# How to file an RTI application in India (2026 complete guide) # How to file an RTI application in India (2026 complete guide) **TL;DR:** Any citizen of India can file a Right to Information (RTI) application with a public authority for ₹10. You can file online for Central Government bodies through [rtionline.gov.in](https://rtionline.gov.in/), or offline by post or in person for both Central and State authorities. The Public Information Officer (PIO) must reply within 30 days, or within 48 hours if the request concerns the life or liberty of a person. If you get no reply or a poor one, you file a first appeal under Section 19, and then a second appeal to the Central or State Information Commission. People below the poverty line pay no fee. This guide walks through every step, the real fees, the exemptions under Section 8, and the live controversy over the DPDP Act change to the personal-information exemption. --- ## On this page - [What the RTI Act 2005 actually is](#what-the-rti-act-2005-actually-is) - [Who can file an RTI application](#who-can-file-an-rti-application) - [Which bodies are covered: public authorities](#which-bodies-are-covered-public-authorities) - [The fee structure and BPL exemption](#the-fee-structure-and-bpl-exemption) - [How to file an RTI online](#how-to-file-an-rti-online) - [How to file an RTI offline](#how-to-file-an-rti-offline) - [The PIO, the APIO and who actually answers you](#the-pio-the-apio-and-who-actually-answers-you) - [The 30-day timeline and the 48-hour rule](#the-30-day-timeline-and-the-48-hour-rule) - [Section 8 exemptions: when they can say no](#section-8-exemptions-when-they-can-say-no) - [The DPDP Act and the fight over personal information](#the-dpdp-act-and-the-fight-over-personal-information) - [First appeal and second appeal: your remedies](#first-appeal-and-second-appeal-your-remedies) - [A sample RTI application you can adapt](#a-sample-rti-application-you-can-adapt) - [Common mistakes that get applications rejected](#common-mistakes-that-get-applications-rejected) - [How Niyam helps you build a stronger case](#how-niyam-helps-you-build-a-stronger-case) - [Frequently asked questions](#frequently-asked-questions) - [Start for ₹100](#start-for-100) --- ## What the RTI Act 2005 actually is The Right to Information Act, 2005 is the law that turned a vague constitutional promise into a tool an ordinary person can use on a Tuesday afternoon. Before it, the default posture of Indian officialdom was secrecy. A citizen who wanted to know why their pension file had been sitting untouched for two years, or which contractor had won a municipal tender, had no enforceable way to ask. The Act changed that by making disclosure the rule and secrecy the narrow exception. In plain terms, the Act gives every citizen the right to ask a public authority for information, and it puts a legal duty on that authority to provide it within a fixed time or explain, in writing, why it will not. The full text of the statute is published by the [Central Information Commission](https://cic.gov.in/sites/default/files/RTI-Act_English.pdf), and it is worth a read because the language is plainer than most Indian legislation. The Act rests on a simple idea. Public authorities hold information on behalf of the public. They are custodians, not owners. So the information belongs, in a real sense, to the people who paid for it through their taxes. The preamble of the Act says it is meant to promote transparency and accountability in the working of every public authority. That single sentence has been the basis for tens of thousands of orders forcing departments to hand over files they would rather have kept locked. What makes the RTI Act unusually powerful is the combination of three features. First, you do not have to give a reason for wanting the information. Section 6(2) of the Act expressly bars the authority from asking why you want it, except for the contact details needed to reach you. Second, the timelines are short and the penalties for ignoring them fall on the officer personally. Third, the appeal structure does not require a lawyer or court fees, which keeps it within reach of people who could never afford litigation. An RTI application is not a courtroom weapon, but it is often the first step that produces the document a court case later needs. ## Who can file an RTI application The right to file an RTI application belongs to citizens of India. This is one of the genuine limits of the Act, and it trips people up regularly. Section 3 of the RTI Act grants the right "to all citizens", which means a few practical things. A natural person who is an Indian citizen can file. You do not need to be a resident of the state whose department you are questioning. A citizen in Chennai can file with a department in Jammu. You do not need to prove your citizenship with a passport at the time of filing, though the online portal asks you to confirm it. Companies, firms, associations, societies and trusts are not citizens, so as legal persons they cannot file in their own name. This was settled in practice and reinforced by judicial observations. The workaround is simple and entirely legitimate: a director, partner, member or any individual citizen connected to the organisation files in their own