Zero FIR and e-FIR Under the New Criminal Laws: How to File and Follow Up

What is a zero FIR and an e-FIR under the BNSS?

A zero FIR is an ordinary FIR with one difference: the police station that records it does not have territorial jurisdiction over the place where the offence happened. It gets the number zero, or a separate serial, in that station's records because the case does not belong there. The station records it, takes urgent steps if needed, and sends it to the station that does have jurisdiction, where it is re-registered with a regular number and investigated.

An e-FIR is about the mode of reporting, not the place. Section 173(1) BNSS allows information about a cognizable offence to be given orally or by electronic communication. If you send it electronically, the officer must take it on record once you sign it within three days. Until you sign, the electronic information is a complaint waiting to become an FIR.

The two can combine. You can email information to a police station that does not have jurisdiction; it becomes a zero FIR once signed and is transferred. The national e-Zero FIR system for large cyber frauds, explained below, is exactly that combination.

The provisions that matter

Zero FIR, e-FIR, regular FIR or online complaint: which is which?

People often use these terms loosely. The differences affect what you should do next.

When should you file a zero FIR?

Use a zero FIR whenever the right police station is far away, unknown or unsafe to reach, and delay could cost evidence, money or safety. Common situations: an offence that happened while travelling (on a train, a highway or in another city); an offence whose location is unclear, such as an online fraud or a kidnapping where the victim was moved; a woman who has escaped an abusive situation and reached the nearest police station; or a medical emergency where the injured person is taken to a hospital far from the scene.

A zero FIR is also useful where the offence happened in several places. In a cheating case where money was paid in Delhi and the goods were never delivered from Mumbai, both places may have jurisdiction, and the station you approach should register the FIR rather than argue about which one is better placed. Where the jurisdiction is genuinely shared, the station may keep the case instead of transferring it.

It is not a tool for choosing a friendlier police station when the right one is down the road. Officers can and do transfer such FIRs straight away, and the time spent on transfer slows your case.

How to file a zero FIR at any police station

1. Go to the nearest police station

   Ask to see the duty officer or the officer in charge. Say clearly that you want to report a cognizable offence and that you know it happened outside the station's area.

2. Give the information

   Narrate what happened, with date, time, place, the people involved and what was taken or done. If you have a written complaint, hand it over and keep a copy with the station's receiving stamp.

3. Ask for registration under Section 173(1)

   If the officer says to go to the other station, point out politely that Section 173(1) BNSS permits information irrespective of the area. In offences against women, refusal to record information is itself an offence under Section 199 BNS.

4. Check the record and sign

   The officer reduces oral information to writing and reads it back. Correct any errors before signing. Make sure the date, time and place of the offence are recorded accurately.

5. Take the free copy

   Ask for a copy of the FIR under Section 173(2). Note the officer's name, the station, the zero FIR number and the date.

6. Ask about urgent steps

   If there is a medical need, a missing person, a vehicle to be traced or a bank account to be frozen, ask the officer to act before transfer. A zero FIR station can take urgent steps such as sending the victim for medical examination.

7. Follow the transfer

   Ask which station the FIR will be sent to and when. Call or visit that station after a few days to get the new FIR number and the name of the investigating officer.

What happens after a zero FIR is transferred?

The receiving station re-registers the case with its own FIR number and assigns an investigating officer. From that point, everything happens there: your detailed statement, the site inspection, collection of CCTV and call records, arrest of accused, and the eventual report to the court. The zero FIR copy remains important because it fixes the time at which you first reported the offence, which matters greatly when the accused later argues that the FIR was delayed or invented.

Transfer can take days, and in practice sometimes longer than it should, especially between states. Do not wait passively. Contact the receiving station within a week, quote the zero FIR details, and ask for the new number. If the receiving station says it has not received anything, send a written request to its SHO with the zero FIR copy attached, and if necessary write to the DCP or SP of that district.

