share of each holder and the class of land. Bangladesh has several generations of khatian, prepared in successive surveys. Between surveys, the record is kept up to date by mutation, and the khatian produced by that process is the mutation khatian, sometimes called the namjari khatian.

Section 143 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950 is the source of the duty. The Collector must maintain the record of rights "in the prescribed manner" by correcting clerical mistakes and incorporating changes caused by the mutation of names on transfer or inheritance, by subdivision, amalgamation or consolidation of holdings, by new settlement of land and by abatement of rent.[1] In practice the Collector acts through the Assistant Commissioner (Land), who is the Revenue Officer for mutation in each upazila or circle.

The three outputs of a completed mutation

A finished mutation produces three things. The first is the new mutation khatian in the applicant's name. The second is the DCR, the duplicate carbon receipt, which is the official receipt for the mutation fee and is now issued online with a QR code.[12] The Ministry of Land has instructed that a QR-coded online DCR is legally valid and equivalent to a manual one.[6] The third is a land development tax holding. Under the Automated Mutation System 2.1 launched in November 2025, the land moves automatically from the old owner's khatian to the new owner's once the mutation is complete, and a holding is created at the same time.[8]

Mutation is evidence, not title

Title to land in Bangladesh rests on registered deeds, succession and court decrees. Mutation is an administrative act that records a claim of ownership for revenue purposes. Courts treat a mutation khatian, the DCR and land tax receipts as evidence of title and possession, but a mutation in the wrong name does not defeat the true owner, and a refusal of mutation does not take away title the deeds confer. That is why a contested mutation case is often only one front in a wider dispute. Our guide on how to resolve land disputes in Bangladesh explains how mutation challenges fit alongside title suits, survey tribunal cases and criminal remedies.

The record still carries real legal weight. Section 6(3) of the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act 2023 bars a person from selling, gifting, transferring, executing a power of attorney over or registering a deed for land unless the latest operative khatian under section 143 or 144 of the 1950 Act is in their name and they can show up-to-date land development tax.[3] A buyer who registers but never mutates is therefore unable to sell on, and a family that leaves inherited land in the deceased's name cannot deal with it at all.

The legal basis for land mutation Bangladesh offices apply

Four sets of provisions do most of the work. Section 143 creates the duty to keep the record current. Section 89 links registration to the land office: a registering officer must not accept a deed of transfer unless it is accompanied by a notice of the transfer in the prescribed form and the process fee for sending it to the Revenue Officer, and the registering officer must transmit that notice.[1] Similar notices are required before probate is granted for a bequest and before a court confirms an execution sale.[1]

Section 143C, inserted in 2006, then sets out the procedure. On receipt of the section 89 notice, the Revenue Officer opens a mutation file and issues notice to the co-sharers of the holding, fixing a date for objections. If no objection is raised within the stipulated period, the record is corrected. If a co-sharer objects, the Revenue Officer must fix a date to hear both parties and pass an order stating reasons, and the record is corrected accordingly.[1] Section 143B, inserted at the same time, deals with inherited land divided by a registered instrument of partition, which the Revenue Officer must use to revise the khatian.[1]

Chapter XVIII of the Act supplies the remedies: appeals under section 147, limitation under section 148, revision under section 149 and review under section 150.[1] The Land Development Tax Act 2023 and the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act 2023 complete the picture by tying tax payment and the right to transfer to an accurate, current record.[2] [3] Ministry of Land circulars and instructions govern the detail of the online process, and they change often, so the current version should be checked before filing.

When land mutation Bangladesh law requires: the triggering events

Mutation is needed every time ownership of recorded land changes. The e-mutation form asks the applicant to state how the land was acquired, and the options mirror the legal routes: purchase, inheritance, hiba (gift), court decree, auction and others.[6] Each route has its own evidence and its own pitfalls, summarised in the table below. On a phone, scroll it sideways.

