What the RTI Act gives you The Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2005 gives every citizen of India the right to seek information from public authorities — government departments, municipal bodies, public-sector undertakings or organisations covered by the Act, and bodies substantially financed by the government. Each public authority has a Public Information Officer (PIO) who receives applications and provides the information. You do not need to give any reason for seeking information (Section 6(2)), and you do not need a lawyer. A simple written application is enough. Before you file: check if the information is already public Many things citizens file RTIs for are already published. Checking first saves the 30-day wait: Application status (certificates, ration cards, pensions, scholarships) is often shown on the department's own portal or the state service portal. Government orders, circulars, sanctioned budgets and scheme guidelines are frequently on department websites under "Documents" or proactive-disclosure (Section 4) pages. Court judgments and case status are available free on eCourts (services.ecourts.gov.in and judgments.ecourts.gov.in). RTI is most useful when the record you need is not published, or when an application of yours is stuck and nobody will tell you why. Filing online Central Government ministries, departments and most central public authorities: rtionline.gov.in. File through the official portal, type the application (up to 3,000 characters), pay Rs. 10 online through the available payment modes, and track status with the registration number. States: many states run their own RTI portals; others accept applications through state service portals or only on paper. Check your state's official RTI portal before assuming online filing is available. Some authorities (for example, several High Courts) run their own separate RTI portals under their own rules. Filing offline (works everywhere) Write the application in English, Hindi or the official language of your area (Section 6(1)) — on plain paper; no prescribed form is required unless a state rule prescribes one. Address it to "The Public Information Officer (PIO)" of the authority that holds the record. State the information you want, in numbered points, as specifically as you can. Declare that you are a citizen of India. Attach the application fee in the mode the authority's RTI rules allow — commonly an Indian Postal Order (IPO), court-fee stamp, demand draft, or cash against receipt. Rs. 10 for central authorities; state fees vary. Send it by Registered Post or Speed Post (keep the receipt), or submit it in person and take an acknowledgment. What happens next The PIO is ordinarily required to respond within 30 days of receipt (Section 7(1)). Where the information concerns a person's life or liberty, the limit is 48 hours. If your application was sent to the wrong public authority, it must be transferred to the right one under Section 6(3), ordinarily within 5 days, and you must be informed. If the public authority fails to comply with the prescribed time limit, the information is to be provided free of charge (Section 7(6)). If there is no reply, or the reply is unsatisfactory, you can file a First Appeal — see the separate note on First Appeals. Practical tips Keep copies of everything: the application, fee proof, postal receipt. Ask for records ("copy of...", "status of... as on record", "the register entry..."), not opinions or explanations. One subject per application works best; very long multi-department applications get transferred in pieces and slow everything down. Reviewed by Adv. Syed Musab Rahim Hashmi. Contributed by FileMyRTI