personal name. The information sought can still relate to the organisation's concern. Non-citizens, including foreign nationals and Overseas Citizens of India (OCI) cardholders, are outside the scope of Section 3. The [official RTI portal](https://rtionline.gov.in/) requires the applicant to confirm Indian citizenship at the filing stage, which is the practical gatekeeping mechanism. There is no requirement that you have a personal stake in the information. You do not need to be the affected party. A citizen can ask about a public works project in a district they have never visited. The Act deliberately separates the right to information from any concept of locus standi. ## Which bodies are covered: public authorities The Act applies to "public authorities", a term defined in Section 2(h). The definition is broad on purpose. It covers any authority, body or institution of self-government that was established or constituted by the Constitution, by a law made by Parliament or a state legislature, or by a notification or order of the appropriate government. That sweeps in the obvious candidates: central and state ministries, departments, the Parliament and state legislatures, the judiciary's administrative wings, panchayati raj institutions, municipal corporations, and statutory regulators. It also covers public sector undertakings such as the Railways, nationalised banks, the Life Insurance Corporation, and state electricity boards. Critically, Section 2(h) also reaches bodies that are owned, controlled or substantially financed by the government, and non-government organisations that are substantially financed, directly or indirectly, by government funds. The phrase "substantially financed" has produced a lot of litigation, because it determines whether a private-looking institution, a government-aided school or a sports federation, falls within the net. The test the courts apply looks at the degree of government funding and control rather than a fixed percentage. What is generally not covered is the purely private sector. A private company that takes no government money and operates under no government control is not a public authority. You cannot RTI a private firm directly. You can, however, RTI the government regulator that holds information about that firm, which is often the more useful route anyway. A small set of intelligence and security organisations listed in the Second Schedule of the Act, such as the Intelligence Bureau and the Research and Analysis Wing, are largely exempt, although even they must disclose information relating to allegations of corruption and human rights violations. ## The fee structure and BPL exemption The cost of filing an RTI is deliberately low so that money is not a barrier. For Central Government public authorities, the application fee is ₹10, prescribed under the Right to Information Rules, 2012. State governments set their own fees under their own rules, and most have settled on ₹10 as well, though a handful differ, so it is worth checking the rule of the state you are filing in. Beyond the application fee, there are charges for the information itself. The standard Central rates are ₹2 per page of A4 or A3 size for photocopies, the actual cost for larger sizes, and the actual cost or price for samples, models or printed publications. For inspection of records there is no fee for the first hour, after which a charge applies per fifteen minutes. The [Department of Legal Affairs](https://legalaffairs.gov.in/rti/fee-required-under-rti-act) sets out the fee schedule applicable to Central authorities. These additional charges matter because of how the timeline interacts with them. When the PIO works out the cost of the copies, they send you an intimation. The clock effectively pauses while you pay that amount, and the days between the intimation and your payment are not counted in the 30-day period under the rules. So a request that produces hundreds of pages can take longer in practice, even though the authority is acting lawfully. The single most important exemption from fees is for people below the poverty line. Under Section 7(5) of the Act, no fee at all is charged to an applicant who is below the poverty line, neither the application fee nor the charges for the information. To claim this, you attach a copy of your BPL card or the relevant proof. This provision is what keeps the RTI genuinely accessible to the people who often need it most. Here is the fee picture for Central authorities at a glance. | Item | Charge (Central authorities) | |---|---| | Application fee | ₹10 | | Photocopy (A4 / A3) | ₹2 per page | | Larger size copy | Actual cost | | Sample, model, publication | Actual cost or price | | Inspection of records (first hour) | Free | | Inspection of records (per 15 min thereafter) | As prescribed | | Applicant below poverty line | No fee at all | ## How to file an RTI online Online filing is the fastest and cleanest route, but it works only for Central Government public authorities. The portal for this is [rtionline.gov.in](https://rtionline.gov.in/), run by the Department of Personnel and Training. It is important to be clear about the boundary: this portal handles applications to all ministries, departments and public authorities of the Central Government, including bodies like the Railways and nationalised banks. It does not handle applications to state authorities. The portal warns that if you file for a state public authority, including the Government of NCT Delhi, through it, the application will be returned without a refund. The process on the central portal runs as follows. 