Two situations are often missed. The first is subdivision: where co-owners divide a joint holding by registered partition, each needs a separate mutation and holding so that tax and future dealings are separate. The second is a decree. A buyer who wins a title or specific performance suit still needs the land office to record the decree, and the High Court Division has intervened where revenue officers refused to do so (see the section on appeals below).[14]

Why delay is expensive

Every month between registration and mutation leaves the transferor on the record. The seller can appear to have title to a second buyer, heirs can be left out of an inheritance mutation without knowing it, and tax arrears accumulate against the old holding. Section 9(5) of the Land Development Tax Act 2023 provides that a claim for land development tax is never time-barred, so arrears follow the land.[2] Due diligence on a purchase should therefore confirm mutation in the seller's name before contract; our guide to land ownership verification and due diligence sets out the checks.

How to apply for e-mutation on mutation.land.gov.bd, step by step

All new applications are made online through mutation.land.gov.bd, the national e-mutation portal. The steps below reflect the process as reported in August 2026, and the Bhumi mobile app now allows mutation fees to be paid and the DCR and khatian to be collected from a phone.[6] [8] Citizens who prefer help can use one of the roughly 900 private-sector service centres authorised under the Land Service Support Guidelines 2025.[7]

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Building the application

The applicant selects the division, district, upazila and mouza, then enters the khatian number, the dag numbers and the area claimed. The source khatian must be the one in which the transferor or the deceased is recorded. Applicants then upload a photograph and signature, a National ID card or birth registration certificate, the latest land development tax receipt and, as the case requires, the deed, the inheritance certificate or the court judgment. On submission the system issues a tracking number.[6] Applicants receive automated SMS updates and can track progress online without visiting the office.[7]

Field verification by the Union Land Office

The AC Land's office sends the file to the Union Land Office for inspection and a report.[6] The Union Land Assistant Officer checks the record, the tax position and, where needed, possession on the ground. Most delays and most informal demands for payment arise at this stage, which is why the ministry has made fees payable only online and holds officials accountable for unjustified delay beyond the service target.[5] [7]

Approval, the DCR and the new khatian

Once the AC Land approves the application, the applicant pays the balance of the fee, and can then download and print the mutation khatian and the DCR from the portal.[6] Check every entry before relying on it: names, father's or husband's names, dag numbers, area and share. Correcting an error in the DCR or khatian carries no fee, but it is far easier to fix in the days after issue than years later in a sale.[12]

Documents required for a mutation khatian

The core set is the same for every application: the applicant's photograph and signature, a National ID card or birth registration certificate, and the latest land development tax receipt.[6] The rest depends on how the land was acquired. A file that anticipates the Union Land Office's questions moves faster than one that answers them later.

• Purchase: the registered sale deed, the khatian in the seller's name or in the name of the seller's predecessor, and the chain of earlier deeds and mutations that connects the recorded owner to the seller.
• Inheritance: the inheritance (warish) certificate from the Union Parishad chairman, municipality mayor or city ward councillor, the khatian in the deceased's name and, for separate mutation, the registered distribution deed.[13]
• Gift (hiba or heba): the registered gift deed and the donor's khatian. Gifts between close relatives are a frequent source of later challenge, so the deed should state the relationship clearly.
• Court decree: a certified copy of the judgment and decree, proof that it has become final or that no stay is in force, and the khatian to be corrected.
• Auction: the sale certificate and confirmation of the sale by the court or revenue authority.
• Company or institutional buyer: the deed, the board resolution authorising the purchase and the authority of the person making the application.

