RTI fee in Assam — the verified 2026 schedule

Assam is one of the states that put its fee rules in writing early and left them stable: the Assam Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005 still governs the charge, and the state's own online portal states on its guidelines page that “at present the RTI application fee is Rs.10 and is governed by Assam Right to Information (Regulation of fee and Cost) Rules, 2005.”

• Application fee — ₹10 (the portal's guidelines)
• Photocopies — ₹2 a page, A4 black and white (rule text of the 2005 Rules)
• Inspection — no charge for the first hour, then ₹5 for each fifteen minutes or fraction — a per-quarter-hour rate, not the per-hour rate most states use
• Payment modes: on the portal, net banking; offline, the accepted instruments are cash against receipt, demand draft and banker's cheque
• First appeal — free. The portal's guidelines say it plainly: as per the RTI Act, no fee has to be paid for a first appeal
• Additional charges for copying or inspection, where due, are intimated through the portal or by the PIO under Section 7(3)

The portal's guidelines state that no RTI fee is required from a below-poverty-line citizen, applying Section 7(5) of the Act. Tick the BPL option on the portal or enclose the certificate copy with a postal application.

Unlike many states, Assam's portal is alive and takes the whole first half of the process:

1. File and pay: submit the request at rtionline.assam.gov.in and pay ₹10 through net banking
2. First appeal online: the same portal carries the first appeal to the department's First Appellate Authority — free
3. Track: application, appeal and any additional-fee demand show under View Status
4. Helpdesk: 0361-2337900, listed on the portal's guidelines page

The fee is charged only on successful payment, and the portal's refund terms cover payments debited but not acknowledged. Postal filing to the PIO with a ₹10 IPO or draft remains equally valid.

The State Information Commission, Assam sits at sic.assam.gov.in, publishing handbooks, notifications and annual reports, with contact numbers 0361-2332704 and 0361-2331193. Second appeals lie with the Commission; no fee is prescribed for them.

Real example. Dr. Shrawan Kumar Pathak's application for a PWD estimate sheet was returned by a subdivisional office with a demand for ₹50 “processing”. He re-filed the same request on the state portal for ₹10, cited the 2005 Rules in the space for remarks, and the estimate arrived as a ₹4 copy charge for two pages. The ₹50 never had a rule behind it.

Ask for the demand and its rule number in writing, keep the receipt, and move to the first appeal within 30 days — free, online, on the same portal.

• AI RTI Drafter: Auto-fill PIO + Act sections
• First appeal builder: First Appeal Generator

₹10, under the Assam Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005 — payable through net banking on the portal, or by the accepted offline instruments.

No. The portal's own guidelines record that no fee is payable for a first appeal, and no fee is prescribed for a second appeal to the Commission.

Yes — rtionline.assam.gov.in handles applications, payment and first appeals, with a helpdesk at 0361-2337900.

The first hour is free; after that the 2005 Rules charge ₹5 for each fifteen minutes or part — check the arithmetic on any inspection demand.

• RTI fees in all states — index
• State-wise fee chart and portal directory
• Assam RTI — full state guide
• How to file RTI in Tripura — the neighbouring guide
• The RTI Playbook book

• RTI Online Assam — official guidelines: Rs 10 fee, 2005 Rules, free first appeal, BPL exemption, helpdesk 0361-2337900
• State Information Commission, Assam — official website

Last reviewed: 26 August 2026. The Rs 10 fee, free first appeal, BPL exemption and helpdesk number verified against the RTI Online Assam portal guidelines; copy and inspection rates per the Assam Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005. The dead asic.assam.gov.in link on the old page has been replaced.