1. Open the portal and choose "Submit Request". You will see the guidelines page first. Read it once, then tick the box confirming you have read them. 2. Select the ministry or department you want to file with from the dropdown. If you pick the wrong one, the application can be transferred, but choosing correctly saves time. 3. Fill in your personal details. The form asks you to confirm Indian citizenship, and to provide a name, address, email and mobile number so the authority can reach you. You do not state any reason for the request. 4. Type your question in the text box. There is a character limit (commonly 3,000 characters), so phrase your questions tightly. If you have more to ask, you can attach a supporting PDF. 5. If you are below the poverty line, select that option and upload your BPL proof. If not, you proceed to payment. 6. Pay the ₹10 fee online by net banking, debit card, credit card or UPI, depending on what the payment gateway offers. 7. On successful payment, the portal generates a unique registration number. It is also sent to your email and by SMS. Save it. This number is how you track the application and how you file a first appeal later if you need to. The whole thing takes ten to fifteen minutes if your questions are ready. You can log back in any time to check the status and read the reply when it is uploaded. Several states run their own online portals modelled on the central one. Maharashtra's [rtionline.maharashtra.gov.in](https://rtionline.maharashtra.gov.in/) is widely regarded as the most mature state portal, and Karnataka, Odisha and others have functioning systems too. The set of states with full online filing keeps expanding, so before assuming you must file on paper, check whether the state you are targeting has its own portal. ## How to file an RTI offline Offline filing is the universal fallback. It works for every public authority, Central and State, and it is the only route for many state and local bodies that have no online system. An offline application is a plain written request, and Section 6 of the Act is generous about its form. You write the application in English, Hindi, or the official language of the area where you are filing. There is no prescribed format under the Act itself, although many departments publish a template you can use. At a minimum your application should contain the name of the public authority, your questions stated clearly, your name and full postal address, and your contact details. You sign it and date it. The fee for an offline application is paid in a way the rules accept: typically a Indian Postal Order (IPO) made out to the Accounts Officer of the department, a demand draft, a banker's cheque, or cash against a receipt if you file in person. The IPO route is the most common for postal applications because it is cheap and easy to obtain at any post office. Write your name and the application reference on the back of the IPO so it does not get separated from your file. You then send the application to the PIO of the relevant public authority. You can hand it over in person and get a dated acknowledgement, or send it by registered post or speed post. Always keep proof of dispatch and the acknowledgement, because the 30-day clock starts from the date the authority receives the application, and you may need to prove that date in an appeal. If you do not know who the PIO is, you can address the application to "The Public Information Officer" of the department by name and post it to the department's main office. You can also route it through an Assistant Public Information Officer, whose job includes receiving applications and forwarding them. Offline filing has one quiet advantage. A signed paper application with a postal receipt creates a paper trail that is hard to dispute, which is worth the extra effort for sensitive requests where you anticipate resistance. ## The PIO, the APIO and who actually answers you Two officers matter in the RTI process, and confusing them costs people weeks. The Public Information Officer is the person inside the public authority who is responsible for answering your application. Every public authority is required to designate PIOs. The PIO is the one who collects the information from across the department, decides whether any of it is exempt, calculates the copy charges, and sends you the reply. If the PIO sits on your application or refuses without a valid ground, the PIO is the officer who can be personally penalised. The Assistant Public Information Officer plays a narrower role. The APIO's main job is to receive RTI applications and first appeals and forward them to the right PIO or appellate authority. APIOs are commonly stationed at sub-divisional or sub-district level, and at post offices designated as Central Assistant Public Information Officers for central applications. The APIO does not decide your application. So if you hand your application to an APIO, the