Old deeds and records cause the most friction. Where names are spelled differently across the CS, SA, RS and city survey records, or the area in the deed exceeds the seller's recorded share, file an explanation and supporting documents up front. The 2022 ministry circular discussed below bars rejection simply because the name on a deed differs from the name on the National ID card, but the officer still has to be satisfied that the two are the same person.[10]

Land mutation Bangladesh fees in 2026: Tk 1,170

The official cost of e-mutation is Tk 1,170. In February 2026 the Ministry of Land directed every upazila, circle, union and municipal land office to display its service fees on a signboard measuring four feet by two and a half feet, and confirmed the e-mutation charge as a Tk 20 court fee, a Tk 50 notice issue fee, a Tk 1,000 record-correction fee and a Tk 100 khatian supply fee.[5] The ministry stated that no fee beyond those set by the government applies, that all payments, including land development tax, must be made online, and that cash transactions are not allowed.[5]

When each part is paid

The Tk 70 application and notice fees are paid when the application is filed. The Tk 1,100 for record correction and the khatian is paid after approval, before the khatian and DCR are released.[6] Payment can be made by mobile financial services such as bKash, Rocket or Upay, by card or through internet banking.[6] When cash payment was abolished in October 2022, the ministry also stated that an application rejected for missing information or documents and resubmitted with the right papers attracts the Tk 1,100 again, while correcting an error in the DCR or khatian is free.[12]

Related charges

A certified or online copy of a khatian costs Tk 120, with Tk 40 more if it is sent by post, and a mouza map costs Tk 545 per sheet, with Tk 110 for postage.[5] Service centres may charge a nominal fee for helping with a digital application.[7] Professional fees for lawyers or surveyors are separate from the government charges. Anyone asked by land office staff to pay more than the official fee can complain on the 16122 hotline.[5]

How long land mutation Bangladesh offices take

The ministry's service target for e-mutation is 28 days, and officials who miss it without valid justification face accountability measures.[7] Some guides describe a longer outer limit of 45 working days in metropolitan areas and 30 working days elsewhere.[6] Faster tracks were set for priority applicants: in 2022 the ministry's timelines were reported as 12 working days for expatriates in metropolitan areas and 9 outside them, 10 working days for gazetted freedom fighters and 7 working days for important, export-oriented or foreign-investment industries.[11]

What happens in practice

Targets and reality have diverged. Ministry data reported in September 2022 showed 732,231 applications over 90 days, 87 per cent settled, and an average of 43 days to settle, with district averages as high as 77 days.[11] The ministry responded by requiring Divisional Commissioners and Deputy Commissioners to clear cases pending beyond 28 days and to report reasons for delay.[11] By 2026, the 28-day deadline was being enforced through real-time tracking, with accountability measures for officials who miss it without valid justification.[7]

The practical drivers of delay are predictable: missing documents, unpaid fees, records that do not match the deed, and objections from co-sharers. Applicants control the first three. Contested files take longer because the AC Land must hear the parties and give reasons under section 143C(3).[1] Where a file stalls without explanation, a written complaint through the ministry's complaint system, followed if necessary by a writ, is usually more effective than repeated visits.

The AC Land hearing

A hearing is the point at which land mutation Bangladesh procedure becomes a contested case. Under section 143C, the Revenue Officer notifies the co-sharers of the holding and fixes a date for objections; if a co-sharer objects, both parties must be heard and the order must state its reasons.[1] A 2022 ministry circular added that where the documents appear correct on scrutiny, no preliminary hearing of either party is required, and that online hearings should be used in non-complex e-mutation cases so applicants do not need to travel.[10] Hearing requests can be made through the online hearing platform at oh.lams.gov.bd.[6]

Preparing for the hearing

Treat the hearing as a short trial on the documents. Bring originals of every deed, certified copies of each survey khatian for the plot, the inheritance certificate where relevant, tax receipts and any court orders. Prepare a one-page chronology linking the recorded owner to the applicant, plot by plot. If the objector relies on a competing deed, check its registration details at the sub-registry before the hearing. Where the dispute is really about title, ask the AC Land to record that, so that the order does not purport to decide a question the civil court must resolve.

