If you reported the crime, you are entitled to a copy of the FIR at once and free of charge, under section 173(2) of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023 (BNSS). Anyone else can usually find an FIR on the state police website, because the Supreme Court has directed that FIRs be uploaded within 24 hours of registration, except in sensitive cases. A person who believes they are named in an FIR that is not online can apply to the police or the court for a copy.
If you are the informant or the victim
Section 173(2) of the BNSS reads: "A copy of the information as recorded under sub-section (1) shall be given forthwith, free of cost, to the informant or the victim." The words matter:
- Forthwith means at once, not "come back next week".
- Free of cost means no fee of any kind.
- The informant or the victim means both: if a relative or a neighbour reported a crime against you, you are entitled to a copy too.
When you get it, check the FIR number, the date and time of registration, the police station, the sections of law applied, and that your account of events has been recorded correctly. If something important is missing, say so in writing to the officer in charge the same day. If you filed online, our guide on zero FIR and e-FIR explains the three-day signature step that makes the FIR official. If you were turned away and no FIR exists, see what to do when police will not register an FIR.
Finding an FIR online
In Youth Bar Association of India v. Union of India, decided on 7 September 2016, the Supreme Court directed every state to upload FIRs on the police website or another official government website. The main directions were:
- Upload within 24 hours of registration.
- Where there are connectivity or other unavoidable difficulties, 48 hours, and in areas with real geographic problems, up to 72 hours.
- Sensitive cases are not uploaded. Sexual offences, offences involving children, and insurgency or terrorism were given as examples. The Court said the list is illustrative, and the competent authority decides what is sensitive.
How to look: open your state police's official website or citizen portal and find the option to view or search FIRs. You normally need the district, the police station, the year and the FIR number, or a date range. Search results show only published FIRs, so a missing result may mean the case is sensitive, the upload is late, or a detail you entered is wrong.
If you think you are named in an FIR
The same 2016 judgment helps people who suspect an FIR has been filed against them:
- Apply to the police. You, or a representative you authorise, can apply to the police officer or the Superintendent of Police and pay the fee charged for a court copy. The Court said the copy should be supplied within 24 hours.
- If the FIR has gone to court, the court that received it should supply a copy within two working days of an application.
- If it was withheld as sensitive, you can apply to the court that received the FIR, which should give you a copy within three days of the application.
- If you think it was wrongly withheld, you can make a representation to the Superintendent of Police, or the Commissioner of Police in a metropolitan city, disclosing your identity. A committee of three officers decides it within three days.
The Court also said that a failure to upload an FIR is not, by itself, a ground for anticipatory bail. What to do once you have the copy is covered in our guide on what to do if you are named in an FIR.
Copies during the court case
Once the police finish investigating and file their report, the accused gets the FIR again as part of the case papers. Section 230 of the BNSS requires the Magistrate, within fourteen days of the accused's production or appearance, to supply the accused, and the victim if represented by an advocate, free copies of:
- the police report;
- the FIR;
- the statements of the witnesses the prosecution plans to examine;
- any confessions and statements recorded by a Magistrate; and
- the other documents sent with the police report.
Bulky documents may be supplied electronically, or inspection may be allowed instead.
Certified copies
A downloaded or photocopied FIR is often accepted by insurers, banks and other offices, for example for a vehicle theft claim or a lost-document report. Courts, and some authorities, may ask for a certified copy. You can apply for one to the police station or to the court where the FIR was sent, paying the copy fee fixed under that state's rules. Keep the receipt, because it proves you applied in time if a deadline is involved.
If you have lost your copy
Go back to the police station that registered the FIR with your identity proof and the FIR number, or the date and station if you do not know the number, and ask for another copy. You can also look it up on the state police website if it was published. If a court case is already running, the court file has a copy and you can apply for a certified one.
Why the copy matters
The FIR fixes the earliest written version of events. For victims it is the basis of insurance claims, the release of held money in cyber fraud cases, and compensation claims. For the person accused, the sections listed in it decide whether the offence is bailable, which court tries it, and how urgently advice is needed. Ask for it early, check it carefully, and keep it safe.
