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Jurisprudence, Interpretation and General Laws · Right to Information Law

Public Information Officers and RTI Request Procedure

Updated 11 October 2026 · Fact-checked

Every public authority designates Public Information Officers (PIOs) and Assistant PIOs (APIOs). You file a written or electronic request with a PIO or APIO, with the prescribed fee. The PIO must decide within thirty days, or forty-eight hours if life or liberty is concerned. Silence is deemed refusal. Rejection needs reasons and appeal details.

Understand Public Information Officers and Request Procedure

The Right to Information Act, 2005 only works if someone is responsible for answering requests. That person is the Public Information Officer. In a central public authority the officer is the Central Public Information Officer (CPIO). In a State authority the officer is the State Public Information Officer (SPIO). Section 5(1) requires every public authority to designate as many PIOs as necessary in all its administrative units or offices, within one hundred days of the Act's enactment.

A citizen may live far from the office of the PIO. So section 5(2) requires each public authority to designate an Assistant Public Information Officer (APIO) at each sub-divisional or other sub-district level. The APIO is a post box. The APIO receives applications and appeals and forwards them forthwith to the PIO, the senior officer under section 19(1), or the Information Commission. The APIO does not decide the request. If you hand your application to an APIO, five days are added to the period for response under section 7(1).

The PIO has a duty to deal with requests and to give reasonable assistance to those seeking information (section 5(3)). The PIO may take help from any other officer, and that officer is treated as a PIO for any contravention of the Act (section 5(4) and (5)).

The request procedure is in section 6. You apply in writing or through electronic means, in English, Hindi or the official language of the area, with the prescribed fee, and you specify the particulars of the information. You need not give a reason or any personal details except those needed to contact you. If the request cannot be made in writing, the PIO must help you reduce an oral request to writing.

Section 7 then governs disposal. The PIO must either provide the information on payment of the prescribed fee or reject the request for reasons in sections 8 and 9. Time limits, further fees, deemed refusal and the form of rejection all sit in this section. Examiners love these details, so learn the numbers exactly.

Key rules to remember

Making a request (s 6(1))
Written or electronic request + prescribed fee + particulars of information, to PIO or APIO
Language: English, Hindi or the official language of the area. Oral help is given if writing is not possible.
No reasons needed (s 6(2))
Applicant need not give any reason or personal details except contact details
Do not say a PIO can ask why you want the information.
Transfer of application (s 6(3))
Transfer as soon as practicable, and not later than 5 days from receipt
Applies if another authority holds the information or is more closely connected with the subject. Inform the applicant immediately.
General time limit (s 7(1))
Decision within 30 days of receipt
The PIO must act as expeditiously as possible, and in any case within thirty days.
Life or liberty (proviso to s 7(1))
Information within 48 hours of receipt
Applies where the information concerns the life or liberty of a person.
Request through APIO (proviso to s 5(2))
Response period = 30 days + 5 days = 35 days
Five days are added when the application or appeal is given to an APIO.
Deemed refusal (s 7(2))
No decision within the s 7(1) period = request deemed refused
This opens the way to appeal or complaint.
Further fee (s 7(3))
Intimation with details and calculation of fee + appeal rights; time between despatch of intimation and payment is excluded from the 30 days
The clock stops while you have not paid.
Free information (s 7(6) and proviso to s 7(5))
Free if the authority misses the s 7(1) time limit; no fee from persons below poverty line
Fees must be reasonable.
Rejection (s 7(8))
Communicate: (i) reasons, (ii) appeal period, (iii) appellate authority particulars
All three are required.

How to solve Public Information Officers and Request Procedure questions

Most questions give a short fact pattern about an application and ask whether the officer acted correctly. Work through it in a fixed order.

  1. 1Identify who received the application: PIO or APIO. If APIO, add five days to the thirty-day period.
  2. 2Check the form of the request: writing or electronic means, correct language, fee paid, particulars specified. Remember no reasons are required.
  3. 3Check whether the authority holds the information. If another authority holds it, apply the section 6(3) transfer rule of five days.
  4. 4Apply the time limit: thirty days, or forty-eight hours if life or liberty is concerned. Exclude any period between the fee intimation and payment.
  5. 5Check the outcome. Information given needs fee unless the time limit was missed or the applicant is below poverty line. Rejection needs reasons under sections 8 and 9 and the three communications in section 7(8).
  6. 6If no decision was made in time, state deemed refusal under section 7(2) and that the information becomes free under section 7(6).
  7. 7Write the conclusion with section numbers, in the form: provision, facts, conclusion.

Quickest way: Clock and checklist method

When to use it: Use this when a question gives dates and asks whether the PIO is in default.

  1. Write the receipt date and who received it (PIO or APIO).
  2. Set the deadline: 30 days, 35 days via APIO, or 48 hours for life or liberty.
  3. Subtract the days between fee intimation and payment.
  4. Compare with the actual reply date. Late means deemed refusal and free information.
  5. If rejected, tick the three items of section 7(8).

Common mistakes in Public Information Officers and Request Procedure

  • Saying the APIO decides the request.