clock and the duty to reply still rest with the PIO it is forwarded to, and you get a few extra days added to account for the transfer. There is a third actor worth knowing. Under Section 6(3), if you send your application to the wrong public authority, that authority must transfer it to the correct one within five days, rather than simply rejecting it. This is a useful safety net, but it does add to the time, so getting the addressee right still pays. ## The 30-day timeline and the 48-hour rule The headline number is 30 days. Once a public authority receives your application, the PIO must either provide the information or reject it with reasons within 30 days. This is the core promise of the Act under Section 7(1), and it is what gives RTI its teeth compared to ordinary departmental correspondence that can drift for months. There are well-defined variations on that base figure. If your application is received through an APIO, an additional five days is allowed to account for the time it takes to reach the PIO. If the information concerns the life or liberty of a person, the PIO must respond within 48 hours. This short fuse is meant for genuine emergencies, such as information needed to protect someone in custody or in danger, and it is not to be invoked casually. If a third party's interests are involved, the PIO must give that third party a chance to be heard before deciding, and the timeline extends to 40 days. And where the information sought relates to allegations of human rights violations from one of the listed security organisations, a longer 45-day window applies with approval of the relevant Information Commission. One consequence of missing the deadline is built into the Act. Under Section 7(2), if the PIO fails to decide within the period, the request is deemed to have been refused. That deemed refusal is what lets you move to appeal. And under Section 7(6), if the authority misses the deadline, the information must be provided free of any further charge, which removes the incentive to delay. This table summarises the timelines. | Situation | Time limit to respond | |---|---| | Standard application to the PIO | 30 days | | Application routed through an APIO | 35 days | | Information concerning life or liberty | 48 hours | | Third-party information involved | 40 days | | Human rights information from listed security bodies | 45 days | | Deadline missed | Deemed refusal; information then free of charge | ## Section 8 exemptions: when they can say no The right to information is broad, but it is not absolute. Section 8(1) of the Act lists the categories where a public authority is not obliged to disclose. The [full list of exemptions](https://indiankanoon.org/doc/758550/) is published on Indian Kanoon, and understanding it helps you frame requests that do not run straight into a wall. The exempt categories under Section 8(1) cover information that would prejudicially affect the sovereignty, security and integrity of India or its strategic and economic interests; information forbidden to be published by a court or that would be contempt of court; information whose disclosure would breach the privilege of Parliament or a state legislature; commercial confidence, trade secrets and intellectual property where disclosure would harm a third party's competitive position; information held in a fiduciary relationship; information received in confidence from a foreign government; information whose disclosure would endanger the life or physical safety of a person or identify a confidential source; information that would impede an investigation, apprehension or prosecution; cabinet papers including records of Council of Ministers deliberations; and personal information of the kind discussed in the next section. Two safety valves run through Section 8 and they are easy to overlook. First, several of the exemptions, including commercial confidence and fiduciary relationships, carry an internal public-interest test: the information must be disclosed anyway if the competent authority is satisfied that the larger public interest warrants it. Second, Section 8(2) contains a powerful overriding clause. It says a public authority may allow access to exempt information, even information otherwise protected by the Official Secrets Act, 1923, if the public interest in disclosure outweighs the harm to the protected interests. This means an exemption is a starting point for analysis, not an automatic shield. There is also a sunset rule. Under Section 8(3), most exemptions fall away for records that are more than twenty years old, subject to a few exceptions for genuinely sensitive categories. So a file that could be withheld today may have to be disclosed two decades from now. Section 9 adds a separate ground: a request can be rejected if disclosure would infringe a copyright held by someone other than the state. And Section 11 sets out the third-party procedure, requiring notice and a hearing where the information was supplied by, or relates to, a third party who treated it as confidential. ## The DPDP Act and the fight over personal information The most contested issue in RTI law right now is what happened to the personal-information exemption. This is worth getting right, because there is a lot of confusion about its current status. As originally enacted, Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act protected personal information in a balanced way. Information could be denied if it had no relationship to any public activity or interest, or if disclosure would cause an unwarranted invasion of privacy. But the same clause allowed disclosure where the larger public interest justified it, and it contained a proviso that information which cannot be denied to Parliament or a state legislature cannot be denied to an applicant. That public-interest override is what let citizens obtain, for example, details of public servants' assets or selection lists where accountability outweighed privacy. