You can check a CMDA approval yourself on cmdachennai.gov.in. CMDA lists every planning permission issued through its online system since 2022, each with downloadable PDFs of the approval letter, approved plan, development charges and plan permit, and it keeps year-wise lists of older approvals back to 2006. For land outside CMDA's approvals, the state's Single Window Portal at onlineppa.tn.gov.in lists DTCP and panchayat approvals by district and year.

Updated 13 October 2026. We walked through the CMDA, DTCP and Single Window Portal pages ourselves and read the top-ranking guides, which explain how developers apply for permission but rarely show buyers where the published approval records are or what to match.

What does CMDA approval mean?

CMDA approval is planning permission from the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority under the Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971, confirming that a building or layout fits the master plan, zoning and building rules. The Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) does the same job for the rest of Tamil Nadu; its own site describes its jurisdiction as the entire state except CMDA.

Not every building inside Chennai is approved by CMDA. Local bodies such as the Greater Chennai Corporation approve smaller buildings under delegated powers, and the August 2026 Assembly announcement raised those powers to residential buildings of up to 16,140 sq ft for corporations and municipalities and 12,912 sq ft for town and village panchayats. Small homes can also be approved instantly through self-certification (see Self Certification Building Approval in Tamil Nadu: 2026 Rules).

Is my flat or plot in a CMDA or DTCP area?

CMDA's list of local bodies shows two footprints: the erstwhile Chennai Metropolitan Area of 1,189 sq km and an expanded CMA of 5,904 sq km. The expanded list adds places such as Kancheepuram corporation, Chengalpattu, Nandivaram-Guduvancheri, Tiruvallur and Ponneri municipalities, Sriperumbudur, Mamallapuram and Thiruporur town panchayats, and panchayat unions including Thiruporur, Sriperumbudur and Kattankolathur.

Approvals follow the authority that had jurisdiction when they were granted, so an older layout in today's expanded area may carry a DTCP approval. Ask the seller for the approval letter, note which office issued it, and search that office's records. The Single Window Portal also has a “Know Your Local Body” page.

How do I do a CMDA approval check online, step by step?

Have the approval letter or at least the permit number and approximate year ready.

  • Go to cmdachennai.gov.in and open Online Planning Permission Application (PPA), then Online PPA Approval Details Since GoLive.
  • Pick the year (2022 to 2026). Each row shows the file number (for example CMDA/PP/NHRB/…/2026), the permit number (online permits use an OL- prefix), the permit issue date and the building category: layout, non high-rise or high-rise.
  • Use your browser's find function to search the permit or file number from the seller's papers.
  • Open the four PDFs in that row: Approval Letter, Approved Plan, Development Charges and Plan Permit.
  • For approvals before the online system, use the Planning Permission Approval Details page, which has year-wise lists for non high-rise and high-rise buildings back to 2006 and layouts from 2006 to 2024, and CMDA's digitised planning permission records for 1989–2006 and 2008–2021.

How do I check a DTCP or panchayat approval?

For approvals outside CMDA, the Single Window Portal's Approved Plan List (linked from DTCP's layouts page) lets you search by department (DTCP, rural panchayat or town panchayat), approval type (layout or building plan), district and year from 2022. Results show the application number, permit issue date, total fees, approval number, and links to the approval letter, approved plan and demand details.

DTCP's own site also publishes year-wise tables of layout approvals with file number, location and survey numbers, extent in acres, and the approval number and date, and links to its land-use information service. Our wider explainer on approvals and land records is at Patta Chitta Online: Check, Transfer, Fees, TSLR, DTCP & CMDA (Chennai 2026).

What if the approval is not online?

Older approvals, manual approvals and some local body permits may not be in the online lists, and the 2007 batch of CMDA's digitised records was still marked as being processed when we checked. That is not proof of a problem, but it means you must get the record from the authority itself.

  • Ask the seller for a certified copy of the approval letter and plan, not a photocopy.
  • For layouts, DTCP's buyer advisory notes that a copy of an approved layout can be obtained from DTCP on payment of a nominal fee.
  • For CMDA files, CMDA's site lists a help desk for its online system and an appointment page for queries.
  • Have a property lawyer compare the certified copy with the sale deed's schedule before you pay an advance.

Where is the CMDA approval plan download, and what are the charges?

The Approved Plan PDF in each CMDA row is the sanctioned drawing; compare it with the brochure and with the flat or plot you are buying. The Development Charges PDF shows what was demanded from the applicant for that approval. Those are the applicant's costs, not yours, but a buyer can use the document to confirm the approval was actually paid for and issued rather than merely applied for.

CMDA also publishes lists of files still pending with CMDA or with the applicant. If a builder says approval is “in process”, these lists tell you whether that is true.

What should I match between the approval and the property?

An approval is only useful if it is for the building you are buying. Match each of these:

Does a CMDA approval mean the title is clean?

No. Planning permission confirms that a building or layout complies with planning and building rules; it does not certify who owns the land. The self-certification rules, for example, make the applicant indemnify the authority against claims arising from the records submitted, and CMDA's buyer alerts on its home page have included projects caught in title disputes.

So treat the approval as one of two separate checks. The other, the title chain through parent deeds, patta and encumbrance certificate, needs a property lawyer, and both must point to the same survey number and the same owner or developer.

What are the red flags of a lapsed or fake approval?

Walk away or dig deeper if you see any of these.

  • The permit or file number does not appear in the authority's published list for the stated year.
  • The approval is for a different survey number, fewer floors or fewer units than what is being sold.
  • A layout is sold as approved but the roads and park have not been handed over to the local body by gift deed; DTCP's own buyer advisory asks you to check this.
  • “Approval applied” or “in process” is presented as approval.
  • A DTCP approval is claimed for land where CMDA had jurisdiction at the time, or the reverse.
  • The permit is old and construction appears to have started much later, with no revised approval.
  • CMDA has posted a buyer alert on its home page about the project; it publishes such alerts in the interest of flat and plot buyers.

A CMDA approval checklist to keep

Save this before your next site visit.

  • Approval letter, approved plan and plan permit, downloaded from the authority's site rather than taken from the seller.
  • Land-use zone confirmed on CMDA's master plan land-use maps or DTCP's land-use service.
  • Survey number, floors, units and plot numbers matched.
  • CC checked where the building needs one.
  • TNRERA registration checked; the RERA Act exempts only projects on up to 500 sq m of land or with up to eight units.
  • Patta, encumbrance certificate and guideline value checked (see Guideline Value Chennai 2026: Check Your Plot's Value Online).