For the objector

A co-sharer, heir or prior purchaser who learns of a pending mutation should file a written objection before the date fixed, attaching the evidence of their own right. An objection must be specific: identify the dag, the share and the document relied on. A general allegation of fraud with nothing attached rarely stops a mutation. If the objector believes a deed is forged, section 6(2) of the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act 2023 requires the authority dealing with record updating to send the matter to the appropriate criminal court where there is reasonable cause to believe a document is fraudulent or forged.[3]

Inheritance mutation

Inherited land is the largest category of mutation and the one most often done badly.

In February 2025 the Ministry of Land issued a circular to stop land offices rejecting joint applications by all heirs for want of a distribution deed. It confirmed that heirs may apply jointly on an inheritance certificate from the Union Parishad chairman, municipality mayor or city ward councillor, with each heir's share of the whole recorded in one khatian; that heirs who have agreed a division by a distribution document may each obtain a separate mutation and pay land development tax separately; and that the deceased's holding can be broken into separate holdings on the distribution document alone.[13] Separate mutation on a registered instrument of partition follows section 143B.[1]

Getting the heirs and shares right

The inheritance certificate is only as good as the list behind it. Omitted daughters, widows, a second spouse or the children of a predeceased son or daughter are the classic defects, and a mutation that leaves them out invites a later objection, appeal or suit. Shares must follow the correct personal law. Our guide to inheritance law in Bangladesh explains the shares and the documents that prove heirship; this guide covers the land office side.

Joint or separate mutation?

Joint mutation is fast and cheap, but it leaves every heir a co-owner of every plot and ties any sale to the cooperation of all of them. Families planning to sell, develop or mortgage should agree a division, register it and mutate separately. Heirs abroad can join through a properly executed and authenticated power of attorney, and should do so early: an heir who is missing from the record cannot later sell their share without first correcting it.

Why mutation applications are rejected

Rejection in land mutation Bangladesh files usually reflects a defect in the paperwork rather than in the applicant's title, and many rejections are avoidable. The Ministry of Land's July 2022 circular on settling cases in the e-mutation system set firm limits. An application cannot be rejected just because documents are missing; the first order must list the missing documents and give the applicant normally seven working days, or another reasonable period, to supply them. Only if they are still not supplied may the application be rejected by order, and if the documents arrive later the mutation resumes without a fresh application, with the service-time count restarting from reactivation.[10]

Grounds the circular rules out

The same circular told AC Land offices not to reject mutation because no hard copy of the application was submitted, because the name on the deed differs from the name on the National ID card, because the mobile number is wrong, or because a court case over the land is pending. Nor may an application be rejected for lack of information that is not held in the digital land services or in land offices.[10] Applicants refused on any of these grounds should cite the circular in a review or appeal.

Grounds that genuinely defeat an application

• Broken chain of title: the transferor is not in the khatian and the deeds do not connect the recorded owner to the transferor.
• Area or share mismatch: the deed conveys more land than the transferor's recorded share, or the dag numbers do not match the record.
• Government or restricted land: the plot is recorded as khas, acquired, vested or otherwise government land.
• Suspected forgery: the deed or heirship document appears fabricated, which triggers referral under the Land Crime Act.[3]
• Unresolved objection: a co-sharer proves a better claim at the hearing under section 143C(3).[1]
• Fees not paid: applications filed without payment were one of the main causes of pending files identified by the ministry.[11]

Since September 2026, officers approving a mutation must also verify the actual class of the land and record it in the mutation khatian, because land class drives valuation at registration and land development tax.[9] Expect questions where agricultural land has been built on or a pond filled.

Mutation case Bangladesh remedies: objections, review, appeal and revision

An order granting or refusing mutation is an order of a Revenue Officer under Part V of the 1950 Act, and Chapter XVIII provides a full ladder of remedies. Each rung has its own deadline, and the deadlines run from the date of the order, not the date the applicant learns of it, so the order date should be noted the day it appears on the portal.[1] The forums are summarised below.