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, which received Presidential assent on 11 August 2023, contains a provision, Section 44(3), that rewrites Section 8(1)(j). As reported by [Bar and Bench](https://www.barandbench.com/columns/section-443-of-the-dpdp-act-cloaking-indias-right-to-know-in-secrecy), the amendment replaces the balanced clause with a flat exemption for "information which relates to personal information", stripping out the public-interest override and the related safeguards. Transparency advocates have reacted strongly. The National Campaign for People's Right to Information and others argue the change could let public authorities deny accountability information by labelling it personal. In March 2025, more than 120 Members of Parliament from the opposition bloc urged the government to repeal Section 44(3). The debate is well covered in [LiveLaw's reporting](https://www.livelaw.in/top-stories/whats-public-data-personal-data-supreme-court-on-challenge-to-dpdp-act-526194) on the Supreme Court proceedings. Here is the crucial practical point as of mid-2026. The DPDP Act has been passed and assented to, but the government brings its provisions into force by notification, and the amendment to Section 8(1)(j) operates through that framework rather than the moment the Act was signed. At the same time, the constitutionality of the DPDP Act, including the Section 44(3) amendment to the RTI Act, is being heard by the Supreme Court, which has been examining the tension between privacy and transparency at the level of a larger bench. Because both the commencement mechanics and the litigation are live, you should treat the precise operative status of the amended Section 8(1)(j) as unsettled and verify it against the current government notifications and the latest Supreme Court orders before relying on it in a specific case. What is certain is the direction of the dispute and the gravity of what is at stake for the public-interest override. For now, when you frame a request that touches another person's information, anchor your case in the public interest and in the accountability angle. Whatever the final outcome of the litigation, an applicant who can show a genuine public-interest connection is in a far stronger position than one who cannot. ## First appeal and second appeal: your remedies If the PIO refuses, gives an incomplete reply, charges excessive fees, or simply stays silent past the deadline, you are not stuck. The Act builds in a two-stage appeal that costs nothing and needs no lawyer. The first appeal is your initial remedy under Section 19(1). You file it with the First Appellate Authority, who is an officer senior in rank to the PIO within the same public authority. You must file the first appeal within 30 days from the date you received the PIO's decision, or from the date the decision was due if you got no reply at all. The Appellate Authority can condone a delay beyond 30 days if you show sufficient cause. The First Appellate Authority is required to dispose of the appeal within 30 days, extendable to a maximum of 45 days with reasons recorded in writing. There is no fee for a first appeal under the Central rules. The second appeal is the heavier remedy under Section 19(3). If the first appeal does not resolve your grievance, you go to the Information Commission. For a Central public authority, that is the [Central Information Commission](https://cic.gov.in/second-appeal). For a state public authority, it is the relevant State Information Commission. You must file the second appeal within 90 days of the First Appellate Authority's decision, or of the date by which that decision should have been made. As with the first appeal, the Commission can condone a delay for sufficient cause. The Information Commission has real powers. It can order the disclosure of information, require the authority to compensate the applicant for any loss suffered, and impose a penalty on the PIO. Under Section 20, where a PIO has refused without reasonable cause, delayed beyond the deadline, given false information, or destroyed records, the Commission can impose a penalty of ₹250 for each day of default, up to a maximum of ₹25,000. That penalty comes out of the officer's own pocket, which is what makes it bite. The Commission can also recommend disciplinary action. One realistic caveat: while the timelines for first appeals are fixed, there is no statutory deadline for the Commission to dispose of a second appeal. Pendency at several Commissions means a second appeal can take many months, sometimes longer, to