In short. A zero FIR is an FIR that any police station must register for a cognizable offence, even if the crime happened outside its area, and then transfer to the police station that has jurisdiction. An e-FIR is information given by electronic means, which becomes a formal FIR once you sign it within three days. Both now sit in Section 173 BNSS. This guide is for victims, families and people named in such FIRs. Registration should be the same day; transfer usually takes days to a few weeks.
Is this your situation?
- A crime happened to you while travelling, in another district or another state, and you want to report it where you are now.
- The duty officer told you to go to the police station 'of that area' before he would write anything.
- You were cheated online and want to know whether a 1930 call or a portal complaint becomes an FIR.
- Your vehicle or phone was stolen and you want to file an FIR online with Delhi Police for the insurance claim.
- You sent a complaint by email and do not know whether it counts as an FIR.
- A zero FIR registered in another state names you, and you are unsure which court to approach.
- Your zero FIR was registered weeks ago and you cannot find out where it was sent.
Key points
- Any police station must register it. For a cognizable offence, Section 173(1) BNSS lets you give information at any police station, whatever the place of the crime, so do not accept 'go to the other thana' as an answer.
- A zero FIR is a full FIR. It carries the same legal weight as any other FIR; only its number changes once it reaches the police station with jurisdiction.
- Sign your e-FIR within three days. Information sent by email, portal or app is taken on record only when you sign it within three days, so visit the police station promptly.
- Take the free copy and note both numbers. Keep the zero FIR copy and ask for the new FIR number after transfer, because the trail between police stations is where files get lost.
- Accused persons should find where the file now sits. Bail and quashing go to the courts of the place where the FIR is finally investigated, not where it was first written.
What is a zero FIR?
A zero FIR is a first information report registered by a police station that does not have territorial jurisdiction over the offence. It gets the name because, in the old practice, it was entered with the serial number zero instead of the police station's running number. The receiving police station writes it down, gives you a copy and sends it to the police station within whose area the offence happened. That police station then registers it in its own register with a regular number and investigates.
The idea took shape after the December 2012 Delhi gang rape case. The Justice Verma Committee pointed out that victims, especially women, were being sent from one police station to another while precious hours passed, and the Ministry of Home Affairs then asked all States to register zero FIRs. What was earlier a matter of advisories and judgments is now written into the statute.
Under the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita 2023 (BNSS), which replaced the Code of Criminal Procedure from 1 July 2024, Section 173(1) says information relating to the commission of a cognizable offence may be given to the officer in charge of a police station 'irrespective of the area where the offence is committed'. That phrase is the legal basis of the zero FIR. The old Section 154 CrPC did not say this in so many words.
It is not a lesser FIR or a temporary entry. It fixes the date and time you went to the police, and courts later look at how soon the FIR was lodged, so an FIR registered the same night can matter a great deal at trial.
What is an e-FIR, and how is it different from a zero FIR?
An e-FIR is about the mode of giving information, while a zero FIR is about the place. Section 173(1) BNSS lets information about a cognizable offence be given orally or 'by electronic communication', which covers email, an online portal or a police app. When information arrives electronically, the officer takes it on record once the person who gave it signs it within three days. Until that signature, it is information received, not yet a formal FIR in the full sense.
The two can overlap. If you are in Delhi and send an email to a police station in Mumbai about a cheating that happened in Pune, that is electronic information to a police station without jurisdiction. In principle it can be recorded as a zero FIR and sent on. In practice, police stations treat emailed information cautiously until the informant turns up and signs, and that is why the three-day window matters.
The old CrPC had no e-FIR provision. States ran their own online systems for limited cases, mostly vehicle theft and ordinary theft where nobody is named as the thief. The BNSS gives electronic information a statutory footing for all cognizable offences, though the details of portals and forms are still set by each State's police and rules.
The provisions behind zero FIR and e-FIR
Section 173(1), BNSS (old Section 154(1) CrPC)
Information about a cognizable offence can be given at any police station irrespective of where the offence was committed, orally or by electronic communication. Oral information is written down and read over to you; electronic information is taken on record when you sign it within three days.
Section 173(2), BNSS
A copy of the information as recorded must be given free of cost to the informant or the victim. Ask for it before you leave the police station, and check that your account has been written correctly.
Section 173(3), BNSS (new)
For offences punishable with three years or more but less than seven years, the officer may, with the permission of an officer not below the rank of Deputy Superintendent of Police (in Delhi, an ACP), hold a preliminary enquiry for up to fourteen days to see whether there is a prima facie case. This is a new discretion and is often cited at the desk. It does not apply to serious offences carrying seven years or more.