Review by the AC Land: section 150

A Revenue Officer may review an order made by himself or a predecessor, on application or of his own motion, and may modify, reverse or confirm it. A review application must be made within thirty days of the order unless the applicant shows sufficient cause for delay. No review lies once an appeal or revision has been filed, no order may be changed on review without notice to the parties, and no appeal lies from an order rejecting a review or confirming the original order.[1] Review suits clear errors, such as a missed document or a misread dag number, rather than contested questions of right.

Appeals: sections 147 and 148

Section 147 provides that an appeal lies from every original or appellate order of a Revenue Officer to the Collector, where the officer is subordinate to the Collector; to the Commissioner of the division, from an order of the Collector; and to the Board, from an order of the Commissioner.[1] Section 148 fixes the limitation: thirty days for an appeal to the Collector, sixty days to the Commissioner and ninety days to the Board, in each case from the date of the order.[1]

In practice the Collector's appellate function is exercised by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue) and the Commissioner's by the Additional Divisional Commissioner (Revenue), with the Land Appeal Board at the top. Md Nazmul Haque v Government of Bangladesh followed exactly that path: an AC Land's refusal in 2015, a Miscellaneous Appeal to the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue), an appeal to the Additional Divisional Commissioner and a final appeal to the Land Appeal Board.[14] The Land Appeal Board was constituted under the Land Appeal Board Act 1989, which repealed the Board of Land Administration Act.[4]

Revision: section 149

The Collector may revise a subordinate Revenue Officer's order of his own motion or on application within one month of the order; the Commissioner may revise a Collector's order within three months; and the Board may revise a Commissioner's order within six months. The Board may also at any time order the correction of an entry in the record of rights made through a bona fide mistake, after reasonable notice to the parties. No order may be revised if an appeal has been filed against it.[1] Choose between appeal and revision deliberately: filing one closes the other.

When the revenue hierarchy fails

Where revenue authorities refuse to give effect to a civil court's decree, the High Court Division's writ jurisdiction is available. In Nazmul Haque, decided on 21 November 2024, the petitioner had obtained declarations of right, title and possession from the civil courts, yet mutation was refused at every revenue level. The High Court Division held that denying mutation in those circumstances amounted to harassment and a violation of natural justice, and directed mutation in the petitioner's name within 60 days.[14] Our writ petition guide explains that remedy. Where the real question is title rather than the record, the answer is a declaratory suit, not a further mutation appeal.

Land development tax after mutation

Mutation and land development tax are now a single system. Once the mutation is complete, a holding is created automatically and the new owner can pay tax online, including through the Bhumi app.[8] Each year's tax may be paid without penalty by 30 June of that year, and an owner may pay up to three years in advance.[2] Collection is electronic, and the electronic receipt (dakhila) carries a means of online verification.[2]

Section 10 of the Land Development Tax Act 2023 requires land held by one owner under several khatians in the same mouza to be combined into a single jamabandi for assessment, and makes linking the owner's mobile number and National ID card compulsory.[2] That is another reason to keep personal details consistent across the deed, the mutation application and the NID. Because the Land Crime Act bars transfer without both the latest khatian and proof of current tax, owners should pay the tax for the first year immediately after mutation and keep the receipt with the khatian and DCR.[3]

When a mutation case needs a lawyer

Most uncontested land mutation Bangladesh applications on a clean purchase do not need a lawyer, and the online system is designed for direct use. Legal advice earns its cost when the file is not clean or the stakes are high. In our experience that means five situations.

• Contested hearings: a co-sharer, heir or rival buyer has objected, and the AC Land's reasoned order will shape any later litigation.
• Old or broken chains: the deeds go back decades, names and areas differ across surveys, or a link in the chain is missing.
• Heirs abroad and complex estates: non-resident heirs, multiple marriages, predeceased children or disputed heirship lists.
• Corporate and investment property: land bought for a factory, project or development, where a defective mutation delays financing and approvals.
• Fraud and refusal: a mutation in a stranger's name, a forged deed, or a refusal that ignores a decree, where review, appeal, revision, a writ or a criminal complaint must be chosen and timed correctly.

