Uttar Pradesh RTI rules - 2026 citizen guide

Uttar Pradesh applies the Uttar Pradesh Right to Information Rules, 2015 (made under §27 of the RTI Act, 2005) for all state public authorities. The fee is ₹10 per application (BPL: zero). Reply deadline: 30 days under §7(1) of the central RTI Act, which UP cannot reduce. Online filing is via the rtionline.up.gov.in portal (live since 2018, partial state-department coverage). Postal Speed Post (AD) remains the universal fallback.

• Central: Right to Information Act, 2005 - applies sitewide; UP cannot reduce 30-day timeline, increase fee beyond §7(3) cap, or carve new §8 exemptions.
• UP-specific: Uttar Pradesh Right to Information Rules, 2015 (notified 26 May 2015), made under §27 of the central Act. UP State Information Commission portal.
• Online: rtionline.up.gov.in - SBI ePay payment, partial department coverage. Postal route is the universal fallback.

• First, identify the right department - the Office of the Public Information Officer (PIO). District-level: PIO at the District Magistrate's office. State-level: PIO at the department secretariat in Lucknow (Bapu Bhavan / Yojana Bhavan).
• First Appeal: Office of the Appellate Authority - usually the immediate senior to the PIO, named on the same office's RTI page.
• Second Appeal: Uttar Pradesh State Information Commission, Indira Bhavan, Ashok Marg, Lucknow 226001. information.up.nic.in.

Use our AI RTI Drafter - it auto-fills the UP-specific fee paragraph (IPO ₹10) and addresses the Tehsildar / DM / Department PIO format.

For state-specific scenarios:

• Sample RTI for land mutation (UP Revenue Code 2006 §34 - 45-day window)
• Index of all sample RTI letters

• Wrong fee mode - UP accepts IPO + court-fee stamp + online; demand drafts often returned. Check before mailing.
• Sending to district when subject is state-level - addressing a state-policy RTI to the DM office gets it transferred (delaying 5+ days). Address department secretariat directly.
• Forgetting §6(3) - if the wrong office, the PIO must transfer within 5 days. Always invoke §6(3) explicitly in the application.
• No Hindi translation - UP is bilingual. If the PIO replies in Hindi only, you can request English; the PIO can charge for translation.

As per the Anjali Bhardwaj v. UoI (2019) monitored data, the UP SIC has had a backlog of 40,000+ second appeals for several years, with a vacancy rate of 4 of 11 ICs as of December 2024. If your second appeal has been pending for 2+ years, you can directly approach the Allahabad High Court under Article 226.

• Right to Information Act, 2005 - full text
• Uttar Pradesh RTI Rules, 2015 - notified 26 May 2015
• UP Revenue Code, 2006 - §34 land mutation timelines
• UP SIC official portal
• UP RTI online filing

• All-state RTI rules
• RTI Act, 2005
• AI RTI Drafter
• State-wise fee chart
• Case-law database

Last reviewed: 4 May 2026.