West Bengal RTI Online Portal Help: Form, Status Check, Department Not Listed, Fee Mode and Offline Filing

Before you start, keep these ready

• Your full name, email ID and mobile number
• Your full postal address
• The West Bengal department / public authority you want information from
• Your RTI questions, written in plain text
• Any reference number, complaint number, file number or application number
• A supporting document as a small PDF, if needed
• BPL proof, if claiming the fee exemption
• The payment method / fee mode shown by the portal or prescribed by the authority

How filing works

1. Open rtionline.semtwb.in.
2. Enter your basic details: full name, email and mobile number.
3. Proceed to the Online RTI Request Form.
4. Select or identify the concerned West Bengal department / public authority, if the portal provides the option.
5. Enter your applicant details and postal address carefully.
6. Write your RTI request in clear, plain language.
7. Upload only relevant supporting documents, if the portal asks for them.
8. Pay the applicable fee or follow the fee mode shown by the portal.
9. Submit the application and save the acknowledgement / reference details.
10. Use the Check Status / View Status option later to track your application.

If your department is not listed (the most common problem)

• Look for the parent West Bengal department - many local offices sit under a larger department or public authority.
• Search using different names - a district office, board, corporation, municipality or authority may appear under a parent department.
• Do not choose a random department just to proceed - a wrong selection can delay the RTI or cause transfer/rejection.
• If it is a Central Government office, use the Central RTI portal (rtionline.gov.in) - see our Central portal help.
• If it is another State's public authority, use that State's RTI route.
• If the West Bengal public authority is genuinely not available, file by post to the concerned PIO - see our guide to filing RTI offline.
• Use Section 6(3) transfer only after a reasonable effort to identify the correct public authority. See Section 6(3) explained.
• Not sure which office or PIO? Use FindMyPIO, or let FileMyRTI identify it and file for you.

Common portal errors and how to fix them

Filing a First Appeal

If your RTI was filed through the West Bengal Online RTI Portal and the portal provides an appeal/status route, use the online details available there. If your RTI was filed physically by post, file the First Appeal physically to the First Appellate Authority of the same public authority, unless that authority gives you an online appeal route. Attach a copy of the original RTI application, the postal receipt / delivery proof (if filed offline), the PIO reply (if any), and short appeal grounds explaining the no-reply, delay or unsatisfactory reply.

When to use a State portal or file offline instead

• The West Bengal public authority is not available through the portal.
• The portal form is not working.
• Your matter concerns a local office, municipality, panchayat, police office, university, board or district authority not found online.
• The fee / payment mode is unclear.
• You want Speed Post proof of filing, or you already know the PIO address and prefer postal filing.
• You are sending supporting documents that are easier to file physically.

For the postal route, see how to file an RTI offline (by post), including how to attach the fee.

Postal RTI packet checklist

• Signed RTI application
• Correct fee instrument or BPL proof
• Supporting document, if needed
• Envelope addressed to the PIO / public authority
• Your return address
• A photo or photocopy of the full packet before dispatch
• The Speed Post or registered post receipt

Frequently Asked Questions