Once you have the regular FIR number, keep using it in every letter and application. The court that will hear the case is the court with jurisdiction over the receiving station, not the one where you filed the zero FIR.

How to file an e-FIR in Delhi

Delhi Police offers online FIR registration through its citizen services for motor vehicle theft and certain property theft cases where the accused is not known. You fill in the form, attach documents, and receive an FIR copy online, which insurers accept for a theft claim. These online FIRs are investigated by the police, though in practice the focus is on tracing the vehicle or property.

For any other cognizable offence, you can still use the electronic route under Section 173(1). Write a clear complaint, sign it, and send it by email to the SHO of the police station, with a copy to the DCP of the district. Keep the sent email and any auto-reply. Then go to the station within three days to sign the information so that it is taken on record as an FIR. If you cannot go in person because of illness or distance, say so in the email and ask how the station wants the signature to be completed.

The three-day window is the point most people miss. An email sent and forgotten does not become an FIR. If the station does not respond, your email is still evidence that you reported the offence on that date, and it is the foundation for escalating to the DCP under Section 173(4) and then to the magistrate.

e-FIR in Noida and Ghaziabad

Uttar Pradesh Police runs its own citizen portal and the UPCOP mobile app, which allow online FIRs in certain theft cases with unknown accused, lost article reports, and requests for copies of FIRs. Police stations in Gautam Buddh Nagar and Ghaziabad work under the police commissionerate system, so escalation goes to the Deputy Commissioner of Police of the zone rather than to a district Superintendent of Police.

For offences outside the online categories, the same Section 173(1) route applies: email the SHO, copy the DCP, and sign within three days. The FIR is later investigated by the local station and goes before the court at Surajpur for Gautam Buddh Nagar or the district court at Ghaziabad.

If you live in Delhi and the offence happened in Noida, you can file a zero FIR at your local Delhi police station, which will transfer it to the Noida station. Expect to travel to Noida for your statement and any identification.

Cyber fraud: 1930, the national portal and the e-Zero FIR

For online financial fraud, speed matters more than anything else. Call the national helpline 1930 or report on cybercrime.gov.in as soon as you notice the loss. The complaint is sent to the banks and wallets involved, which can freeze the money while it is still in the fraudster's accounts. Every hour of delay reduces the chance of recovery.

In May 2025 the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre launched an e-Zero FIR system, piloted in Delhi, under which cyber financial fraud complaints above ₹10 lakh made through 1930 or the national portal are automatically converted into zero FIRs. The complainant then has three days to visit the police station and have it converted into a regular FIR. Check the current threshold and coverage when you file, as the scheme has been expanding.

For smaller amounts, or for cyber offences that are not financial (harassment, impersonation, morphed images), the portal complaint is forwarded to the cyber police station, and you may need to follow up in person for registration of an FIR. Our page on the cyber crime lawyer practice covers these offences in more detail.

What to carry or attach when filing

Why the three-day signature rule matters

The signature requirement exists because electronic information can be sent by anyone, using anyone's name. Requiring the informant to sign within three days protects against false complaints and fixes responsibility for what is said. It also gives the police a chance to meet the informant and clarify facts before the FIR is formally on record.

For you as the informant, the practical effect is simple: plan to visit the station within three days of sending information electronically. Take a printout of what you sent, with the date and time visible. Ask the officer to record that the information was received electronically on that date, so that the FIR reflects when you first reported, not only when you signed.

If the police do not take the information on record even after you sign, the e-FIR has not failed. You now have a documented, signed report that the police did not act on, which is exactly what you need for the next step under Section 173(4) BNSS and Section 175(3) BNSS.

How do I check the status of my FIR?

Start with the free copy you received under Section 173(2); it has the FIR number, date and sections. Delhi Police uploads most FIRs on its website, where they can be searched by district, police station and number, following the Supreme Court's direction in Youth Bar Association of India v Union of India (2016) that FIRs be uploaded within 24 hours except in sensitive cases. Uttar Pradesh Police offers a similar search on its portal and app.