Section 173(4), BNSS (old Section 154(3) CrPC)
If the police station refuses to record the information, you can send the substance of it in writing and by post to the Superintendent of Police, which in Delhi means the DCP of the district. The DCP can investigate or direct an investigation.
Section 193(3), BNSS (old Section 173 CrPC)
The police must inform the informant or victim of the progress of the investigation within ninety days, by any means including electronic communication. This helps a complainant whose zero FIR has disappeared into another district.
Section 199, BNS (old Section 166A IPC)
A public servant who fails to record information about certain serious offences, including sexual offences against women, commits an offence. This is rarely prosecuted, but quoting it in a complaint to the DCP tends to concentrate minds.
Can you file an FIR at any police station in Delhi?
Yes, for a cognizable offence you can file an FIR at any police station, in Delhi or elsewhere in India. A cognizable offence is one where the police can arrest without a warrant: theft, snatching, robbery, cheating, criminal breach of trust, assault causing hurt, sexual offences, kidnapping, dowry harassment under Sections 85 and 86 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (old Section 498A IPC) and most serious crimes. The police station nearest you, or the one where you feel safe, must register it and send it on if the place of offence lies elsewhere.
The rule is different for non-cognizable offences, such as simple hurt or defamation. There the officer enters the information under Section 174 BNSS (old Section 155 CrPC) and refers you to the Magistrate. A zero FIR does not convert a non-cognizable offence into a cognizable one.
In Delhi, the commonest refusal is not about cognizability. It is the duty officer saying the incident happened in Noida, Gurugram or another Delhi district and you should go there. That answer is wrong in law for a cognizable offence. Say politely that you want the information recorded under Section 173(1) BNSS as a zero FIR and transferred, and ask for the name of the duty officer if he declines.
Sometimes the local police station is simply better for you. If CCTV footage near the spot needs to be seized today, or the accused is still nearby, the local station can act at once while a transferred FIR travels by dak. Where you can reach it without risk, go there; where you cannot, insist on registration where you are.
e-FIR with Delhi Police: what you can file online
Delhi Police has for some years allowed online FIRs for motor vehicle theft and for theft of property where the thief is not known. You fill in the form on the Delhi Police website or app, the system generates an FIR and sends it to the police station of the area for investigation, and you can download the copy. For a stolen car, scooter or phone, this FIR is what your insurer and your telecom operator will ask for.
An e-FIR Delhi Police registers online is still a real FIR. If the vehicle is not traced, the police later file an untraced report before the Magistrate, and insurers usually ask for that report or the court's acceptance of it before settling the claim. Keep the e-FIR number handy, because you will need it months later.
For offences beyond these categories, such as cheating, threats, assault or harassment, you can email or post your written complaint to the police station and the DCP. Under Section 173(1) BNSS, this is information by electronic communication, and it matures into a formal FIR once you sign it within three days. Many people send an email and then wait at home for an FIR copy that never comes. The signature step is yours to complete.
e-Zero FIR for cyber fraud above Rs 10 lakh
In May 2025 the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) of the Ministry of Home Affairs launched the e-Zero FIR system as a pilot in Delhi. Cyber financial fraud complaints above Rs 10 lakh made on the National Cybercrime Reporting Portal or the 1930 helpline are converted automatically into zero FIRs and routed to the cyber police station with jurisdiction. The complainant then has to visit the cyber police station within three days to convert the zero FIR into a regular FIR, which tracks the three-day signature rule in Section 173(1) BNSS.
Complaints below the threshold stay as cyber complaints. They still matter, because the portal pushes alerts to banks so that money can be put on hold, but they do not become FIRs on their own. For a smaller fraud, you must still go to the police station or the district cyber police station and ask for an FIR. The system was announced as a pilot with plans to extend it nationally, so check the current threshold and coverage when you file.
Speed decides cyber fraud cases more than anything else. Money moves through layered mule accounts within hours. Report on 1930 first, note the acknowledgment number, then file the FIR. If your own account has been frozen because someone else's fraud money passed through it, that is a different problem, covered in our guide on getting a bank account unfrozen after a cyber fraud complaint.
Larger online fraud cases, and the bail and quashing questions that follow them in Delhi, are covered on our page on cyber crime and online fraud cases at the Delhi High Court.
Step by step: getting a zero FIR registered and transferred
These steps assume a cognizable offence that happened outside the area of the police station you are at.
Write your complaint before you go
Write a short, dated account: what happened, where, when, who was involved, what was taken or done, and the names of witnesses. Sign it and make two copies. A written complaint leaves less room for the desk to rewrite your story in its own words.
