How to Find the Correct PIO for RTI: 7 Practical Methods

You know which public authority holds the record but you do not know who in that authority is the PIO. Or you know the department name but the website does not list a PIO. This page lists the seven reliable methods, in the order you should try them.

For deciding which public authority holds the record (a different question), see the master filing guide at how to file an RTI.

Section 4(1)(b)(xvi) requires every public authority to publish, on its website, the names, designations, and contact details of the PIO, the Assistant PIO, and the First Appellate Authority. Look for a page titled “RTI”, “Right to Information”, or “RTI Cell”.

A typical URL pattern:

• `https://[department].gov.in/rti/`
• `https://[department].nic.in/right-to-information/`
• `https://[state]rti.gov.in/`

If the page exists but is out of date, the named officer is still the legally designated PIO until the public authority gazettes a change. File with the named officer; if they have moved, the office mail-room will route the application to the successor.

For Central ministries, departments, attached offices, statutory bodies, and most public-sector undertakings, rtionline.gov.in auto-routes. Pick the public authority from the drop-down; the portal sends the application to the designated PIO.

This is the fastest method for any Central authority because it bypasses the address-block guesswork.

Several States run their own portals:

• Maharashtra: rtionline.maharashtra.gov.in
• Delhi: rtionline.delhi.gov.in
• Uttar Pradesh: rti.up.nic.in
• Karnataka: rtionline.karnataka.gov.in
• Tamil Nadu: tnrti.tn.gov.in (where active)

Check whether your State has one and whether it covers the public authority you want to write to.

If the public authority is a small field unit (a tehsil office, a sub-divisional engineer's office, a primary health centre) and has no website, write to the parent department. Examples:

• Tehsil office → District Collector → State Revenue Department.
• Primary Health Centre → Chief Medical Officer of the District → State Health Department.
• Sub-divisional Engineer (PWD) → Executive Engineer → Chief Engineer.

The parent department's PIO either replies directly or invokes Section 6(3) to transfer the application.

The reverse problem: you wrote to the head office and they returned the application saying the record is held by a subordinate office. Look up the subordinate office's RTI page (often under the head office's RTI page as a sub-link). For Indian Railways, every Zonal Railway has its own RTI page with division-wise PIO names.

If methods 1-5 all fail, address the application to:

To,
The Public Information Officer,
[Office name and address with PIN code]

Section 5(2) makes the public authority responsible for designating someone to receive RTI applications. The dak clerk will route it to the right desk.

If you guessed wrong about the public authority itself, Section 6(3) requires the receiving PIO to transfer the application within 5 days to the public authority that holds the record, and to inform you in writing.

Do not refile. Do not re-pay. The 30-day clock runs from the date of receipt at the correct public authority. If the wrong PIO refuses to transfer and instead returns the application or rejects it, that is a ground for first appeal under Section 19(1) and a complaint under Section 18.

Whichever method you use, post the application by Speed Post and keep the tracking number. The Speed Post receipt is the legally valid proof of date of receipt. Ordinary post and registered post are inadequate because they do not produce a verifiable date stamp from the portal.

If you file online, the registration number (e.g., MOSJE/R/2025/12345) is your proof.

The public authority is in violation of Section 4(1)(b)(xvi). File the application using Method 6 (fallback wording) and add a separate paragraph asking, as a second item of information, for “the name and designation of the Public Information Officer of this office, together with the Office Order designating that officer”.

Use the postal address. Email-only filing is not yet valid for State authorities; bounce-back is not your problem. Speed Post the paper application.

The public authority is liable for keeping the disclosure current. File with the named officer. The mail-room will route to the successor; the public authority cannot use its own non-update of the website to deny information.

That is a complaint under Section 18(1)(a) - refusal to accept an RTI application. Send the application by Speed Post the same day and lodge a complaint to the Information Commission within 90 days of the refusal.

The named officer is the legally designated PIO until the gazette is amended. File with the named officer. If they have moved, the office will route the application; you do not have to re-file.

You can, but it is not required and may invite a “wrong addressee” objection. Address it to the PIO. The head of the department is, in any event, not a PIO under the Act.

For Central authorities, the rtionline.gov.in drop-down is the official finder. For States, your best route is the State portal or the public authority's own RTI page. There is no consolidated all-India PIO database.

The AI RTI Drafter will suggest the public authority and provide the address block; the actual PIO name must be confirmed from the public authority's Section 4 disclosure.

Many large public authorities have subject-wise PIOs (one for personnel, one for accounts, one for procurement). The Section 4 disclosure lists them. Pick the one whose subject matches your request. If you pick wrong, the office routes the application internally - there is no separate Section 6(3) transfer for intra-office routing.

Yes. The PIO must give a dated receipt at the counter, or the dak section issues a diary number on inward registers. Online, the registration number is the acknowledgement.

Section 6(3) covers it. The receiving PIO transfers within 5 days, and the 30-day clock runs from receipt at the correct authority.

No. The application goes to the PIO. The FAA hears the appeal after the PIO has replied or fallen silent past 30 days. See first appeal under Section 19(1).

• Guide hub
• Guide for applicants
• How to file an RTI under Section 6
• Fill the form, line by line
• When the reply is free
• First appeal
• What is a public authority?
• RTI time limits

1. Right to Information Act, 2005 - Sections 4, 5, 6.
2. rtionline.gov.in - Central RTI portal.
3. DoPT Master Circular on RTI.
4. cic.gov.in - Central Information Commission.

Last reviewed: 9 May 2026.