For progress, the IO is your main contact. Section 193(3) BNSS requires the police to inform you of the progress of the investigation within ninety days. If you hear nothing, write to the IO and the SHO quoting the FIR number and asking for an update under that provision. Keep a copy of the letter. A pattern of unanswered requests is useful later if you need to ask the magistrate to monitor the investigation.

When the police file the final report, either a chargesheet (see what happens after a chargesheet is filed) or a closure report, the court sends you notice in many cases. If a closure report is filed, you have the right to be heard and can file a protest petition before the magistrate. Do not let that date pass unnoticed: keep an eye on the case through the court's online case status once you know the court.

What if the police refuse a zero FIR or e-FIR?

Refusal is less common than it was, but it still happens, especially where the offence is minor, the jurisdiction is clearly elsewhere, or the officer thinks the matter is civil. Stay calm and ask the officer to record your information and give you a copy, or to note the refusal in writing. If neither happens, write down the time, the officer's name and what was said.

The escalation route is the same as for any refusal: send the substance of the information in writing to the DCP or SP under Section 173(4) BNSS, and if that does not work, apply to the magistrate under Section 175(3). Our post on what to do when police refuse to register an FIR explains each step with the documents.

Where the information concerns rape, sexual assault or the other offences against women listed in Section 199 BNS, an officer who fails to record it commits an offence. Mention this calmly at the station if you meet resistance, and again in the written complaint to the DCP. It usually changes the conversation quickly, and the magistrate will take it seriously too.

A word on false or exaggerated complaints

The ease of filing electronically cuts both ways. Giving false information to the police with the intention of causing harm to someone is an offence under the BNS, as is instituting a false criminal charge. The signature requirement on e-FIRs, and the ability of the accused to show what was said and when, both make false complaints riskier than people assume.

If you are on the receiving end of an FIR you believe is false, the remedies are different: anticipatory bail, cooperation with the investigation, and, where the FIR discloses no offence on its own terms, quashing by the High Court. Start with what to do when an FIR is registered against you and the bail practice page.

Mistakes people make with zero FIRs and e-FIRs

• Not signing the e-FIR within three days. The information stays a complaint, and weeks are lost.
• Leaving without a copy. The free copy under Section 173(2) is your proof of the time and content of the report.
• Vague dates and places. Approximate is fine if exact is impossible, but say so. Later corrections look like embellishment.
• Waiting before reporting cyber fraud. Money moves within hours. Call 1930 first, then go to the police.
• Confusing a lost report with an FIR. A lost report helps with duplicate documents, but if the item was stolen, an FIR is needed.
• Not following the transfer. A zero FIR that sits unsent is no use. Chase the new number.
• Overstating the facts. Adding allegations you cannot support damages the case when the evidence is tested.

Follow-up plan after filing

• Keep the FIR copy and a photograph of it on your phone.
• For an e-FIR, visit the station and sign within three days of sending the information.
• For a zero FIR, contact the receiving station within a week and get the new FIR number and the IO's name.
• Give the IO your documents and witness details promptly, and note every meeting.
• Write to the IO for a progress update if you have heard nothing within ninety days.
• Find out which court has the case and track it online once the report is filed.
• If a closure report is filed, consider a protest petition before the magistrate.

When to involve an advocate

Most people can file a zero FIR or an e-FIR themselves, and should, without waiting for anyone. An advocate becomes useful when the police refuse or delay, when the facts are complex (a fraud spread over months, a case touching several states), when you are worried about the other side's reaction, or when a closure report has been filed. A point Advocate B.K. Singh often makes to complainants is that the first written report is the document the defence will read most closely years later, so it should be accurate, dated and modest rather than dramatic.

If you want an advocate to look at what you have filed and tell you the next step, the office of Advocate B.K. Singh can review the FIR or the complaint and the replies you have received. Send the details through the online enquiry form, or read more about the firm's work before Delhi's police stations and criminal courts.