Ask for registration under Section 173(1) BNSS
Tell the duty officer the offence happened in another area and you want a zero FIR registered and transferred. If he hesitates, refer to the words 'irrespective of the area where the offence is committed'. Ask for the SHO if the duty officer refuses.
Check the FIR and take the free copy
Read the FIR before you sign. Check dates, times, amounts, names and the sections written. Take your free copy under Section 173(2) and note the FIR number, the date, the police station and the name of the officer who recorded it.
Ask about urgent steps that cannot wait
Before transfer, ask the receiving police station to do what cannot wait: a medical examination in an assault or sexual offence, an alert to the bank in a fraud, a request to preserve CCTV footage. Nothing in the law stops a police station from acting urgently on a zero FIR before sending it on.
Follow the transfer
Ask when and how the zero FIR will be sent, and to which police station. After a few days, call or visit the receiving police station and ask for the new FIR number. Write it down.
Meet the investigating officer
Once the jurisdictional police station registers it, a new investigating officer is assigned. Give him your documents, the names of witnesses and any digital evidence. Ask for your statement to be recorded and keep a note of the date.
Escalate if the file stalls
If the zero FIR is not transferred or not taken up, write to the DCP of the district that received it and the DCP of the district where it should have gone. Mention both FIR numbers, if you have them, and ask for a progress report under Section 193(3) BNSS.
Advocate B.K. Singh tells complainants to note three things on the copy before leaving the police station: the zero FIR number, the name of the officer who wrote it and the date it is to be sent. In his experience, zero FIRs that go missing usually go missing between two dak registers, and those three details are what let you find them.
What happens after a zero FIR is transferred?
Once the zero FIR reaches the police station with jurisdiction, that station registers it with its own number, usually recording the original zero FIR details in the opening lines. From that point, the regular FIR is the operative document and the investigation runs as in any other case: statements, seizures, medical or forensic reports and, at the end, a police report under Section 193 BNSS (old Section 173 CrPC), commonly called the chargesheet or final report.
Within Delhi, transfer between districts often takes a few days to a couple of weeks, through the CCTNS network and internal dak. Files sent to a district police station in another state sometimes take a month or more to be taken up, and the informant is rarely told. Follow up by phone and in writing.
The time limits that matter later, such as the 60 or 90 days for filing a chargesheet when an accused is in custody, run from the arrest and remand, not from the date of the zero FIR. Our guide on how long Delhi Police take to file a chargesheet explains what to expect once investigation starts.
Your rights as a victim do not shrink because the FIR has moved: progress information, a hearing on bail in some offences, and a protest petition if the police close the case.
How long each stage takes and what it costs
| Stage | Typical time | Official cost |
|---|---|---|
| Zero FIR registered at the police station you visit | Same day; a few hours if the SHO has to be called | Free; the FIR copy is free under Section 173(2) |
| e-FIR for theft or vehicle theft on the Delhi Police portal | Minutes to fill; copy usually available online the same day | Free |
| Signing electronic information to make it a formal FIR | Within three days of sending it | Free |
| Preliminary enquiry for offences of 3 to 7 years (if ordered) | Up to 14 days | Free |
| Transfer of zero FIR within Delhi | A few days to two weeks, often longer | Free |
| Transfer to another state | One to six weeks; follow up needed | Free |
| Complaint to the DCP if the police refuse | Send at once; response time varies widely | Postage only |
| Application to the Magistrate under Section 175(3) | Weeks to a few months | Small court fee on the application; check the current court fee |
| Petition in the Delhi High Court (quashing or writ, where justified) | First hearing in days to weeks; decision months to over a year | Court fee as per the current schedule; lawyer's fee agreed in writing at the first meeting |
What to carry to the police station
For any zero FIR
- A signed, dated written complaint with two photocopies
- Your identity proof and current address
- Names, phone numbers and addresses of witnesses
- Photographs, CCTV stills or videos you already have
- Medical papers or the hospital MLC number in an assault case
For cyber fraud
- The 1930 or National Cybercrime Reporting Portal acknowledgment number
- Bank statement showing the debit, with transaction IDs and UTR numbers
- Screenshots of chats, call logs, app pages and payment confirmations
- The fraudster's phone numbers, UPI IDs, account numbers and website links
- Your letter or email to the bank asking it to block and hold the funds
For theft or vehicle theft e-FIR
- Registration certificate and insurance policy for the vehicle
- Purchase invoice and IMEI number for a phone
- The exact place and time it was last seen
- Your e-FIR number and downloaded copy
If the police refuse to register a zero FIR
Refusal to register a zero FIR is a refusal to register an FIR, and the remedies are the same. The Supreme Court in Lalita Kumari v. Government of Uttar Pradesh (2013) held that registration is mandatory where information discloses a cognizable offence, subject to limited categories where a preliminary enquiry is allowed. Territorial jurisdiction is not one of those categories.
