The Maharashtra government has rationalised the notified services of the Registration and Stamps Department under the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Act, 2015, reducing their number from 15 to 10 through Governance Process Re-engineering (GPR). The decision, contained in a Revenue Department Government Resolution dated August 13, 2026, aims to make services more transparent, time-bound, citizen-centric and fully digital.
The move follows directions from the Chief Minister’s office and a Planning Department order requiring all administrative departments to review and simplify their notified services and schemes. The Registration and Stamps Department conducted a detailed review of its 15 services notified under the 2015 Act. The exercise focused on merging similar services, denotifying unnecessary ones, reducing process steps and documents, digitising workflows, integrating systems through APIs, and delivering services more efficiently online.
Under service rationalisation, similar services have been merged. The earlier separate services for providing certified copies or lists of registered documents (services 2, 3 and 9) have been clubbed into a single service covering certified copies of registered documents or lists. Applications can be made either at the Sub-Registrar or Joint District Registrar office (Type-1) or through the Maitri Cell (Type-2). Services related to solemnisation of marriage under the Special Marriage Act, 1954, and registration of marriages already solemnised by other methods under the same Act (earlier services 12 and 14) have also been merged into one service.
Two services are to be denotified. These are the authentication of Special Power of Attorney and the deposit, return and opening of a sealed cover of a Will. The department has been directed to submit the necessary proposal to the Maharashtra Right to Public Services Commission for formal denotification.
The revised list now comprises 10 services. Of these, three are purely G2C (government-to-citizen) while seven cover both G2C and G2B (government-to-business) categories. All will be delivered through the department’s own online system and integrated with the Aaple Sarkar portal for citizen services and the Maitri portal for business-related services. Services accessible through both channels will be available on both portals.
Significant process reforms have been ordered. The number of desks involved in scrutiny, verification and approval is to be minimised. Technical development of the services will be carried out within the existing iSARITA system rather than through new platforms. API integration already available with Land Records, Aadhaar, PAN, municipal corporations and other government systems will be leveraged so that citizens are not asked to re-submit information already held by the government. DigiLocker integration is also mandated. Application development, business logic, workflow and database management will remain with the department, while necessary front-end integration with the state portals will be handled in coordination with MahaIT to avoid delays.
Document requirements are being sharply reduced. Information available in other government systems or already with the department will not be demanded again. Data entry fields in application forms are to be minimised through auto-fetch and auto-fill features. Only documents legally required will be sought; unnecessary ones are to be eliminated. Where the law does not mandatorily require an affidavit, self-declaration will be accepted instead. The Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps has been asked to issue administrative orders to reduce the compliance burden on citizens.
All 10 revised services are to be made fully online, with digital workflows, online verification, digital certificate generation, status tracking and digital record management. WhatsApp integration is specifically directed for services related to certified copies and searches. Revised timelines fixed under the Right to Public Services Act are set out in Annexure-A of the GR. Most routine services have short timelines of one to three days. Home visit for registration is prescribed at five days, refund of registration fees paid through e-payment in unregistered cases at 22 days, and adjudication of documents at 55 days. Designated officers, first appellate and second appellate authorities have been clearly specified for each service, with separate tracks for direct office applications and those routed through the Maitri Cell.
Fee revisions form part of the reform package. The GR indicates that fees under the Table of Fees in the Maharashtra Registration Rules, 1961, will be amended through a separate notification. Proposed rates show increases across several heads. Inspection or search of computer-generated entries is proposed to rise, certified digital and paper copies of documents and lists will cost more, and the fee for home visit for registration is proposed to increase substantially from ₹300 to ₹5,000. New fees will apply only after the formal amendment is notified.
The Inspector General of Registration and Controller of Stamps, Maharashtra State, Pune, has been directed to issue Standard Operating Procedures, technical instructions, workflows and administrative guidelines for effective implementation. The department must complete the required software development, API integration and online service delivery. Fresh notification of the 10 rationalised services under the 2015 Act is to be issued, and the denotification process for the two services is to be completed. All previous orders inconsistent with this GR stand superseded to the extent of implementation of the present decision.
The reforms are expected to reduce physical visits to Sub-Registrar offices, cut paperwork, enable greater use of existing digital databases, and provide clearer timelines for property registration, certified copies of documents, record searches, stamp duty valuation, Special Marriage Act processes and related services that ordinary citizens and homebuyers frequently require.
