Use RTI to get information from the government

Your pension file has been "under process" for a year. The road outside was repaired on paper but not in reality. The Right to Information Act, 2005 lets you ask the office directly, and makes a named officer answer within a deadline. This guide shows how to write an application that gets results, and what to do when it is ignored.

What you can ask, and from whom

"Information" means any material in any form: records, documents, file notings, emails, opinions, reports, circulars, contracts, samples, and data held in computers Sec 2(f) RTI Act. You can ask for certified copies, inspect files, take notes, and obtain samples of materials Sec 2(j).

A "public authority" is any body set up by the Constitution, a law or a government order, and any body owned, controlled or substantially financed by the government: ministries, public sector banks, universities, municipalities, panchayats, and NGOs that get substantial government funds Sec 2(h). Private companies are not covered directly.

What you cannot get Sec 8: information that would harm national security, is barred by a court, is a cabinet paper before the decision, is a trade secret or third-party commercial confidence, or would endanger someone's life. Personal information of a third person is also exempt. Until November 2025 this exemption had a public-interest override; the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 amended Sec 8(1)(j) with effect from 13 November 2025 to remove that balancing test. As of 2026 the amended clause is being challenged in court and its application is still settling, so expect more refusals on "personal information" and argue the public interest anyway in appeal. Intelligence and security agencies in the Second Schedule are excluded, except for allegations of corruption or human rights violations Sec 24.

What the law says about time and money

• Fee: ₹10 with the application for central government offices, by cash, demand draft, postal order or online, and ₹2 per A4 page for copies (RTI Rules, 2012). States prescribe their own, usually similar, fees. A person below the poverty line pays nothing Sec 7(5); attach your BPL card copy.
• 30 days to reply from the day the PIO receives the application Sec 7(1). Add 5 days if you filed through an Assistant PIO at a post office Sec 5(2). If the information concerns a third party, up to 40 days Sec 11.
• 48 hours if the information concerns the life or liberty of a person, for example a missing person's custody record or an urgent medical file.
• Wrong office? The PIO must transfer your application to the right public authority within 5 days and tell you Sec 6(3).
• Deemed refusal: no reply within the deadline counts as a refusal Sec 7(2). Late information must be supplied free Sec 7(6).
• Penalty: the Information Commission can fine a PIO ₹250 per day of delay, up to ₹25,000, and recommend disciplinary action Sec 20.

Step by step: writing an application that works

1. Find the right office and PIO. Every public authority must publish its PIO's name and address Sec 4; look on the department's website under "RTI". If unsure, address it to "The Public Information Officer" of the office that holds the file.
2. Write it short. Heading "Application under Section 6(1) of the RTI Act, 2005", your name and postal address (no other personal details are needed), and numbered questions.
3. Ask for records, not opinions. "Provide a certified copy of the file notings on application no. 123 dated 2 March 2026" works. "Why has my file not moved?" invites a one-line reply. Ask for "the current status, the officer with whom the file is pending, and the date it reached them".
4. Keep it to one subject and a handful of points. Separate subjects go in separate applications.
5. Pay the fee and keep proof. Online: rtionline.gov.in for central ministries and many central bodies. By post: speed post with the postal order attached; keep the tracking slip. In person: get an acknowledgement with the diary number.
6. Count 30 days from receipt. If extra copying charges are demanded, pay them promptly.
7. If refused, delayed or evasive, file the first appeal within 30 days of the reply or the deadline, to the First Appellate Authority (a senior officer of the same department) Sec 19(1). Attach your application, proof of posting and the reply, and state what was not given. They must decide within 30 days, extendable to 45.
8. Then the second appeal within 90 days of the first appeal's decision or deadline, to the Central Information Commission (cic.gov.in) or the State Information Commission Sec 19(3). You can also file a complaint to the Commission under Sec 18 if no PIO exists or you were obstructed.