A concise reference on when to file a State-level RTI and when to go to the Central Government under the same Right to Information Act, 2005. The confusion is common: applicants often file the right question at the wrong address and lose thirty days to a Section 6(3) transfer. This page removes that confusion.

There is one Right to Information Act, 2005 — a Central enactment that extends to the whole of India. But the Act creates two parallel regimes under it:

• Central Government public authorities — Ministries, Central departments, Central PSUs, CBI, Passport Office, Railways, Post Office, Income Tax, EPFO, Indian Oil, NTPC, AIIMS, IITs, IIMs, central universities, the President's Secretariat, the Comptroller and Auditor General, the Election Commission, the Central Information Commission itself.
• State Government public authorities — State Secretariats, district collectors, State police, State PSUs, State universities, municipal corporations, panchayats, State Information Commissions.

The Act, the exemptions, the 30-day timeline, and the appeal ladder are identical for both. What differs is who holds the record, where you file, what you pay, and which Commission hears the second appeal.

The regime follows the holder, not the subject. A Central employee's service record held by the Department of Personnel and Training is a Central RTI. A State employee's service record held by the State's General Administration Department is a State RTI. Same question, different regime.

Section 2(h) of the Act defines a “public authority” by reference to the Government that constituted or substantially finances it.

• Created by Parliament's law → Central. Example: Life Insurance Corporation, State Bank of India (before consolidation), Reserve Bank of India.
• Created by State legislature's law → State. Example: Maharashtra State Road Transport Corporation, Kerala State Electricity Board.
• Substantially financed or controlled → follow the money. Example: a private law college receiving 60% State grant → State public authority under Thalappalam-style analysis.

The Constitution's division of legislative power is a useful cross-check.

• Union List subjects (Railways, Posts, Defence, External Affairs, Atomic Energy, Foreign Exchange) → Central regime.
• State List subjects (Police, Public Health and Sanitation, Land, Agriculture, Local Government) → State regime.
• Concurrent List subjects (Education, Criminal Law, Forests, Electricity) — depends on which government holds the record.

Many Central bodies have regional or zonal offices (Income Tax, Passport, EPFO, CGHS, Post Office). You file with the nearest Central office that holds the record, through the Central portal or in person. The RTI does not have to go to Delhi.

Each State's rules vary slightly. See RTI Rules — Central, State, and Commission for the per-State picture.

Always confirm the current figure — State fee notifications get amended without wide publicity.

The Central Information Commission hears only Central matters. It cannot hear a State RTI appeal even if the matter seems routine. Filing there loses time.

Section 6(1) read with Article 350 of the Constitution gives the applicant the right to file in English, Hindi, or the official language of the State in which the application is being made.

• Central portal: English or Hindi only in the text box. Short phrases in other Indian languages render, but avoid in the application proper.
• State filings: the State's official language is always accepted. Tamil Nadu takes Tamil, Karnataka takes Kannada, Kerala takes Malayalam, Maharashtra takes Marathi, West Bengal takes Bengali, and so on.

Question: “I want the registry documents of my house purchase in Pune.”

Jurisdiction: State. Property registration is a State subject (Entry 6 and 18, State List). Maharashtra's Department of Registration and Stamps holds the records. File with the District Sub-Registrar's Public Information Officer under the Maharashtra Right to Information Rules, 2005.

Question: “Why has my passport application not moved in sixty days?”

Jurisdiction: Central. Passports are a Union subject (Entry 19, Union List). The Passport Office is a Central public authority under the Ministry of External Affairs. File on rtionline.gov.in, choose Ministry of External Affairs → Consular Passport & Visa Division.

Question: “I want my full service record from Karnataka Police where I served for twenty years.”

Jurisdiction: State. Karnataka Police is a State public authority. File with the PIO of the State Police Department or the specific unit where the record is held, under the Karnataka RTI Rules, 2005. Appellate forum is the Karnataka Information Commission.

Question: “Status of my PF withdrawal claim with EPFO, Bangalore.”

Jurisdiction: Central. Employees' Provident Fund Organisation is a Central public authority under the Ministry of Labour and Employment. File on rtionline.gov.in, choose Ministry of Labour → EPFO → the Regional Office concerned.

Question: “Why is the municipal corporation not fixing the leak in my ward?”

Jurisdiction: State (local body). Municipal corporations are local authorities notified as public authorities under Section 2(h) by the State Government. File at the municipal corporation's PIO counter directly — most corporations have a ward-level Public Information Officer.

Question: “What is the pendency of appeals in the CIC?”

Jurisdiction: Central. The CIC is a Central public authority for its own records (under Section 2(h)(d)). File a Central RTI via rtionline.gov.in selecting Central Information Commission from the authority list.

You are not penalised. The Officer must transfer the application under Section 6(3) within five days of receipt to the correct public authority and notify the applicant. The thirty-day clock re-starts from the transferred-authority's receipt date. Transfer is automatic; you don't need to file again.

That said, transfer delays the reply. The four-question test above avoids the round trip.

• rtionline.gov.in — Central Government portal walk-through.
• How to File RTI Online in India — 2026 step-by-step.
• RTI Rules — Central, State, and Commission rules.
• Public authority — Section 2(h) explained.
• Substantially financed — the Thalappalam test.
• FAQ.

1. The Right to Information Act, 2005 (No. 22 of 2005), Sections 2(h), 6, 15, 18, 19, 27, 28.
2. The Constitution of India, Seventh Schedule (Union, State, and Concurrent Lists).
3. Thalappalam Service Cooperative Bank Ltd. v. State of Kerala, (2013) 16 SCC 82.

19 April 2026