How to file an FIR

Home / Legal Explainers / Police & Courts / Police / First Information Report / How to file an FIR

If a crime has taken place:

Go to the nearest police station: The police station does not necessarily have to be in the area where the crime has been committed. Please download the ‘Indian Police at your call’ app to find the nearest police station.

For Android Users:

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=in.nic.bih.thanalocator&hl=en

For Apple Users:

https://itunes.apple.com/in/app/indian-police-at-your-call/id1177887402?mt=8

When you go to the police station to file the FIR, the following happens:

You will be directed to the Duty Officer. You can either verbally tell the officer what happened, or write down the details yourself. If you tell the police verbally, then they must write it down.

The Duty Officer will then make an entry in the General Diary or Daily Diary.

If you have a written complaint with you, please carry two copies and give them to the Duty Officer. Both will be stamped and one will be returned to you. The stamp bears a Daily Diary Number or DD No. and is proof that they received your complaint.

Once the police have read it out, if all the details are correct, you can sign the FIR. You have the right to get a copy of the FIR for free. Note the FIR number, date of FIR and the name of the police station. In case you lose your copy, you can use these details to access the FIR online for free.

After registering the FIR, the contents of the FIR cannot be changed. However, you can give additional information to the police later on at any point.

In some states and cities, certain kinds of FIRs and complaints can be registered online. For example, in Delhi an online complaint can be filed for cases of missing persons or children, unidentified children or persons or dead bodies, senior citizen registration, stolen or unclaimed vehicle search or missing stolen mobile phones.

Have a question you want to ask our legal experts?

Ask Nyaaya

Related Resources

Reporting Rape

If you want to report a rape case, under the Indian law, you can follow the procedure which has been mentioned herein.

Custodial Harassment of LGBTQ+ Persons by Police

If you are arrested, you will be in the custody of the police at the police station for 24 hours, till they take you to the nearest Magistrate (Court). They can keep you for 15 more days only if they get the permission of the Magistrate.

Where can an FIR be filed

An FIR can be filed at any police station. The fact that the crime may not have been committed in that police stations jurisdiction has no consequence to the filing of the complaint.

Chargesheet

Once you have reported the crime by filing an FIR, the officer in charge must send the report to a Magistrate, who will take note of the case without any unnecessary delay, and proceed with the investigation. This is a mandatory step that the police have to follow, as it allows the Magistrate to take control of the investigation, and if necessary give appropriate directions to the police.

Who can file an FIR

You can file an FIR if you are a victim of a crime, a relative or friend or acquaintance of the victim or you have knowledge about a crime that has taken place or is about to take place.

Where to complain when Police Officer refuses to take your FIR

If a Police Officer does not accept your complaint then you can write down your complaint and send it to the Superintendent of Police.