Many states allow filing FIR online for theft, lost documents and cybercrime.
Status Check
Check FIR status via the official state police portal using your FIR number.
Legal Aid
District Legal Services Authority provides free legal assistance to citizens.
First Information Report
Filing an FIR in Maharashtra: What Actually Happens
The decision the duty officer makes when you report something — and the escalation path if a cognizable offence is refused.
The First Information Report is the hinge on which any criminal case turns. It is recorded under Section 173 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita, 2023, which replaced Section 154 of the old Code of Criminal Procedure. Until an FIR exists the police have no legal basis to investigate, arrest, or seize evidence.
The test is whether the offence is cognizable: serious enough to justify arrest without a warrant. Theft, burglary, assault causing hurt, kidnapping, rioting and murder all qualify. For anything less serious a station in Maharashtra records a Non-Cognizable entry instead.
You need no lawyer, no stamp paper, no written application and no fee. Walk in, tell the duty officer what happened, and they must write it down, read it back to you in a language you understand, and take your signature or thumb impression.
The one thing never to skip is your free copy. Section 173(2) BNSS entitles every informant to a copy at no cost — anyone asking you to pay is acting unlawfully. Note the FIR number, the date and the recording officer's name; you will need all three for insurance, for court, and for every follow-up. If a station refuses outright, our complaint guide sets out the escalation route to the SP and then to a magistrate.
If the accused is unknown
An FIR does not require you to name anyone. 'Unknown persons' is perfectly normal and does not weaken your complaint.
What to avoid
Do not guess at facts you are unsure of, never sign a blank page, and never sign a statement that has not been read back to you.
What to state
Date, time and exact place, what was done and by whom, the value of anything lost, and any injury caused.
Language rights
Your statement must be recorded in a language you understand and read back before you sign. Ask for this — it is not optional.
Most-asked question
What Is an NC in Maharashtra?
NC stands for Non-Cognizable, and it is the most misunderstood term people meet at a police station. An NC is a formal register entry recording that you reported something — for an offence where police cannot investigate or arrest without a magistrate's permission.
The distinction turns on the seriousness of the offence, not on how upset you are. Minor assault without injury, public nuisance, defamation, simple trespass and most neighbour disputes are non-cognizable. Because the power to arrest is a serious intrusion, the law reserves it for graver crimes.
In practice most NCs filed in Maharashtra are not disputes at all — they are lost property. The copy you receive is what your insurer, bank, the RTO or the passport office will demand before issuing a duplicate. Our lost and found guide covers what to do for each document type.
If a station says your matter is “only an NC” but you believe a cognizable offence occurred, say so politely and ask for the refusal in writing. You can then escalate to the Superintendent of Police, or apply to a magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS.
Commonly filed as an NC in Maharashtra
Address or character verification for an employer
A minor boundary or parking dispute with a neighbour
Lost academic certificates or mark sheets
Missing vehicle registration or insurance papers
Misplaced government ration or pension documents
The three routes a complaint can take. Which applies depends on the offence, not on which station you walk into.
Comparison of FIR and NC
Aspect
FIR (Cognizable)
NC (Non-Cognizable)
Free copy for you
Yes — legally guaranteed
Yes — always ask for it
Typical offences
Theft, assault, burglary, fraud, kidnapping
Lost property, nuisance, minor disputes, defamation
Can police refuse?
No, for a cognizable offence
They must still record the entry
Governing provision
Sec. 173 BNSS
Sec. 174 BNSS
Court permission needed
No
Yes
Investigation starts
Immediately
Only after a magistrate's order
Which station is mine?
Do I Have to Go to the Station Nearest the Crime?
Jurisdiction decides which station investigates. Zero FIR decides where you may walk in — and the answer is anywhere.
Every police station in Maharashtra is assigned a defined geographical area — its jurisdiction. As a rule the station covering the place where the incident happened is the one that investigates, not the station nearest your home.
It is the commonest reason people are sent away from a station and give up. A bag stolen on a train belongs to the Government Railway Police for that section of track. A car broken into in a mall car park belongs to the station covering the mall, even if you live thirty kilometres away. Online fraud follows where the loss occurred — generally wherever you are in Maharashtra.
Zero FIR removes the burden of working this out. Introduced after the Justice Verma Committee, it lets you register an FIR at any station regardless of jurisdiction. The station numbers it zero, records the complaint in full, takes urgent action such as a medical examination, then transfers the file onward.
A station refusing a Zero FIR is not exercising discretion — it is committing an offence under Section 199 BNS, and for sexual offences that carries up to two years. The practical takeaway: in an emergency go to whichever station you can reach fastest. Sorting out jurisdiction is the police's job, not yours.
Protection provisions
What Protections Do Women and Children Have in Maharashtra?
The protections Indian law extends to women and children go substantially further than the ordinary rules, and every station in Maharashtra must honour them. Knowing they exist is often the difference between a complaint being taken seriously and being talked out of the door.