be heard. This is a known weakness of the system, so a well-drafted first appeal that resolves the matter at that stage is always preferable to relying on the second appeal. | Stage | Where you go | Time limit to file | Time limit to decide | |---|---|---|---| | First appeal | First Appellate Authority (senior to the PIO) | 30 days from the PIO's decision | 30 days, up to 45 with reasons | | Second appeal | Central or State Information Commission | 90 days from the first-appeal decision | No statutory limit | ## A sample RTI application you can adapt Below is a plain template that works for an offline application. Adjust the addressee, the questions and the fee line to your situation. For an online application on the central portal, you would type the body of this into the request box and skip the IPO line, since you pay online. > To, > The Public Information Officer, > [Name and full address of the public authority] > > Subject: Application under the Right to Information Act, 2005 > > Sir / Madam, > > Under the Right to Information Act, 2005, I request the following information held by your office: > > 1. Please provide a certified copy of [the specific document, file or order you want, described as precisely as you can]. > 2. Please state the current status of [the specific file, application, complaint or project], including the date it was last acted upon and the name and designation of the officer currently dealing with it. > 3. Please provide the file notings and correspondence relating to [the specific matter] for the period from [date] to [date]. > > I am a citizen of India. The application fee of ₹10 is enclosed by way of Indian Postal Order No. [number] dated [date] in favour of the Accounts Officer of your department. [If you are below the poverty line, replace this line with: I belong to the Below Poverty Line category and enclose a copy of my BPL card; no fee is payable under Section 7(5) of the Act.] > > Please send the information to the address below. If any part of the information is held by another public authority, kindly transfer the application under Section 6(3) and inform me. > > Yours faithfully, > [Signature] > [Full name] > [Full postal address] > [Email and mobile number] > [Date and place] A few drafting notes turn a weak application into a strong one. Ask for specific documents rather than open-ended explanations, because PIOs are obliged to provide information that exists on record, not to create new analysis or answer hypothetical questions. Number your questions so the reply can be matched to each one. Where you want copies, say "certified copy", which carries evidentiary value. And keep the language neutral and factual; an aggressive tone gives a reluctant officer an excuse to stall. ## Common mistakes that get applications rejected Most RTI failures are self-inflicted, and almost all are avoidable. Knowing the usual traps saves you a wasted month. The first mistake is asking questions instead of seeking information. The Act gives access to information that exists on file. It does not require an officer to give opinions, justify a policy, or answer "why" questions in the abstract. Reframe "why was my file delayed" as "provide the file notings and the dates of every action taken on file number X". The second version forces a documentary answer. The second mistake is using the wrong portal or wrong authority. Filing a state matter on the central portal gets the application returned without a refund, as the portal itself warns. Always match the body to the level of government. The third is missing the appeal window. The 30-day limit for a first appeal and the 90-day limit for a second appeal are real, and although delay can be condoned for sufficient cause, you should never rely on that. Diary the dates the moment you get a reply or the moment a reply falls due. The fourth is paying the fee in a form the rules do not accept, such as ordinary stamps or cash by post. Use an Indian Postal Order, a demand draft, or the online payment gateway. A mismatched fee can hold up an otherwise perfect application. The fifth is vagueness. "Send me everything about the road project" invites a refusal on the ground that the request is too broad. Define the document, the period, and the office. ## How Niyam helps you build a stronger case An RTI reply is often the beginning of a legal matter, not the end of it. The certified copy of an order, the file notings showing how a decision was made, or the tender records you obtain become the raw material for a representation, a complaint, or a writ petition. The hard part is knowing what the documents mean in law and what to do next. This is where grounded legal research changes the game. Niyam is built on a large corpus of Indian judgments and statutes, and it answers in a way that cites real authority rather than inventing it. If your RTI reveals that a department ignored a binding precedent, or that an order was passed without giving you a hearing, you can ask Niyam to find the Supreme Court and High Court decisions that say so, with the actual citations attached. If you want to understand how courts have read Section 8 exemptions, or what counts as "substantially financed" under Section 2(h), you get answers anchored in case law instead