    The names PIO and APIO sound similar.

    Fix: The APIO only receives and forwards applications and appeals forthwith. The PIO decides.

  • Forgetting the extra five days when the application goes to an APIO.

    Students remember only the thirty-day rule.

    Fix: Apply the proviso to section 5(2): the period becomes 35 days.

  • Stating that the applicant must give reasons for seeking the information.

    Students assume officers need a justification to decide.

    Fix: Section 6(2) says no reason or personal details are needed except contact details.

  • Counting the 30 days straight through even when a further fee was demanded.

    Section 7(3)(a) is read quickly.

    Fix: Exclude the period between despatch of the fee intimation and payment.

  • Treating silence as acceptance or as a neutral event.

    Confusion with other deemed-approval rules.

    Fix: Section 7(2) says failure to decide in time is deemed refusal.

  • Writing that rejection needs only reasons.

    Students remember the main point and drop the rest.

    Fix: Section 7(8) needs reasons, the appeal period and the particulars of the appellate authority.

Worked examples

Example 1

Meera submits an RTI application with the prescribed fee to the Assistant Public Information Officer of a central public authority at a sub-divisional office on 1 March. The CPIO sends no reply. Advise Meera on the time limit and her position.

Show the solution
  1. Provision: the APIO receives applications and forwards them forthwith to the PIO (section 5(2)). Where the application is given to an APIO, five days are added to the period in section 7(1).
  2. Facts: the general period is thirty days. With the APIO route, the period is 30 + 5 = 35 days.
  3. Failure to decide within the period means the CPIO is deemed to have refused the request (section 7(2)).
  4. Since the authority failed to comply with the time limit, Meera must be given the information free of charge (section 7(6)).
  5. She may also complain to the Information Commission for not getting a response within the time limit (section 18(1)(c)).

Answer: The CPIO had 35 days from receipt. If no decision is given within 35 days, the request is deemed refused under section 7(2). Meera is entitled to free information under section 7(6) and may complain to the Commission under section 18(1)(c).

Example 2

Rohan applies to the PIO of a State department for a record of his brother's detention, stating that the matter concerns his brother's liberty. The PIO rejects the request by a one-line oral reply that it is 'not available'. Examine the correctness of the PIO's action.

Show the solution
  1. Provision: where information concerns the life or liberty of a person, it must be provided within forty-eight hours of receipt (proviso to section 7(1)). A request can be rejected only for reasons in sections 8 and 9.
  2. Where a request is rejected, the PIO must communicate the reasons, the period for appeal and the particulars of the appellate authority (section 7(8)).
  3. Facts: the PIO gave only an oral statement of non-availability, with no ground under section 8 or 9, no appeal period and no appellate authority.
  4. The PIO also had to handle this request within the shorter forty-eight hour limit.
  5. If the information is held by another public authority, the PIO should have transferred the application within five days and informed Rohan immediately (section 6(3)).

Answer: The PIO's action is not correct. A rejection must rest on section 8 or 9 and must give reasons, the appeal period and appellate authority details under section 7(8). The matter also required a decision within forty-eight hours. If another authority held the record, the PIO had to transfer the application under section 6(3). Rohan may appeal and may complain to the Commission under section 18(1).

Exam tips

  • Memorise the number set: 30 days, 48 hours, 5 days (APIO addition), 5 days (transfer). Examiners test which number applies.
  • Always cite the section: 5, 6, 7 and 18 cover most questions in this topic.
  • For a difference between PIO and APIO, use two columns in prose: decides and gives information versus receives and forwards.
  • In a case study, finish with a clear conclusion: deemed refusal, free information, or defective rejection.
  • Mention section 7(9) when form of access is asked: information is ordinarily given in the form sought, unless it would disproportionately divert resources or harm record safety.

Practice questions from Right to Information Law

Public Information Officers and Request Procedure: frequently asked questions

What is the time limit for a PIO to give information under the RTI Act?

The PIO must decide within thirty days of receiving the request, and as expeditiously as possible. If the information concerns the life or liberty of a person, it must be given within forty-eight hours. If the application went through an APIO, five days are added.

What is deemed refusal under the RTI Act?

If the PIO fails to decide within the section 7(1) period, the PIO is deemed to have refused the request under section 7(2). The applicant can then use the remedies under the Act, including a complaint under section 18. The information must also be given free of charge under section 7(6).

What is the difference between a PIO and an APIO?

The PIO decides the request and provides the information or rejects it. The APIO is designated at sub-divisional or sub-district level to receive applications and appeals and forward them forthwith to the PIO or the appropriate authority. Five days are added to the response time when the APIO route is used.

Do I have to give a reason for asking for information?

No. Section 6(2) says an applicant need not give any reason for the request or any personal details except those necessary for contacting him or her.

Who pays fees and who does not?

The applicant pays the prescribed fee with the request and any further fee for providing the information. Fees must be reasonable. No fee is charged from persons below the poverty line as determined by the appropriate Government. The information is free if the authority misses the time limit.