For women
Every station must run a Women's Helpdesk, staffed by a woman officer wherever posting strength allows.
A survivor with a disability may have an interpreter or special educator present, and the statement must be video recorded.
Zero FIR applies fully — any station must record the complaint regardless of jurisdiction.
A woman cannot be arrested between sunset and sunrise without a magistrate's written permission.
Medical examination is free at any government or private hospital under Section 397 BNSS.
Helplines: 1091 women's helpline, 181 domestic abuse, 1098 CHILDLINE, 112 any emergency. All free, all twenty-four hours, all working from a phone with no balance. See every emergency number explained.
Other common matters
Road Accidents, Missing People and Lost Documents — Who Do I Call?
Missing persons
Carry a recent photograph, a description of clothing, details of any phone or vehicle, and the names of friends and places frequented.
If the person is under eighteen, police must register an FIR at once on the presumption of kidnapping and upload details to TrackChild.
Many urban forces now accept lost-article reports online and email a downloadable certificate — worth checking before travelling to a station.
Lost documents and belongings are recorded as an NC, and that copy is what banks, insurers, the RTO and passport authorities require before issuing duplicates.
Road accidents are cognizable. Call 112 immediately and do not move vehicles unless someone needs hospital — Good Samaritan guidelines protect rescuers, and no hospital may refuse emergency treatment or demand payment first.
For a hit-and-run, note whatever registration you can, look for nearby CCTV or dashcam footage, and register an FIR the same day.
A typical station layout. Smaller rural stations combine several functions into one room, but every one of them exists somewhere.
Stations divide into functions, not one open counter. Heading to the right one saves a long wait in the wrong queue.
The front desk is staffed continuously, including at night and on holidays. The duty officer there is your first contact for everything. If unsure whom to see, start here.
The writer or record room keeps the registers: FIR, NC, the general diary logging every event of the day, and the roznamcha recording officers' movements. Your free copy is produced here.
The malkhana is the secured store for seized and recovered property — where anything of yours sits until a court orders its release on superdari. The lock-up holds people in custody, never beyond twenty-four hours without a magistrate, never women overnight without a woman constable, and never a juvenile.
Most stations are busiest between ten and one. If your matter is not urgent, arriving early or late afternoon means a shorter wait — or skip the trip and check which station is actually closest to you first.
Everyday paperwork
What Verification Services Can I Get in Maharashtra?
The same five-step chain covers passport, tenant, employment and character verification — only the initiating authority changes.
Most people's only contact with a police station has nothing to do with crime. It is verification — the background check behind a passport, a tenancy, a job or a licence. Knowing how it runs in Maharashtra will save you weeks. Our guide to contacting the police covers what to prepare for each type.
Tenant verification
A landlord's legal obligation in most states. Requires the tenant's photo ID, previous address and employer details, and protects the landlord from later liability.
NOC for a new business
Certain trades — bars, cyber cafés, hotels, pawnbrokers — need a police no-objection certificate before licensing.
Event and protest permission
Public gatherings, processions and loudspeaker use need prior permission from the local station or DCP office.
Domestic staff checks
Verification of drivers, cooks and security staff is mandatory in several states. Most urban forces now accept this online.
Verification is a free government service. No officer may charge for visiting your address or issuing a report. If asked for money, report it to the state Anti-Corruption Bureau or Vigilance Commission — see our sources and methodology.
Digital crime
What Should I Do in the First Hour After Being Scammed?
Why the first sixty minutes matter more than anything you do afterwards.
Nothing reported in Maharashtra rewards speed the way cyber fraud does. Money leaving your account passes through mule accounts within minutes. Once withdrawn as cash or converted to crypto, recovery is close to impossible.
That is why 1930 exists. Run under the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, it plugs into the system that can send a freeze instruction to the receiving bank in near real time. That window is the golden hour.
Call 1930 first — before your bank, before posting about it, before going to a station. Have the transaction ID, amount, time and your account number ready. Follow with a written complaint at cybercrime.gov.in, which returns a trackable acknowledgement number.
You may also report at any station in Maharashtra. None may refuse for want of a cyber cell or because the offender is in another state — the loss occurred where you are. Our cybercrime reporting guide walks through the evidence to preserve.
Digital arrest scam
Callers posing as police, CBI or customs claiming you are implicated and demanding money. No agency works this way.
SIM swap
Your number is ported without consent so OTPs reach the attacker. Sudden loss of signal is the warning sign.
Job and task scams
Small payments for 'tasks' that build trust before a large deposit is demanded and vanishes.
UPI & bank fraud
Fake collect-requests and calls impersonating bank staff asking for an OTP. No bank ever asks for an OTP.
How policing works
Who Runs the Police Force in Maharashtra?
Rank structure of a state police force. The shaded band marks the ranks you actually meet at a station — everything above is supervisory.
