If your RTI to the National Institute of Open Schooling has gone unanswered or bounced, the usual reason is address, not law: you sent it to head office when the paper you want sits in a Regional Centre. NIOS runs its RTI work through Regional Centres, and each Regional Centre publishes its own list of designated officers. So the fastest route for a question about your own record is the Regional Centre that actually holds it.
Here is the observable proof. On the Bhopal Regional Centre RTI page there is a heading that reads “Officers designated as Appellate Authorities / CPIO/ Asstt. Public Information Officers”, linking to that centre's own officer order. A Central Public Information Officer, or CPIO, and an Appellate Authority are the roles the RTI Act, 2005 asks a public authority to designate. The point for you is practical: an RTI about a candidate record is best addressed to the CPIO of the office that holds the record, not only to head office.
Use this table to decide where to send your RTI. The left column is what you want. The middle column is our best guidance on which office usually holds it, and the right column is who to address. Please read the middle column as routing guidance, not as a rule NIOS has published. We verified that each Regional Centre designates its own CPIO and Appellate Authority; we did not find a published NIOS chart mapping each document to an office, so this is inference to save you a bounce, and you should confirm on your own Regional Centre page.
| What you want | Likely office that holds it (guidance) | Who to address |
|---|---|---|
| Exam result or mark statement for your session | The Regional Centre linked to your study centre and enrolment | CPIO of that Regional Centre |
| Duplicate marksheet or certificate | The Regional Centre that issued or processes your certificate | CPIO of that Regional Centre |
| Migration certificate status | The Regional Centre handling your certificate, examination cell | CPIO of that Regional Centre |
| Re-evaluation or scrutiny outcome | The examination side of your Regional Centre, or head office examination branch | CPIO of that Regional Centre first |
| Admission or enrolment record | The Regional Centre where you enrolled, through your study centre | CPIO of that Regional Centre |
| A policy, circular or scheme-wide rule | Head office, since it is not tied to one candidate | CPIO at head office |
The pattern is simple. If the answer lives in your personal file, go to the Regional Centre that keeps your personal file. If the answer is a general rule that applies to everyone, head office is the natural home.
We confirmed this layout on the Bhopal Regional Centre RTI page. Other Regional Centres follow the same pattern of publishing their own officer list, so look for the same heading on yours.
Vague requests are the main reason these RTIs bounce or come back with “information not clear”. You are asking about one specific record, so make the officer able to find that exact record without guessing.
Give every identifier you have:
Then ask for the precise document or fact, not a topic. Compare these two:
Keep it to one clear subject per application where you can. Pay the small RTI fee in the manner your Regional Centre accepts, and keep proof of what you paid and when you sent it. If you would like a fuller walkthrough of drafting a clean, specific application, The RTI Playbook takes you through it step by step.
Throughout, keep copies. A clean file of what you asked, when, and what came back is worth more than a strongly worded letter.
If your question is about your own record, such as a marksheet, result, migration certificate, or enrolment, send it to the Regional Centre that holds that record and address the CPIO there. Send it to head office when you want a general policy, circular, or rule that is not tied to one candidate. This routing is practical guidance to avoid a bounce, so confirm the officer on your own Regional Centre page.
Go to nios.ac.in, open your Regional Centre, and open its RTI link. Look for the heading “Officers designated as Appellate Authorities / CPIO/ Asstt. Public Information Officers”. The CPIO and the Appellate Authority for that centre are listed there. We saw this heading on the Bhopal Regional Centre RTI page, and other centres publish their own version.
Give your full name as on the NIOS record, your enrolment number, your exam roll number, the exact session, and your subject and study centre. Then name the precise document or fact you want, not a general topic. A request tied to one clear record is far harder to bounce than a vague one.
No reply within the time the law allows counts as a deemed refusal. You do not have to keep waiting. File a first appeal to the Appellate Authority senior to the CPIO, using the officer named on the same Regional Centre RTI page. Keep your dated proof of the original application, because that date starts the clock.
Not necessarily. A public authority can pass your application on to the office that actually holds the information. Tell the CPIO which office you now believe holds your record and ask that your application be forwarded, and keep a copy of that request.