How to read a survey number on your sale deed
Sy. No. 176/1A/3/B/P/2 decoded — what the numbers, letters, /P, guntas, Hissa and Paiki actually mean on a Karnataka property record.
A survey number is your property’s identity in Karnataka government records.
Read it left to right like a family tree: the parent number is the original
1860s plot, and each slash that follows is one more subdivision — numbers for the
first round, letters for the second, numbers again for the third. A /P or
(p) anywhere in it means the subdivision survey was never completed.
Pull out your flat’s sale deed. You will see a line like: Sy. No. 176/1A/3/B/P/2
You skipped that line when you signed. So did we, the first time. So does almost everyone. That number is the most important thing in the document.
What is a survey number, and where does it come from?
In the 1860s, British surveyors walked across every village in old Mysore state and gave each plot of land a number. That number was stamped into government records and has stayed there for 160 years.
Governments changed. The country changed. The number did not.
Sy. No. 176 means: this was plot number 176 in your village, back when your
village was just a village. Some villages had 50 plots. Some had 800. Whatever
number you see, that is the original.
How do you read the slashes in a Karnataka survey number?
Over 160 years, that one big plot got divided — between sons, between buyers, between heirs. Every time it was split, the government added something to the number. Read it left to right.
| Level | Notation | What happened |
|---|---|---|
| Parent | 176 |
The original 1860s plot |
| 1st split | 176/1, 176/2 |
Numbers. Usually the 1920s-40s, grandfathers dividing land between sons |
| 2nd split | 176/1A, 176/1B |
Letters. The next generation dividing piece /1 |
| 3rd split | 176/1A/1, 176/1A/3 |
Numbers again |
| 4th split | 176/1A/3/B |
Letters again |
The pattern alternates: number, letter, number, letter. Every generation. Every sale.
If you see /1 and /2 on different deeds in the same village, they were
siblings once. If you see /1A and /1B, they came from the same /1 piece and
they share a boundary.
Decoding a full survey number
So when you read Sy. No. 176/1A/3/B/2, you can decode it cleanly:
- It started as plot 176 in your village in the 1860s.
- That plot was split — your branch is piece /1.
/1was split — your branch is part /1A./1Awas split — your branch is piece /3./3was split — your branch is part /B./Bwas split — your branch is piece /2.
Five splits. Roughly 160 years. At least five legal events — five inheritances, sales or partitions. Each one generated paperwork that may or may not be in order today. The longer the chain, the more places something could have gone wrong.
What do /P and (p) mean on a survey number?
If your survey number has /P or (p) anywhere in it — stop.
P stands for Pending. It means the government started a subdivision survey (called Phodi) but never finished it. The boundaries of your plot, officially, are unfinished business.
Someone — a neighbour, a long-lost cousin, even the revenue department — can still come along years later and say: “Actually, that piece is mine.”
If you see /P or (p), demand the 11E sketch from the
Mojini portal before you pay anything.
No sketch, no deal.
What do guntas, Hissa and Paiki mean?
Numbers in brackets: (18G), (22G). That is the size of the piece. G stands
for guntas, a Karnataka land unit. 40 guntas make 1 acre. So 61/2A(18G) means
part A measures 18 guntas.
Hissa. A Kannada and Urdu word for subdivision. You will see it on RTC records.
Paiki. A subdivision that exists on paper but was never properly marked on the cadastral map. This is a yellow flag — an unmarked boundary is a future boundary dispute waiting to be had.
The Jumbo takeaway
The survey number on your sale deed is not a random string of numbers and letters. It is a piece of your property’s history, and the longer the number, the more of that history you may need to understand.
Before buying a resale property, do not just check the flat, the price and the sale deed. Read the survey number, then follow the paper trail behind it. Our sale deed checklist covers what else sits in that chain.
The slashes on your sale deed have been talking for 160 years. Now you know how to listen.
This article is for general information and education only. It is not legal, tax, financial or investment advice. Requirements and records can vary by property and transaction — verify the documents independently and take advice from a qualified professional before proceeding.
Frequently asked questions
What is a survey number on a property document?
A survey number is the identifier British surveyors assigned to each plot of land in old Mysore state in the 1860s. It is your property's identity in government records — older than its address and older than its Khata — and every subdivision since has been recorded as a suffix to that original number.
How do you read the slashes in a Karnataka survey number?
Read left to right, like a family tree. The parent number is the original 1860s plot. The first round of subdivisions took numbers (/1, /2), the second took letters (/1A, /1B), the third went back to numbers (/1A/3), and so on. Each slash is one more generation of splitting.
What does /P or (p) mean in a survey number?
P stands for Pending. It means the government began a subdivision survey — called Phodi — and never completed it, so the plot's boundaries are officially unfinished. Demand the 11E sketch from the Mojini portal before paying anything.
What does Paiki mean in Karnataka land records?
A Paiki is a subdivision that exists on paper but was never properly marked on the cadastral map. It is a yellow flag, because an unmarked boundary is a future boundary dispute.
What does G mean in a survey number like 61/2A(18G)?
G stands for guntas, a Karnataka land measure. Forty guntas make one acre, so 61/2A(18G) means part A of subdivision 2 measures 18 guntas.