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Police Verification Pending for Passport or Job? Use RTI to Get the Status and Reasons

Police

Quick answer

Police verification (for a passport, government job, or tenant/servant verification) often stalls silently at the local station or the district Special Branch. RTI makes the police state on record where your PV file is, since when, and why - which is usually enough to get it moving. For passport PV, an RTI to the Regional Passport Office (Central portal) can run in parallel.

Why this usually gets stuck

PV report sent by the station but not consolidated at the district/Special Branch
Field verification "pending" with no visit ever made
Adverse remarks recorded without informing you
File shuttling between the passport office and police with each blaming the other

What an RTI gets you, on record

The current status of your PV request and the exact office/desk holding it
The dates it moved between station, Special Branch and the requesting authority
The substance of any adverse remark recorded (subject to exemptions), so you can contest it
The prescribed PV timeline and where your case breached it

Where to file it

Address the RTI to the PIO of the district police / Police Commissionerate (not the police station itself - see how that routing works in our police-station RTI guide). For passport PV, also consider an RTI to the Regional Passport Office via the Central RTI portal.

Sample RTI questions (edit the bracketed details)

Provide the current status of the police verification initiated on [date] in respect of my [passport application/appointment] reference number [number], including the office and officer with whom it is pending.

State the dates on which the verification request was received, forwarded to the field, reported back, and transmitted onward, with certified copies of the movement record.

State the reasons recorded for the delay beyond the prescribed timeline, and the timeline applicable under the rules/citizen charter.

State whether any adverse remark has been recorded in the said verification; if so, provide its substance to the extent permissible under the RTI Act.

Keep questions factual and specific to your own matter. Ask for records, status, dates, reasons and officer details - not opinions. Do not include anyone else's personal information.

If there is no reply in 30 days

The PIO is ordinarily required to respond within 30 days under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act. If there is no proper response, file a First Appeal with the First Appellate Authority of the same public authority; if that fails, a Second Appeal lies with the Information Commission. See the Appeal Generator.

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Frequently asked questions

Can police refuse PV information?

Some material can be exempt (e.g., Section 8(1)(g)/(h) where disclosure endangers someone or impedes an investigation), but the status, movement dates and delay reasons of your own verification are ordinarily obtainable.

Passport office or police - who gets the RTI?

Both work: the RPO (Central portal) for the passport-side status, the district police PIO for the PV-side. Filing both usually locates the stuck desk fastest.

What if there is no reply?

The PIO is ordinarily required to respond within 30 days under Section 7(1) of the RTI Act. If there is no proper response, file a First Appeal with the First Appellate Authority of the same public authority (no fee for a first appeal in most states); if that also fails, a Second Appeal lies with the Information Commission. FileMyRTI helps with the First Appeal route.

Related guides

FileMyRTI is not a government website. This guide explains how the RTI Act can be used when an official process stalls; it is general information, not legal advice. Last updated: June 2026.