of guesswork. The same workflow runs into the remedies that follow an RTI. If the information points to a consumer wrong, the next step might be a complaint, and our guide on [how to file a consumer complaint on eDaakhil](/blog/file-consumer-complaint-edaakhil) walks through that process. If the matter is one of administrative illegality by a public authority, the constitutional remedy is often a writ, and you can read our explainer on [how to file a writ petition](/blog/how-to-file-writ-petition). When you finally hold a judgment or order in your hand, our guide on [how to read a judgment](/blog/how-to-read-a-judgment) helps you extract the parts that matter. And because RTI now sits at the intersection of transparency and data protection, our coverage of the [DPDP Rules 2025](/blog/dpdp-rules-2025) gives the other half of that picture. Used together, an RTI application gets you the facts, and grounded research turns those facts into a case you can actually run. ## Frequently asked questions ### How much does it cost to file an RTI application? The application fee for a Central Government public authority is ₹10. State authorities set their own fee under their own rules, and most charge ₹10 as well, though you should check the specific state rule. Beyond the application fee, you pay for copies of documents, typically ₹2 per page for A4 photocopies from Central authorities. If you are below the poverty line, you pay nothing at all under Section 7(5) of the Act, provided you attach proof such as a BPL card. ### How long does the public authority have to reply? The standard limit is 30 days from the date the public authority receives your application. If the request concerns the life or liberty of a person, the reply is due within 48 hours. The window is 35 days where the application is routed through an Assistant Public Information Officer, and 40 days where a third party's interests have to be considered. If the deadline is missed, the request is treated as deemed refused, which opens the door to appeal, and the information must then be supplied free of further charge. ### Can a company or a foreigner file an RTI? No. The right under Section 3 belongs to citizens of India, so companies, firms and trusts cannot file in their own name, and foreign nationals and OCI cardholders are outside the scope. The standard, fully legitimate workaround for an organisation is to have an individual citizen connected to it, a director, partner or member, file the application in their own personal name while seeking information relevant to the organisation. ### What can I do if I get no reply or a bad reply? You file a first appeal under Section 19(1) with the First Appellate Authority, an officer senior to the PIO, within 30 days of the decision or the date it was due. There is no fee. If that does not resolve matters, you file a second appeal with the Central or State Information Commission within 90 days. The Commission can order disclosure, award compensation, and penalise the PIO at ₹250 per day up to ₹25,000. ### Do I have to give a reason for wanting the information? No. Section 6(2) of the Act expressly bars the public authority from asking why you want the information, except for the contact details needed to reach you. Your motive is irrelevant and you do not need any personal stake in the matter. This is one of the deliberate design features that makes RTI so accessible. ### Has the DPDP Act removed the personal-information exemption's public-interest test? The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 contains Section 44(3), which rewrites Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act to broaden the personal-information exemption and remove the public-interest override that previously allowed disclosure. The DPDP Act has been passed and assented to, but its provisions are brought into force by government notification, and the constitutionality of this amendment is being heard by the Supreme Court. As of mid-2026 the operative status is genuinely unsettled, so you should verify the current position against the latest government notifications and Supreme Court orders before relying on it in a specific case. ### Can I file an RTI for a state government department online? Sometimes. The central portal at rtionline.gov.in only handles Central Government public authorities, and it will return a state application without a refund. Several states run their own online portals, with Maharashtra's system being the most developed, and Karnataka, Odisha and others also offering online filing. For states without a portal, you file offline by post or in person, which always works for both Central and State authorities. ## Start for ₹100 An RTI application gets you the documents. The next move is turning those documents into a position you can defend, and that takes legal research you can trust. Niyam answers questions on Indian law with citations to real judgments and statutes, so you can check what your RTI reply actually means and what comes next, without wading through a library or worrying about fabricated case names. [Start for ₹100 and create your Niyam account](https://app.niyam.ai/register). Bring your RTI reply, ask your question, and get grounded, citable research on Indian law in minutes.