Right to Information Wiki
Kerala RTI rules — 2026 citizen guide

Kerala RTI Rules 2006 (regulation of fee + cost) - fee, format, State Information Commission contact for RTI in Kerala. Updated 2026 with rate card and key cases.

Kerala RTI rules — 2026 citizen guide

Kerala applies three sets of state-specific RTI rules made under §27 of the central RTI Act, 2005: the Kerala Right to Information (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2006 for fees, the Kerala State Information Commission (Procedure for Appeal) Rules, 2006 for second appeals, and the Kerala High Court Right to Information Rules, 2006 for RTI to the High Court itself. Application fee is ₹10 (BPL: zero). Reply deadline 30 days under §7(1) of the central Act.

Quick fee schedule

Stage Fee Mode
Application (§6) ₹10 IPO / court-fee / DD / online
Per A4 photocopy ₹2 paid on collection
Larger size copy actual cost paid on collection
CD / pen-drive ₹50 per CD paid on collection
Inspection of records free for first hour, ₹5 per 15 min after pay at office
BPL applicant Zero attach BPL certificate
First Appeal Zero -
Second Appeal to Kerala SIC Zero -

Statutory framework

  • Central: Right to Information Act, 2005.
  • Kerala fee rules: Kerala RTI (Regulation of Fee and Cost) Rules, 2006 — notified by GAD.
  • Kerala appeal rules: Kerala State Information Commission (Procedure for Appeal) Rules, 2006 — second-appeal procedure.
  • Kerala HC rules: Kerala High Court Right to Information Rules, 2006 — for RTI to the HC itself.
  • Online: Kerala has integrated RTI into the e-District portal at https://edistrict.kerala.gov.in for state-government departments.

Where to file

  • District-level: PIO at the Office of the District Collector or the relevant department's district office.
  • State-level: PIO at the department secretariat, Government Secretariat, Thiruvananthapuram 695001.
  • First Appeal: Appellate Authority at the same office (one rung above PIO).
  • Second Appeal: Kerala State Information Commission, Punnen Road, Statue, Thiruvananthapuram 695001. keralasic.gov.in.
  • For Kerala HC matters: PIO of the Kerala High Court Registry, Ernakulam.

Sample RTI letter for Kerala

Use our AI RTI Drafter — auto-fills the Kerala fee paragraph and supports Malayalam/English bilingual format.

For state-specific scenarios:

Common mistakes filing in Kerala

  • Wrong commission — for state department matters file with Kerala SIC; for central department matters file with the Central Information Commission, New Delhi (e.g., Coastal Guard, NIT Calicut, IIT Palakkad central units).
  • Malayalam-only PIO refusal — by §6(1) read with the Kerala rules, applications can be in Malayalam, Hindi or English. PIO refusal on language grounds is unlawful.
  • Sending to wrong panchayat — Kerala has 941 Gram Panchayats + 152 Block Panchayats + 14 District Panchayats — each is a public authority with its own PIO.
  • No fee proof — non-acceptance.

Kerala SIC — state of pendency

Kerala SIC has historically been one of the best-disposing SICs in India — average second-appeal disposal in 5-9 months. Vacancy rate has stayed low (1-2 ICs) since 2020. The Kerala SIC also pioneered live-streaming of hearings on YouTube since 2022.

Citations and sources

Last reviewed: 4 May 2026.

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