RTI Guide India — File RTI to Any Government Office

Any Indian citizen can file an RTI under the Right to Information Act 2005. There is no minimum age, and you do not need to be a resident of the state whose government office you are writing to. Non-Resident Indians (NRIs) with Indian citizenship are also eligible.

The statutory RTI filing fee is ₹10 in most states, payable by Indian Postal Order (IPO), Demand Draft, or online. Citizens holding a Below Poverty Line (BPL) card are fully exempt. FileMyRTI's end-to-end service — including expert drafting, filing, and tracking — starts at ₹399 all-inclusive.

Under Section 7 of the RTI Act 2005, the Public Information Officer (PIO) must respond within 30 days of receiving the application. Where the information concerns a person's life or liberty, the deadline is 48 hours. If a Third Party is consulted, the timeline extends to 40 days.

You can file a First Appeal under Section 19(1) within 30 days of the deadline expiry. If that also fails, a Second Appeal to the Central Information Commission (CIC) or the respective State Information Commission is allowed within 90 days. FileMyRTI includes free First Appeal drafting if your RTI is ignored.

Yes. The central government accepts online RTI applications via rtionline.gov.in for all central ministries. Several states — Maharashtra, Karnataka, Delhi, Telangana, and others — run their own online RTI portals. For a hassle-free experience, FileMyRTI handles the entire online filing process end-to-end.

Section 8 of the RTI Act 2005 lists 10 specific exemptions: national sovereignty / security concerns; information received in confidence from foreign governments; cabinet papers until a decision is final; information that would endanger someone's life; and personal information unrelated to public activity, among others. Most everyday citizen queries fall outside these exemptions.