How to File an Online RTI Application Easily Using these 5 Best Steps

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File An Online Rti Application

File an Online RTI: The full form of RTI is Right To Information.  Before 2005, We could not get your required information from any govt departments/ministries /PSU and autonomous bodies. After enforcement of the Right to Information Act 2005, any Govt Dept/Govt aided department is obliged to provide the requisite information from any Indian Citizen within 30 days from the date of application.

Right to Information Act 2005 is a tool that mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information.

Online RTI application is a common query received in various forums. In this article, you will learn the complete steps of an online RTI application along with payment of Fees and the status checking process.

RTI Online:: Guidelines for use of RTI Online Portal (Direct Request Submit Link)

What is Right to Information ?

The full form of RTI is Right To Information. Before 2005, you could not get your required information from any govt departments/ministries /PSU and autonomous bodies.

File An Online Rti Application Right To Information
File an Online RTI Application
  • After enforcement of the Right to Information Act 2005, any Govt Dept/Govt aided department is obliged to provide the requisite information from any Indian Citizen within 30 days from the date of application.
  • Right to Information Act 2005 is a tool that mandates timely response to citizen requests for government information.
  • The Govt authority is obliged to disclose the information and cannot deny such request on the grounds of official secrecy, except for some excluded information under RTI Act 2005.
  • It helps citizens get clarity and transparency on various issues from the government. Now you can obtain all information from Govt department/ministries on administrative/operational issues of the Govt which is the true spirit of democracy.
  • Department of Personnel and Training, Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances, and Pensions is responsible to provide an RTI Portal Gateway to the citizens for quick search of information on the details of first Appellate Authorities, PIOs, etc.

Important Provisions of RTI Act 2005

User Manual

Who can request for information under RTI Act 2005

As per Section 3 of RTI Act 2005, all Indian citizens are eligible to get information and make requests for information to the Public Authority under RTI Act 2005.

  • The functional process of Information sharing under RTI Act 2005
  • As per Section 6 (1) of RTI Act 2005, A person, who desires to obtain any information under this Act, shall make a request in writing or through electronic means in English or Hindi or in the official language of the area.

Mode of request for information under RTI Act 2005

You can  send  your request for information to any State or Central Govt/Govt aided organization addressed to The CPIO of the organization by written communication or an online application using RTI application portal – www.rtionline.gov.in

Payment of  Application Fees

An Application Fee of Rs 10 /- to be paid along with the application.

In the case of offline application 

A postal order for Rs 10/- to be enclosed in favor of the CPIO, organization concerned.  You may check the address of the CPIO of the organization concerned from their official website.

In the case of online applications,

The application fee can be paid through online transactions i.e internet banking, card payment, etc. The detailed process of online application and payment of fees are given below.

Also, Read

The complete step-by-step guide to file RTI online.

The step-by-step guide to file RTI online is here. How to file an online RTI application is described here. This is a Detailed process of filing an Online RTI application using your mobile phone/Desktop.

  • Step – I : Visit the official RTI portal https://rtionline.gov.in. For submitting an RTI application click on submit request option.
  • Step – II : On clicking on submit request option ‘Guidelines for use of RTI ONLINE PORTAL’ screen will be displayed. This screen contains detailed guidelines for using RTI online portal. ID. Next click on the checkbox mentioned  I have read and understood the above guidelines. and then click on submit button.
  • Step – III : Now you are at Online RTI Request Form screen. Select Ministry or Department for which you want to file an RTI from the drop down list of Ministries, Departments & Apex body.
  • Step – IV : You need to provide your personal details, home address, mobile number and email, Education details etc.  If you are in BPL category, need to upload BPL Certificate for waiver of application Fees. Otherwise click on No. Then you need to mention the details information required.
  • Then type your main body of application i.e details of information required. You may upload any document if necessary to provide reference to the Govt authority. Then Click on
  • Step – V : On successful submission of the online RTI application, a unique registration number is issued, which may be referred by the applicant for any references in the future. 
  • You can check present status of your RTI application using this reference number and Email ID.
  • After filling in all the details in the form, you need to click on the ‘make payment’ option.
  • Now you need to select the mode of payment mode (i.e internet banking, ATM-cum-debit card, or credit card etc). Then click on Pay.
  • Finally, the applicant will get an email and SMS alert on the submission of the application.

What to be mentioned and not to be mentioned in RTI Application

For offline application

You should write an application addressed to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, of the concerned public authority.  Mention the details of the information required.  You need not mention the cause of the information required. 

Don’t forget to enclose a postal order for Rs 10/- in favor of the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, of the concerned public authority/Govt organization. 

RTI.gov.in
Clarification on any issue is not coming under the RTI Act 2005. So avoid questions like why…, how… etc.  The Govt authority is bound to provide the information already available to them. Information can not be created by them.

For online application.

Online applications may be sent to the CPIO/SPIO of the organization concerned through the online RTI portal.  Details of information to be mentioned same as the offline request.  The detailed process is mentioned in this article.

