Stamp Paper & Legal Documents

Judicial vs Non-Judicial Stamp Paper: Uses and Differences

Judicial stamp paper pays court fees; non-judicial stamp paper pays stamp duty on agreements, affidavits and deeds. Both can be paid online in many states.

Written by Aarav Sharma

Published 22 September 2026·6 min read

On this page8 sections

Credsir Stamp Paper & Legal Documents guide cover with a stamp icon

Judicial stamp paper pays court fees when you file a case, petition or appeal, under the Court-fees Act, 1870 and state court-fee laws. Non-judicial stamp paper pays stamp duty on documents such as agreements, affidavits and deeds, under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 and state stamp Acts. Both can now also be paid electronically in many states.

Key differences at a glance

Point	Judicial stamp paper	Non-judicial stamp paper
What it pays	Court fee	Stamp duty
Main law	Court-fees Act, 1870, with state amendments	Indian Stamp Act, 1899, or the state’s own Stamp Act
Used for	Plaints, petitions, appeals and other papers filed in court	Agreements, affidavits, bonds, powers of attorney, deeds
Who decides the amount	Court-fee schedules, often based on the value of the claim	The state stamp schedule, by article
Electronic option	e-Court fee (SHCIL) or ePay (eCourts), where notified	e-stamp (SHCIL) or state systems, franking
Result if missing or short	Fees must be paid by stamp, and the stamp cancelled, before the paper is acted upon	Document is not admitted in evidence or registered until duty and penalty are paid

Judicial stamp paper: court fees

Section 25 of the Court-fees Act, 1870 says all fees chargeable under the Act “shall be collected by stamps”. Section 26 lets the government decide whether those stamps are impressed, adhesive or a mix. Judicial stamp paper is the impressed form of that court-fee stamp.

You meet it when you file something in court: a suit, a written statement, an appeal, a petition or an application. The amount comes from the court-fee schedules, which vary between states. The 1870 Act carries many state amendments. Your advocate or the court’s filing section can confirm the fee for your case.

Section 30 of the 1870 Act adds a safeguard: no document needing a court-fee stamp can be filed or acted upon in any court or office until the stamp has been cancelled. That stops the same stamp being used twice.

Non-judicial stamp paper: documents it covers

Stamp duty is a tax on instruments, meaning documents that create or record a right or liability. Section 10 of the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 says duty is paid by stamps. Section 17 says an instrument executed in India must be stamped before or at the time of execution.

Common documents on non-judicial stamp paper include:

Affidavits and declarations.
Rent and leave-and-licence agreements. See our rent agreement rules.
Indemnity bonds and security bonds.
Powers of attorney.
Sale deeds, gift deeds and other conveyances, where duty is usually a percentage of value.

Each state sets its own rates. Our stamp duty and registration charges by state page covers property documents. For smaller documents, the article in the state schedule decides the amount.

Duty matters in court too. Under Section 35 of the Stamp Act, a document that is not duly stamped cannot be admitted in evidence, registered or acted upon by a public officer. The central Act lets such a document be admitted after the shortfall and a penalty are paid. State Acts set their own penalty rules.

Three ways to pay the same duty

Method	How it works	Where to get it
Physical stamp paper	Pre-printed impressed stamp of a fixed value	Licensed stamp vendors and treasuries
Franking	A machine impression on your own paper showing duty paid	Authorised banks and agencies, where the state allows it
E-stamp	An electronic certificate with a unique number	SHCIL online or collection centres in 26 States and UTs, or state portals

The Stamp Act defines an “impressed stamp” to include labels affixed and impressed by the proper officer and stamps embossed or engraved on stamped paper. For e-stamping, StockHolding is the Central Record Keeping Agency in 26 States and UTs, according to its list as of 20 March 2025. Anyone can verify an e-stamp certificate on shcilestamp.com.

E-court fee payment

Court fees can also be paid online in many places. Two routes exist:

SHCIL e-Court fee. StockHolding collects judicial stamp duty for 16 States and UTs and the Supreme Court: Chandigarh, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Jammu and Kashmir, Jharkhand, Ladakh, NCT of Delhi, Odisha, Puducherry, Punjab, Rajasthan, Meghalaya, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Receipts can be verified on its site.
ePay (eCourts). The e-Committee of the Supreme Court runs pay.ecourts.gov.in for court fees, judicial deposits, fines and penalties. It links to state receipt systems such as GRAS, e-GRAS, JeGRAS, Himkosh and SBI ePay.

The ePay court-fee form works like this:

Open pay.ecourts.gov.in and choose Court Fee.
Pick District Court or High Court, then New Case or Existing Case.
For a new case, select the State, District and Establishment. For an existing case, enter the CNR or filing number, case type, number and year.
Enter the party name, the Court Fee amount and your mobile number.
Accept the terms, then generate and enter the OTP.
Pay through the state’s linked receipt portal, usually by net banking. Some states also allow payment at a listed bank counter.
Keep the receipt and file it with your court papers.

Several state amendments to the 1870 Act, including those for Jammu and Kashmir and Haryana, define an impressed stamp to include a franking-machine impression or an e-stamping number. Whether e-payment is accepted in your court depends on your state’s notification.

Who can sell stamp paper and how to spot a fake

Section 74 of the Stamp Act lets the state government make rules on who may sell stamps and stamped paper. Under Section 69, selling stamps without being appointed, or breaking those rules, is an offence.

Buy only from a licensed vendor, a treasury, an authorised bank or SHCIL.
Prefer e-stamps where available, because the number can be checked online.
Verify every e-stamp on the Verify e-Stamp Certificate page before signing.
Check that the value matches the duty for your document’s article.
Do not write two documents on one paper; Section 14 allows one chargeable instrument per stamped paper.

For a disputed filing or a high-value deed, check the fee or duty with an advocate or the sub-registrar before you pay.

Frequently asked questions

What is non-judicial stamp paper?

Stamped paper used to pay stamp duty on documents such as agreements, affidavits and deeds under the Indian Stamp Act, 1899 or a state Stamp Act.

Can I use judicial stamp paper for an agreement?

No. Judicial paper pays court fees. A document needs stamp duty, which is paid through non-judicial paper, franking or an e-stamp.

What is a court-fee stamp?

A stamp that shows court fee has been paid under the Court-fees Act, 1870 or a state law. It can be impressed paper, an adhesive stamp or an electronic receipt where notified.

Can I pay court fees online?

Yes, in many places. Use SHCIL’s e-Court fee in its 16 listed States and UTs, or the eCourts ePay portal linked to your state’s receipt system.

Is e-stamp paper judicial or non-judicial?

SHCIL’s e-stamp pays non-judicial stamp duty. Court fees go through its separate e-Court fee service.

What happens if a document is not properly stamped?

Under Section 35 of the Stamp Act, it cannot be admitted in evidence or registered until the duty and penalty are paid.

Sources

The Court-fees Act, 1870, with state amendments — India Code (checked 16 Sep 2026)
Indian Stamp Act, 1899 (text) — Punjab Law Revision Society (checked 16 Sep 2026)
e-Court fee — StockHolding (SHCIL) (checked 16 Sep 2026)
e-Stamping — StockHolding (SHCIL) (checked 16 Sep 2026)
e-Stamping FAQ — StockHolding (SHCIL) (checked 16 Sep 2026)
eCourts fee payment — e-Committee, Supreme Court of India (checked 16 Sep 2026)
ePay: eCourts digital payment — e-Committee, Supreme Court of India (checked 16 Sep 2026)