Our land records, mutation and khatian correction practice prepares applications, appears at AC Land hearings, files objections and conducts review, appeal and revision proceedings. For the wider transaction framework, including registration, khatian requirements in sale deeds and taxes, see our guide to real estate law in Bangladesh.

What is changing in 2025 and 2026

Land mutation Bangladesh practice has changed more in the last two years than in the previous decade. In November 2025 the Ministry of Land launched the Bhumi app and the Automated Mutation System 2.1, under which citizens need to visit the upazila land office only once for mutation, and a completed mutation moves the land between khatians and creates the holding automatically.[8] A national programme with UNDP to enter and correct all khatian and holding data began in Feni in August 2025 and is being rolled out in phases.[8]

In 2026 the ministry confirmed the Tk 1,170 fee and required fee signboards at every land office, adopted the Land Service Complaint Management Guidelines 2026 for complaints online or through a round-the-clock hotline, treated a QR-coded online DCR as equivalent to a manual one, and in September required officers to verify and record the actual land class on every approved mutation.[5] [7] [6] [9] The direction is consistent: fewer office visits, more digital checks, and less room for a mutation that does not match the land on the ground.

For owners, the practical message is simple. Mutate promptly after every registration or death, check the mutation khatian and DCR on the day they issue, pay land development tax against the new holding, and diary the thirty-day window the moment an adverse order appears. Land mutation Bangladesh land offices now process largely online is faster than it was, but the remedies remain time-bound and the record still decides who can deal with the land.

Frequently asked questions

What is land mutation (namjari) in Bangladesh?

It is the correction of the record of rights after a change of ownership, such as a sale, gift or inheritance. Section 143 of the State Acquisition and Tenancy Act 1950 requires the Collector to keep the record current by mutating names on transfer or inheritance.[1]

What is a mutation khatian?

It is the khatian issued in the new owner's name after mutation, showing the mouza, dag numbers, area and share. It is issued with a QR-coded DCR, which the Ministry of Land treats as legally valid.[6] [12]

How much does e-mutation cost in 2026?

Tk 1,170: a Tk 20 court fee, Tk 50 notice fee, Tk 1,000 record-correction fee and Tk 100 khatian fee, confirmed by the Ministry of Land in February 2026 and payable only online.[5]

How long does mutation take?

The ministry's target is 28 days, with faster tracks for some applicants. Contested files and incomplete applications take longer; in 2022 the national average was 43 days.[7] [11]

What documents do I need?

A photograph and signature, NID or birth registration certificate, the latest land development tax receipt and, depending on the case, the deed, inheritance certificate or court judgment.[6]

Can my application be rejected for a missing document?

Not immediately. A 2022 ministry circular requires the AC Land to list the missing documents and normally allow seven working days to file them, and the file resumes without a new application if they arrive later.[10]

How do I appeal a mutation order?

Appeal to the Collector, exercised by the Additional Deputy Commissioner (Revenue), within thirty days of the order, then to the Commissioner within sixty days and the Board within ninety days.[1] [14]

Do heirs need a distribution deed to mutate inherited land?

Not for joint mutation on an inheritance certificate. A registered distribution document is needed for separate mutation in each heir's name.[13]

Can I sell land that has not been mutated in my name?

Not lawfully. Section 6(3) of the Land Crime Prevention and Remedy Act 2023 bars sale, gift, transfer or registration without the latest khatian and proof of up-to-date land development tax.[3]

Does mutation prove ownership?

No. Title comes from deeds, succession and decrees; mutation records it. A mutation khatian is strong evidence, but a wrong mutation does not defeat the true owner, who can correct it through the revenue hierarchy or the courts.[14]