Inheriting property: warish certificate and mutation
By Bdproperty Editorial Team · Updated:
Inherited property passes to the heirs on death, but the land record does not update itself. A warish (successors) certificate from the local authority, or a succession certificate from a court, establishes who the heirs are. Mutation then updates the khatian into their names. Shares are determined by the personal law applying to the deceased, which differs between communities. Leaving inheritance unmutated for years is one of the most common causes of defective title in Bangladesh.
What does a warish certificate do?
It records who the heirs of a deceased person are, and is issued by the union parishad, municipality or city corporation for the area. It is the document the mutation application is built on where property passes by inheritance rather than by sale.
A succession certificate from a court serves a related purpose and is required in some circumstances; which one you need depends on the property and the dispute risk.
How are shares decided?
By the personal law applying to the deceased, and the rules differ between Muslim, Hindu and Christian succession. The division is not a matter of agreement in the first instance — it follows the applicable law, though heirs may afterwards agree among themselves how to hold or divide what they have inherited.
Because the rules are specific and the sums are large, this is a point to take advice on rather than to assume.
Why does mutation still matter?
Until the khatian names the heirs, the record still names the deceased. Khajna is assessed against a person who is no longer alive, and any sale, mortgage or further inheritance runs into an obstacle. Correcting it decades later, once witnesses have gone, is far harder than doing it at the time.
What if one heir will not cooperate?
Mutation can proceed on an application even where relations are difficult, and objections are heard as part of the process. Where the dispute is about shares rather than paperwork, it becomes a partition question and belongs with a lawyer.
Common questions
Do heirs need mutation if the deed is already in the family?
Yes. Inheritance changes who holds the land, so the record has to be updated. The supporting documents differ from a sale — a warish certificate and heirship papers rather than a sale deed.
Where do I get a warish certificate?
From the union parishad, municipality or city corporation for the area where the deceased lived. A court-issued succession certificate is a separate document required in some circumstances.
Can inherited land be sold before mutation?
It creates difficulty. The record still names the deceased, so a buyer is asked to accept that the sellers are the heirs on the strength of documents rather than the register. Most careful buyers will want mutation completed first.
Sources: Succession Act 1925 · land.gov.bd · Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act 1937. This is general information, not legal advice. Confirm anything that affects a transaction with your Sub-Registrar or AC (Land) office.