Guide for applicants — RTI Wiki Citizen Guide 2026

A step-by-step guide to the Right to Information Act, 2005 for a citizen seeking information from a public authority. The guide sets out the fee, the drafting, the timelines, and the appeal path. It is written for a first-time applicant and for a practitioner who wants a short and current reference.

Any citizen of India can file an application for information from a public authority. Section 3 of the Act confers the right. The Act does not ask the applicant to show a reason or to disclose any personal detail beyond what is needed to deliver the information. Section 6(2) expressly bars the Public Information Officer from asking why the information is needed.

The right extends to any information in any form that is held by a public authority or that is under its control. The definition is at Section 2(f). The forms listed in that section include records, documents, memos, emails, opinions, advices, press releases, circulars, orders, log books, contracts, reports, papers, samples, models, and data held in an electronic form.

The right extends only to existing information. It does not require a public authority to create a new record or to answer a question of opinion. This limit was set out by the Supreme Court in CBSE and Anr. v. Aditya Bandopadhyay, (2011) 8 SCC 497.

The form prescribed for a first application under Section 6(1) varies by jurisdiction. The Central Government has notified a simple format. Several States have notified their own formats. See RTI Rules for the format applicable in your case.

A sound first application has the following parts.

1. Address block. The name and address of the Public Information Officer of the public authority. If the Public Information Officer is not known, the application may be addressed to “The Public Information Officer” at the office of the public authority.
2. Name and address of the applicant. An Indian citizen's name and an address at which the reply can be sent. A telephone number and an email address may be added for convenience.
3. Subject. A single line that names the information sought.
4. Prayer. A numbered list of the items of information sought. Each item should be phrased as a request for a specific document or class of documents. The request should be factual and not argumentative.
5. Period. The date range to which the request relates.
6. Fee. The prescribed fee and the mode of payment.
7. Declaration. A line that the applicant is a citizen of India.
8. Signature and date.

Ready-to-use drafts are in the templates namespace.

• Template: first RTI application.
• Template: first appeal.
• Template: second appeal.

The Central Government fee for a first application is ten rupees under the Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005. Additional charges apply for photocopies, certified copies, and information in electronic form. Applicants who fall below the poverty line are exempt from the application fee under Section 7(5). For the State-level fee, see RTI Rules.

Section 7 sets the timelines for disposal. The core periods are listed below.

• Reply to a first application: thirty days from the date of receipt by the Public Information Officer.
• Transfer under Section 6(3) to another public authority: five days from the date of receipt.
• Third-party notice under Section 11: five days from the date of receipt.
• Reply where a third party is involved: forty days from the date of receipt.
• Reply where life or liberty of a person is concerned: forty-eight hours from the date of receipt.
• First appeal to the First Appellate Authority: thirty days from the date of the Public Information Officer's reply, or from the date on which the reply was due.
• Order on a first appeal: thirty days from the date of receipt, extendable to forty-five days with reasons.
• Second appeal to the Information Commission: ninety days from the date of the first appeal order, or from the date on which the order was due.

A deemed refusal under Section 7(2) arises where the Public Information Officer does not reply within the period. The applicant can proceed to the first appeal on that basis.

See Time limits under the Right to Information Act, 2005 for the full table.

A Public Information Officer may refuse a request only on a ground set out in Section 8, Section 9, Section 11, or Section 24. Section 8(1) lists ten exemptions. A brief note on each is at Grounds for rejection.

The amendment to Section 8(1)(j) effected by Section 44(3) of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023, in force from 14 November 2025, has changed the personal information exemption. The earlier clause carried a proviso that permitted disclosure where the larger public interest justified it. That override now sits in Section 8(2) of the RTI Act. A full note is at DPDP Rules, 2025: The amendment to Section 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act.

Section 10 provides for severability. Where part of a record is exempt and part is not, the non-exempt part must be released. The Public Information Officer must record reasons in writing.

A first appeal under Section 19(1) lies to the officer senior in rank to the Public Information Officer within the public authority. The appeal must be filed within thirty days of the Public Information Officer's reply or deemed refusal. The appeal does not need a prescribed form. The grounds should be stated clearly.

See First appeal and Template: first appeal for drafting guidance.

A second appeal under Section 19(3) lies to the Central Information Commission or the relevant State Information Commission. The appeal must be filed within ninety days of the first appeal order or deemed refusal. The format is prescribed by the Commission's regulations.

See Second appeal and Template: second appeal for drafting guidance.

Section 20 provides for a mandatory penalty of two hundred and fifty rupees for each day of delay, capped at twenty-five thousand rupees. The penalty is imposed on the Public Information Officer by the Information Commission on a finding of malafide denial, refusal to accept an application, knowingly giving incorrect or misleading information, destruction of the information, or obstruction in furnishing it.

• Sample applications. Formats compiled from practitioner feedback.
• Fundamental facts about the Right to Information. Common terms and concepts.
• Time limits under the Right to Information Act, 2005.
• Grounds for rejection.
• Severability.
• Third party.
• The Right to Information Act, 2005 (as amended). Section-wise text.

1. The Right to Information Act, 2005 (No. 22 of 2005).
2. The Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005, Central Government.
3. The Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023 (No. 22 of 2023), Section 44(3).
4. The Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025, notified on 14 November 2025.
5. Central Board of Secondary Education and Anr. v. Aditya Bandopadhyay and Ors., (2011) 8 SCC 497.

Last reviewed on: 19 April 2026 — RTI Wiki editorial team.

• First Appeal.
• Fundamental Facts about RTI.
• RTI Form in Marathi.
• RTI Application Forms.
• When to supply information free of Cost?.