CIC helpline — Central Information Commission contact (2026)

• Address: Central Information Commission, CIC Bhawan, Baba Gangnath Marg, Munirka, New Delhi 110067. (Older pages place the CIC at the Old JNU Campus / August Kranti Marg — the Commission has since moved to its own CIC Bhawan; use the Munirka address for post.)
• Facilitation desk: 011-26183053 / 011-26767500.
• Email: [email protected].
• Hours: 09:30 to 18:00, Monday to Friday, excluding central-government holidays.
• Website: cic.gov.in — cause lists, decisions, second-appeal and complaint guidelines, RTI disclosures.

The Commission takes second appeals and complaints online:

• Portal: the “Submit Second Appeal and Complaint — Online” service linked from cic.gov.in — registration-based filing with appeal and complaint guidelines published alongside.
• Second appeal (§19(3)): within 90 days of the FAA's order, or of the FAA deadline passing. Attach the RTI copy, the PIO reply, the first appeal and the FAA order.
• Complaint (§18): where there is no PIO, an application was refused, or the office is otherwise in default — no 90-day bar, but choose appeal or complaint, not both for the same cause.
• Track: cause lists and case status are on the site; hearing notices go out by post and email — keep your contact current in the registration.

Before your first filing, keep these ready — the portal asks for them and the appeal is only complete when they are attached:

• A scanned copy of the RTI application with fee proof.
• The PIO's reply, or a note of the date 30 days ran out.
• The first appeal and the FAA's order, or the date its 45-day window closed.
• Your address for notice and a working email — hearing notices travel to both.

Registration is free and one-time; the same account tracks every later appeal. If a scan is too large, compress it — incomplete attachments are the commonest defect the registry flags before listing.

• The Commission usually takes the matter up through video conference first; attend from the link in the notice, or ask for a personal hearing at CIC Bhawan.
• Stick to the record: the dates of application, reply and first appeal do more work than argument.
• The PIO is heard on the same date; most matters close in one sitting, with the order uploaded to the Commission's decision search.
• No lawyer is needed — and none is worth the fee at this stage.

1. Supply of the information within a deadline it fixes.
2. Compensation for loss or detriment suffered by the appellant.
3. Penalty under §20: Rs 250 for each day of unreasonable delay, up to Rs 25,000, against the PIO personally, plus recommendation of disciplinary action for repeated defaults.
4. Systemic directions to the public authority — the CIC regularly orders §4(1)(b) wall-postings and record-digitisation.

The CIC covers central public authorities — ministries, departments, central PSUs, banks, railways, CBDT and CBIC field offices, and constitutional bodies. State-government matters go to the State Information Commission of that state. Not sure which side an office is on? Ask in the first line of your application — if it holds a central stamp, the CIC is your commission.

Registry delays happen; an RTI to the CIC's own CPIO is the clean cure:

1. Status of my second appeal / complaint no. _____ dated _____ as on today.
2. The date of registration and the bench it is allocated to.
3. Reasons for delay in listing beyond the Commission's norms.
4. Copy of the noting or movement of my file in the last 30 days.
5. Likely date of issue of the hearing notice.

The AI RTI Drafter sets the addressee block; the whole route — FAA to CIC — is mapped in the second-appeal guide, with the ready-to-file second appeal format.

Yes — no fee at the CIC or any State Commission.

Proceedings are in English or Hindi; ask in your appeal for the language and, if needed, video-conference attendance.

File with a short condonation application explaining the delay — the Commission can admit it for sufficient cause.

No — those belong to the State Information Commission of the state concerned.

No — the format is conversational, and appellants who arrive with four dates and their enclosures routinely do better than hired argument.

• Second appeal — the complete route
• Second appeal format — CIC
• Section 20 — penalty against the PIO
• All helplines and grievance routes
• The RTI Playbook