Will in Punjab and Chandigarh, 2026
A will in Punjab or Chandigarh needs no stamp paper, because both governments’ published tables enter a will at Nil stamp duty, and it needs no notary.
What makes it valid is your signature and two attesting witnesses who take nothing under it; registration is optional, and an unregistered will is completely valid.
Your family will not usually need probate for a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain or Parsi will here, but an Indian Christian testator is the exception.
Checked on against the fee tables published by the Punjab Revenue Department and the Chandigarh Administration, and the statutes our will pages cite. Neither table carries a date or a notification number, so confirm the Punjab registration fee at the Sub-Registrar’s counter before you rely on it, and ask the Estate Office whether its stoppage on Chandigarh transfers is still running. Guide updated .
What is a will, and who can make one?
A will says in writing who gets what you own after you die, who collects the estate and pays its debts (the executor), and who looks after any minor children. You must be at least eighteen and of sound mind (section 59 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925).
Our will is not for a Muslim testator, whose property section 58 keeps outside the Act’s testamentary provisions, and not for a joint will with your spouse: make two separate wills. A will speaks only from death, so to pass property in your lifetime use a gift deed, a partition or a family settlement; see our guide to the gift deed.
Which will should you make?
- Will: a whole estate, with an executor, specific gifts and a guardian for minors.
- Will of self-acquired property: when the point is that the property is self-acquired.
- Will appointing an executor: when naming the executor is the main point.
- Codicil: a small change without rewriting the will.
- Revocation of a will: formally cancels an earlier will.
Name an alternate executor: if your only executor dies first or refuses to act, your family must petition the District Judge for letters of administration, the court trip a will is meant to avoid. If you have children under eighteen, name a guardian.
Does a will need stamp duty or a notary?
No stamp duty. The Punjab Revenue Department’s table and the Chandigarh Administration’s table both enter a will at Nil, so you buy no stamp paper or e-stamp. Plain paper, signed and attested, is a valid will. Any ad valorem cost comes later, as a court fee, if your family has to take out probate or letters of administration.
No notary is required either, and a notary cannot supply the witnesses the law demands: a notarised will with only one attesting witness is still void.
Who can witness a will?
Two attesting witnesses are the heart of it. Under section 63 of the Indian Succession Act each must have seen you sign, or received your personal acknowledgement of the signature, and must sign in your presence.
A bequest to a witness, or to a witness’s spouse, is void under section 67: the will survives, the gift dies. Never use a beneficiary, a beneficiary’s spouse or the guardian you appoint; an executor who takes no benefit may attest. Nothing in the form checks the gift list against the witness list, so read them side by side before anyone signs.
If you plan to register, choose a first witness who also qualifies under paragraph 127 of the Punjab Registration Manual, so one person can both attest and stand before the Sub-Registrar.
Does a will have to be registered?
No. Section 18(e) of the Registration Act, 1908 makes it optional, and an unregistered will is completely valid. There is no time limit: a will can be presented at any time.
Registration proves that a document of this content existed on that date, which makes a forgery allegation harder. It proves nothing about your capacity, and a later unregistered will still revokes a registered one.
In Chandigarh it costs about Rs 220: a Rs 200 registration fee plus a Rs 20 pasting fee. Present the will in duplicate to the Sub-Registrar, UT Chandigarh, at the 30 Bays Building, Sector 17; you need no proof of ownership of the property for a will. See the application to register a will.
Does your family need probate?
Usually not. Section 213 read with section 57 of the Indian Succession Act makes probate a precondition only in the towns and territories section 57 names, and neither Punjab nor Chandigarh is among them, so a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain or Parsi will here can be acted on without a grant.
What happens to the property after you die?
A will transfers nothing by itself. For land in the Punjab revenue record the beneficiary must still report to the Halqa Patwari and obtain a mutation of inheritance. For a Chandigarh sector property the beneficiary must apply to the Estate Office for change of ownership, because Chandigarh’s automatic mutation is triggered by a registered deed and a will is not one.
How do you make a will on Kagaznama for free?
Fill in our free will. Have ready your identity document, address and religion, which some of the rules turn on; full names, relationships and addresses of everyone you are leaving something to; your executor and an alternate; a guardian’s name if you have children under eighteen; and two witnesses who take nothing under the will.
Questions people ask
Does a will need to be registered to be valid in Punjab or Chandigarh?
No. Section 18(e) of the Registration Act, 1908 makes registering a will optional, and an unregistered will that is properly signed and attested by two witnesses is completely valid. Registration only adds proof that this exact document existed on the date it was registered, which is useful if a forgery is ever alleged.
How much does it cost to register a will in Punjab compared with Chandigarh?
Chandigarh’s table puts it at a Rs 200 fee plus a Rs 20 pasting fee, about Rs 220, and that figure is solid. Punjab’s published table puts the same thing at a Rs 4,000 fee, but that is a striking figure for an instrument that carries Nil stamp duty, and we are not treating it as settled until it is confirmed at the counter. Do not budget Rs 4,000 for Punjab on this page alone.
Can I name one of my witnesses as a beneficiary in my will?
You can, but the gift to them will not take effect. Section 67 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 makes a bequest to an attesting witness, or to that witness’s spouse, void; the will itself stays valid and only that gift fails. Choose two witnesses who take nothing under the will, and check the gift list against the witness list before anyone signs.
Does my family need to go through probate to use my will?
Usually not. Probate is required only in the towns and territories section 57 of the Indian Succession Act, 1925 names, and neither Punjab nor Chandigarh is among them, so a Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jain or Parsi testator’s will here can generally be acted on without a grant. An Indian Christian testator is the exception: probate is usually still needed, so get that checked separately.
Does a will need stamp paper like a sale deed or a rent agreement?
No. Both the Punjab and the Chandigarh fee tables charge Nil stamp duty on a will, so there is no stamp paper to buy. Plain paper, signed by you and attested by your two witnesses, is enough. The cost that varies sharply between the two places is the optional registration fee, not stamping.
This guide explains the rules as our document pages state them. It is not legal advice about your own situation; for that, speak to somebody who has heard your facts.