Know before you go

The bribe usually wins because you don't know the official process. Each guide gives you the real path, the real costs, your rights, and a calm one-line script for refusing — before anyone asks.

RTO / TRANSPORT

Getting a driving licence without paying an agent

The RTO is India's most reported bribe point after the police. The whole licence process is online now — here is the official path, what it really costs, and how to refuse the "fee" that isn't one.

 PASSPORT & POLICE VERIFICATION

Passport police verification: what's legal and what's not

The passport itself is a clean online process — the bribe point is the police verification visit. Here is what the verifying officer is actually there to do, and what they are not entitled to.

 PROPERTY REGISTRATION

Registering property at the sub-registrar without "speed money"

Stamp duty and the registration fee are real, published costs — often lakhs. The bribe hides beside them as "handling", "token", or "same-day" money. Here is how to keep the real costs and drop the fake ones.

 RATION / PDS

Ration cards: new cards, name changes, and the "file charge" that isn't

A ration card is an entitlement document under the National Food Security Act — for many families the difference between subsidised grain and none. The demands cluster around new cards and adding a newborn or a bride's name.

 ELECTRICITY BOARD

A new electricity connection: the demand note is the only bill

DISCOMs publish every charge — connection, security deposit, meter — in a tariff schedule, and bill them on one official demand note. The classic bribe is "meter installation money" after you've already paid it.

 MUNICIPAL CORPORATION

Birth and death certificates: free within 21 days, by law

Under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, registering a birth or death within 21 days is free everywhere in India. The demands cluster around "urgent copies" and late registrations — both have small, published fees, not negotiable ones.
Missing the office you're about to visit? The registry's reports themselves are the raw version of this advice — browse what others faced at your department, or add your own experience so the next person goes in prepared.

Want it acted on, not just recorded?

This registry is a public signal — it is not a complaint and nobody investigates it. These channels are the ones with legal teeth. If you were compelled to pay, the Prevention of Corruption Act protects a person who reports it to law enforcement within 7 days.

  • CPGRAMS — the national public grievance portal (any department)
  • Central Vigilance Commission — corruption in central government bodies
  • Your state's Anti-Corruption Bureau or Lokayukta — search "<your state> ACB complaint"; many run phone hotlines
  • RTI — ask for your own file's status and movement; a watched file moves