The practical ladder is: a written complaint at the police station with a receipt or diary number, then a written complaint by post to the DCP under Section 173(4) BNSS, then an application to the Magistrate under Section 175(3). Our guide on what to do when Delhi Police refuse to register your FIR walks through each step and the drafting that gets results.
In offences against women listed in Section 199 BNS, refusal can expose the officer to prosecution. Quote it in your DCP complaint, factually and without threats. The aim is registration, not a fight with the police station you will be dealing with for months.
Where the problem is transfer rather than registration, write to the DCP of the receiving district with the FIR number. A writ petition to the High Court is rarely the first step.
Which court deals with a zero FIR case, and where the Delhi High Court comes in
Jurisdiction over the case follows the place of offence, not the place where the zero FIR was written. Once the FIR is transferred, the Magistrate of the area where the jurisdictional police station is situated handles remand, bail at the first stage, the chargesheet and the trial. If that police station is in Delhi, the case goes to the district court complex covering it, such as Tis Hazari, Saket, Patiala House, Karkardooma, Rohini, Dwarka or Rouse Avenue.
The Delhi High Court comes in for FIRs investigated by Delhi Police or central agencies in Delhi. It hears regular bail after the Sessions Court, anticipatory bail, petitions to quash an FIR under Section 528 BNSS (old Section 482 CrPC) and writs where the police have failed in their duty. If your zero FIR was registered in Delhi but transferred to Haryana or Uttar Pradesh, the High Court for that FIR will ordinarily be the Punjab and Haryana High Court or the Allahabad High Court, because the investigation and trial now sit there.
Article 226(2) of the Constitution lets a High Court hear a writ where part of the cause of action arose in its territory, but registration in Delhi alone rarely persuades the Delhi High Court to supervise an investigation running in another state.
If you are named as the accused in a zero FIR
A zero FIR naming you has the same effect as any FIR. You can be called for questioning, served a notice under Section 35 BNSS (old Section 41A CrPC) or, in serious cases, arrested. Do not assume that because the FIR was written in a far-off police station it will lapse. It usually lands, eventually, with the police station of the place of offence.
The first job is to find out where the FIR now sits and with what number. When Advocate B.K. Singh is shown a zero FIR by a client accused in another state, he first checks whether it has been transferred and to which police station, because the right court for anticipatory bail or quashing depends on that, not on the police station that first wrote it down. Filing in the wrong court costs weeks you may not have.
If you live in Delhi and the FIR is being investigated in another state, the Delhi courts can, in limited cases, grant transit anticipatory bail so that you can approach the court with jurisdiction. Our guide on transit anticipatory bail explains when that is available. If the FIR is in Delhi, regular anticipatory bail in the Delhi High Court after the Sessions Court is the usual route.
Registration at a wrong police station is not, by itself, a ground to quash an FIR, because the law now expressly allows it. A quashing petition must show something more: that the allegations, even if accepted, disclose no offence, that the dispute is purely civil, or that the case is an abuse of process. The page on quashing a false FIR in the Delhi High Court sets out those grounds, and the guide on what to do if a false FIR is filed against you in Delhi covers the first week.
Women, children and sexual offences: the rules that come first
The zero FIR exists largely because of sexual offence cases, and the rules there are strict. Information from a woman alleging rape, sexual assault, stalking, voyeurism or similar offences under the BNS must be recorded by a woman police officer. Where the woman is temporarily or permanently disabled, it can be recorded at her residence or a place of her choice, in the presence of an interpreter or special educator where needed, and videographed.
Medical examination should happen at once. The police station that registers the FIR in a sexual offence should arrange it before transfer, not leave the victim to travel to another district first. For offences against children, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act 2012 adds its own reporting duties, and no police station can send a child or family away on the ground of area.
In dowry cases, a woman who has left a matrimonial home in another state often lodges the FIR at her parents' police station in Delhi. That is lawful; it is then sent to the police station of the matrimonial home unless part of the offence also happened in Delhi.
NRIs and people living outside Delhi
If you live abroad and an offence was committed against you in Delhi, such as fraud by a property dealer or a caretaker, a family member who knows the facts can give the information at a police station, because any person with knowledge of a cognizable offence may do so. Give that person a signed account, copies of documents and your contact details abroad.
You can also email the information yourself to the police station and the DCP, but the three-day signature rule is the hurdle. Some police stations accept a signed scanned copy; others insist on someone appearing. Ask at the start how the police station wants it signed. If the police do nothing, the Magistrate route under Section 175(3) BNSS needs your affidavit, which can be sworn before an Indian consulate or a notary abroad, so leave time for that.