What, if the Govt authority fails to provide information under RTI Act 2005

If the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, fails to give a decision on the request for information within the period specified under sub-section 1 of RTI Act 2005, the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall be deemed to have refused the request.

If an information is not held with the public authority what will be the disposal of the request made ?

The application is to be transferred to the govt organization which is held by another public authority or closely related to the information asked.

The scheduled time frame of  reply of your application under RTI Act 2005

As per Section 7 of RTI Act 2005, the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, on receipt of a request under section 6  the public authority should provide information or make a reply, as expeditiously as possible, and in any case within thirty days of the receipt of the request, either provide the information on payment of such fee as may be prescribed or reject the request for any of the reasons specified in sections 8 and 9

There is some provision where the information sought for concerns the life or liberty of a person, the same shall be provided within forty-eight hours of the receipt of the request.

Certain information excluded from RTI Act 2005

You may not receive some information from the Govt authority as per RTI Act 2005. As per Section 8 of RTI Act 2005, you may not receive information on certain categories.  To read the details of such information please visit the Original Gazette notification of RTI Act 2005.

When you need to pay additional Fee for obtaining copy of any bulk document

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Where a decision is taken to provide the information on payment of any further fee representing the cost of providing the information, the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, shall send an intimation to the person making the request, giving—

(a) the details of further fees representing the cost of providing the information as determined by him, together with the calculations made to arrive at the amount in accordance with the fee prescribed under subsection (1), requesting him to deposit that fee, and the period intervening between the despatch of the said intimation and payment of fees shall be excluded for the purpose of calculating the period of thirty days referred to in that sub-section

Action to be taken if not received any reply of your RTI Application.

  • As per Section 19 of RTI Act 2005 any person who, does not receive a decision within the time specified in subsection (1) or clause (a) of sub-section (3) of section 7 of RTI Act 2005, or is aggrieved by a decision of the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer, as the case may be, may within thirty days from the expiry of such period or from the receipt of such a decision prefer an appeal to an officer of the concerned organization senior in rank to the Central Public Information Officer or State Public Information Officer as the case may be, in each public authority.  This is also known as Appellate authority.
  •  A second appeal against the decision under sub-section (1) of RTI Act 2005 shall lie within ninety days from the date on which the decision should have been made or was actually received, with the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission: Provided that the Central Information Commission or the State Information Commission, as the case may be.
  • An appeal under sub-section (1) or sub-section (2) shall be disposed of within thirty days of the receipt of the appeal or within such extended period not exceeding a total of forty-five days from the date of filing thereof, as the case may be, for reasons to be Penalties recorded in writing.

GUIDELINES FOR USE OF RTI ONLINE PORTAL

  1. This Web Portal can be used by Indian citizens to file RTI application online and also to make payment for RTI application online. First appeal can also be filed online.
  2. An applicant who desires to obtain any information under the RTI Act can make a request through this Web Portal to the Ministries/Departments of Government of India.
  3. On clicking at “Submit Request”, the applicant has to fill the required details on the page that will appear.
    The fields marked * are mandatory while the others are optional.
  4. The text of the application may be written at the prescribed column.
  5. At present, the text of an application that can be uploaded at the prescribed column is confined to 3000 characters only.
  6. In case an application contains more than 3000 characters, it can be uploaded as an attachment, by using column
    “Supporting document”.
  7. After filling the first page, the applicant has to click on “Make Payment” to make payment of the prescribed fee.
  8. The applicant can pay the prescribed fee through the following modes:
    (a) Internet banking through SBI;
    (b) Using credit/debit card of Master/Visa;
    (c) Using RuPay Card.
  9. Fee for making an application is as prescribed in the RTI Rules, 2012.
  10. After making payment, an application can be submitted.
  11. No RTI fee is required to be paid by any citizen who is below poverty line as per RTI Rules, 2012. However, the applicant must attach a copy of the certificate issued by the appropriate government in this regard, alongwith the application.
  12. On submission of an application, a unique registration number would be issued, which may be referred by the applicant for any references in future.
  13. The application filed through this Web Portal would reach electronically to the “Nodal Officer” of concerned Ministry/Department, who would transmit the RTI application electronically to the concerned CPIO.
  14. In case additional fee is required representing the cost for providing information, the CPIO would intimate the applicant through this portal. This intimation can be seen by the applicant through Status Report or through his/her e-mail alert.
  15. For making an appeal to the first Appellate Authority, the applicant has to click at “Submit First Appeal” and fill up the page that will appear.
  16. The registration number of original application has to be used for reference.
  17. As per RTI Act, no fee has to be paid for first appeal.
  18. The applicant/the appellant should submit his/her mobile number to receive SMS alert.
  19. Status of the RTI application/first appeal filed online can be seen by the applicant/appellant by clicking at “View Status“.
  20. All the requirements for filing an RTI application and first appeal as well as other provisions regarding time limit, exemptions etc., as provided in the RTI Act, 2005 will continue to apply.

RTI Online:: Guidelines for use of RTI Online Portal
(Direct Request Submit Link)
Click Here

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