A plain-language, screen-by-screen walk-through of rtionline.gov.in, the Central Government's Right to Information portal maintained by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) through the National Informatics Centre. Use this page when you want to understand the portal itself. For the broader filing process, fees, drafting, and Hindi templates, see How to File RTI Online in India — 2026 Step-by-Step.

The portal is the front door to the Central Government under the Right to Information Act, 2005. That includes:

• Ministries (Home, Finance, External Affairs, Education, Defence, etc.).
• Central Government departments and attached/subordinate offices.
• Central Public Sector Enterprises that are public authorities under Section 2(h).
• The President's Secretariat, Vice-President's Secretariat, Prime Minister's Office.
• Central Information Commission (for its own records).

It does not cover:

• State Governments, including State Secretariats, district collectors, State PSUs. File directly with the State public authority or use the State's RTI portal where one exists.
• Local bodies (municipal corporations, panchayats, local authorities). File at the local office.
• The Supreme Court and High Courts. Each court has its own registry-level procedure under rules framed by the Chief Justice.
• The Parliament and the Legislative Assemblies. Each House has its own PIO notification.

1. Identify the correct Ministry or Department. If unsure, pick the most proximate one; the Officer transfers under Section 6(3) within five days.
2. Draft the application as plain paragraph text, not in bullet format. The portal's text box accepts up to 3,000 characters.
3. Keep the fee of Rs 10 ready by UPI, debit/credit card, or netbanking. BPL applicants can claim exemption by uploading a valid certificate.
4. Have a working email address — the Officer sends the reply there by default.

Go to https://rtionline.gov.in. No account or sign-up is required to file a first application. Registration is optional and unlocks the dashboard view of your past applications.

The front page shows three options: Submit Request, View Status, and Submit First Appeal. Click Submit Request. Accept the guidelines on the next page. Tick the declaration that you are a citizen of India.

The portal shows a two-level dropdown. Ministry / Department first, then the specific Public Authority within it. If you do not see the authority, choose “Department of Personnel & Training” as the umbrella — DoPT will transfer to the correct body.

Fields: full name, gender, contact number, email, address, state and PIN code, educational status (optional), phone, and citizenship. Tick citizen of India. Mark BPL if applicable and upload the certificate.

The text box takes up to 3,000 characters. Draft as short, numbered paragraphs (the portal renders line breaks). Ask for documents (file notings, orders, memos), not opinions. Name the file number, date, period, and specific office. For sample language see Template: first RTI application and Why RTI Applications Get Rejected.

One PDF file up to 1 MB. Use this only if the request refers to a document you need to cite — for example, an earlier order, a notice, or a decision letter. Do not upload identity proof. The Act does not require it under Section 6(2).

Choose the payment mode: UPI, debit/credit card, netbanking. BPL applicants skip this screen after certificate upload. Payment opens a BharatKosh gateway in a new tab. Return to the portal after the gateway redirect.

The portal issues a registration number in the format DOPTR/E/2026/XXXXX or similar. The number is also emailed. Save it — it is the only reference the portal accepts for status tracking, appeals, and complaints.

Click View Status on the front page. Enter the registration number and the email. The portal shows the current stage — forwarded, with CPIO, replied, under appeal, under second appeal. Reply PDFs are downloadable from this screen when the Officer uploads them.

Within thirty days the Officer either replies to the email, uploads the reply PDF to the portal, or posts a hard copy. Forty-eight hours for life-or-liberty matters. Forty days where a third party is notified under Section 11. Silence beyond these deadlines is a deemed refusal under Section 7(2).

Click Submit First Appeal on the front page. Enter the registration number. The portal pulls in the original application and your details. You write the grounds of appeal and can upload one supporting PDF. No fee. The First Appellate Authority must decide within thirty days, extendable to forty-five with reasons.

If the First Appellate Authority's order is unsatisfactory, or no order comes in time, file a second appeal within ninety days to the Central Information Commission at cic.gov.in. That is a separate portal. Use Template: second appeal.

• Use the portal, not email to the PIO directly. The portal creates a machine-readable trail that an Appellate Authority and the Commission can pull up instantly.
• Print the confirmation page after submission. Keep a PDF copy with the registration number in case the portal is down during an appeal.
• Check your spam folder around Day 25. Some departments' replies get flagged.
• Stay within 3,000 characters. Portal truncates silently past the limit. If the request is longer, split into two applications.
• Don't upload identity proof. Section 6(2) prohibits the Officer from asking for it. Uploading it weakens a future appeal.

• Payment failed but amount debited. Wait 48 hours; the gateway auto-reverses. If not, email dopt-rti[at]nic[dot]in with the transaction reference.
• Wrong Ministry picked. Don't worry. The Officer forwards under Section 6(3) within five days. The forwarded date becomes the new clock-start.
• “Registration number not found” on View Status. Give it thirty minutes after submission; the portal takes a short while to index new applications.
• No reply at Day 30. Start drafting the first appeal. The thirty-day clock runs from the date the application was received, not submitted — allow two days' buffer for internal forwarding if the application was transferred.

The portal is served over HTTPS. The Government does not share applicants' contact details with third parties. Your application text, however, is visible to the concerned PIO, the First Appellate Authority, and — on appeal — the Central Information Commission. Do not include third-party personal information in the application body.

• How to File RTI Online in India — 2026 Step-by-Step Guide. The end-to-end guide with sample templates.
• Why RTI Applications Get Rejected. What to avoid when drafting.
• State RTI vs Central RTI. Which portal to use when.
• FAQ. The twenty-five most asked questions.
• Template: first RTI application.
• Template: first appeal.
• Template: second appeal.

1. The Right to Information Act, 2005 (No. 22 of 2005), Sections 6, 7, 8, 11, 19.
2. The Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2005.
3. Official RTI Online Portal, Government of India: rtionline.gov.in, operated by the Department of Personnel and Training through the National Informatics Centre.
4. Central Information Commission: cic.gov.in.

19 April 2026