A made-up example: the Laxmi Nagar trader and the share trading app
Here's a made-up example. Ritu, who runs a garments shop in Laxmi Nagar, is added to a WhatsApp group promising stock market tips. Over three weeks she transfers Rs 14 lakh into an 'investment app' that shows large paper profits and then blocks withdrawals.
The night she realises it, she calls 1930 and gets an acknowledgment number. Because the amount is above Rs 10 lakh, her complaint is converted into an e-Zero FIR under the Delhi pilot and routed to the cyber police station with jurisdiction. She gets a message asking her to visit within three days. She goes the next morning with her bank statements, UTR numbers and screenshots, signs, and the zero FIR becomes a regular FIR.
Two of the six mule accounts still have money, and the police seek a Magistrate's order to keep it there. The rest has moved on. Months later, a college student in another state who 'rented' his account for a commission is arrested, and his bail application is heard in Delhi because the FIR is registered here. This is a made-up story; real cases differ, and recovery of money is never certain.
Mistakes people make with zero FIRs and e-FIRs
- Accepting a 'DD entry' instead of an FIR. A daily diary entry is not an FIR. If the offence is cognizable, ask for an FIR number and the free copy.
- Sending an email and waiting. Electronic information needs your signature within three days. Without it, your email may sit unrecorded.
- Losing the zero FIR number. Once the case moves, the receiving police station will ask for it. Photograph your copy the day you get it.
- Not asking for urgent steps before transfer. Medical examination, bank holds and CCTV requests should not wait for the file to reach another district.
- Accused persons filing in the wrong court. Check where the FIR now sits before filing for anticipatory bail or quashing.
What to do this week
If you are the victim: write a signed account, go to the nearest police station or file online where the offence fits the e-FIR categories, take the free copy and note the number, the officer's name and the transfer date. For cyber fraud, call 1930 first and then follow through within three days. If you are refused, write to the DCP by post the same week.
If you are named in a zero FIR: find out where it has been sent and under what number, collect the copy, and get advice on bail or quashing from a lawyer practising in the courts of that place. Do not ignore a Section 35 notice; reply and appear as directed.
For advice on your papers or updates on the law, you can contact Advocate B.K. Singh.
Frequently asked questions
Can I register a zero FIR online?
For some offences, yes. Delhi Police allows online FIRs for vehicle theft and theft where the thief is unknown, and cyber frauds above Rs 10 lakh reported on 1930 or the cybercrime portal are converted into e-Zero FIRs. For other offences, email your complaint and sign it at the police station within three days.
Is a zero FIR valid in court?
Yes. A zero FIR is a full FIR under Section 173 BNSS. After transfer, it is registered with a new number at the police station with jurisdiction, and the investigation and trial proceed on it like any other FIR.
How long does it take to transfer a zero FIR?
There is no fixed statutory period, but it should be sent without delay. Within Delhi it usually takes a few days to two weeks; transfer to another state can take longer. Follow up for the new FIR number.
What if I do not sign my e-FIR within three days?
The law says electronic information is taken on record when signed within three days. If you miss the window, go to the police station as soon as you can and give the information again in person, in writing, and ask for registration.
Can the police do a preliminary enquiry before registering a zero FIR?
Only in limited cases. For offences punishable with three to less than seven years, Section 173(3) BNSS allows a preliminary enquiry of up to 14 days with a senior officer's permission. Lack of territorial jurisdiction is not a reason for an enquiry or a refusal.
Can a zero FIR be quashed because it was filed at the wrong police station?
Generally no, because the law now expressly allows information at any police station. A petition to quash the FIR must show other grounds, such as no offence being made out, a purely civil dispute or abuse of process.
Do I get a copy of a zero FIR?
Yes. Section 173(2) BNSS requires a copy to be given free of cost to the informant or victim. Delhi Police FIRs are also generally available online, except in sensitive categories such as sexual offences.
Is a cybercrime portal complaint the same as an FIR?
No. A portal or 1930 complaint is a cyber complaint that alerts banks and police. Only some complaints, such as frauds above the e-Zero FIR threshold, are converted into FIRs automatically; for others you must ask the police for an FIR.
Advocate B.K. Singh
Founder of B.K. Singh & Associates. MCA, LL.B., LL.M. More than twenty years in practice before the Supreme Court, the Delhi High Court, Delhi district courts and tribunals. This guide was written and reviewed by his team.
This guide explains the law in general terms and is not legal advice. For advice on your own papers, contact the team.
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