Under the Constitution police is a State subject, which means the force covering Maharashtra is recruited, funded and directed by its state — not centrally. Maharashtra Police sets its own recruitment rules, postings and internal procedure, even though the criminal law it enforces is national.
At the top sits the Director General of Police, reporting to the state Home Department. Below the DGP the force fans out into zones, ranges and districts. A district is commanded by a Superintendent of Police; in larger cities that becomes a Commissionerate, where a Commissioner holds both policing and magisterial powers — which is why a metro officer is a DCP rather than an SP.
The unit that matters to an ordinary citizen, though, is the police station. Every square metre of Maharashtra falls inside exactly one station's jurisdiction, and that station is the entry point for almost every interaction you will have with the police — reporting a crime, getting a document verified, or recovering lost property.
A station is commanded by a Station House Officer — an Inspector in cities, a Sub-Inspector in smaller towns. Both ranks can register an FIR, so being told to “come back when the SHO is here” is not a lawful reason to delay a cognizable offence. Below them are ASIs, Head Constables and Constables; the constable assigned to your neighbourhood is the beat officer who will visit for passport or tenant verification.
The law behind it
What Legal Framework Do Police in Maharashtra Operate Under?
Indian criminal law was rewritten in 2023. The offences are broadly familiar, but section numbers that circulated for decades have all changed.
On 1 July 2024 three statutes replaced the backbone of Indian criminal law. The Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the Indian Penal Code of 1860, the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita replaced the Criminal Procedure Code of 1973, and the Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam replaced the Evidence Act of 1872.
For most citizens the practical effect is modest — theft is still theft — but the section numbers people had memorised are gone. The FIR provision everyone knew as Section 154 CrPC is now Section 173 BNSS; Section 156(3), used to force registration through a magistrate, is now Section 175(3). Older guidance online will have the numbers wrong even where the substance is right.
The new codes add real obligations. Zero FIR and e-FIR are now written into statute rather than resting on court directions. Forensic examination is compulsory for offences carrying seven years or more. Investigations must finish within ninety days for most offences, and the informant is entitled to a progress update in the same period.
Alongside sits the Police Act framework. The colonial 1861 Act still forms the base, though most states have their own acts following Prakash Singh v. Union of India (2006), which required Police Complaints Authorities, minimum tenure for key officers, and separation of investigation from law-and-order duties. If you believe an officer abused their position, that Authority is the designated forum — our help guides set out how to approach it.
Avoid these
What Should I Avoid Doing at a Police Station?
1
Leaving without your free copy
Both an FIR and an NC entitle you to a copy at no cost. Without it you cannot claim insurance, apply for duplicates, or prove you reported anything.
2
Signing something you have not read
Never sign a blank sheet or a statement not read back to you in a language you understand. You are entitled to both.
3
Paying for a free service
FIRs, NCs, copies and verification are all free. Any demand for money is itself reportable to the Anti-Corruption Bureau.
4
Going to the wrong station and giving up
Zero FIR means any station must record your complaint. Jurisdiction is sorted afterwards, by the police.
5
Not noting the officer's details
Record the name, rank and buckle number of whoever handles your matter. Every escalation route asks for it.
6
Waiting to 'gather more proof'
You do not need a complete case to report. Police have investigative powers you do not — delay only loses evidence.
None of this is legal advice. For a matter already in court, or a serious allegation against you, speak to a qualified advocate. Free legal aid is available to every woman, every child and anyone below the income threshold through the District Legal Services Authority — start with our help guides.
Reference
What Do SHO, IO and Malkhana Actually Mean?
Cr.P.C.
The Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 — replaced by the BNSS in July 2024.
SHO
Station House Officer — the Inspector or Sub-Inspector commanding a police station.
Zero FIR
An FIR registered outside the jurisdiction where the offence occurred, then transferred to the correct station.
IO
Investigating Officer — the officer assigned to your case. Always note their name and number.
General Diary
The station's chronological log of every event, visit and movement during a shift.
Chargesheet
The final report police file in court once investigation ends, naming the accused and the evidence.
FIR
First Information Report — the document opening a criminal investigation into a cognizable offence.
Malkhana
The station's secured store for seized and recovered property.
PCC
Police Clearance Certificate — proof of no adverse record, usually needed for visas and overseas jobs.
Cognizable
An offence serious enough that police may arrest without a warrant and investigate without a court order.
Panchnama
A record of a seizure or inspection, signed by independent witnesses.
Superdari
A court order releasing seized property to its owner pending trial.
Common Questions About Police Stations in Maharashtra
The questions people most often search for about police stations, FIRs, NC reports and helplines in Maharashtra.
1
How many police stations are listed for Maharashtra?
We currently list 24 police stations in Maharashtra, each with its address and contact details where we have been able to verify them against an official source. Maharashtra operates considerably more than this — our coverage grows as we verify further stations, and we publish nothing we cannot stand behind.
What is the police emergency number in Maharashtra?
Dial 100 for police or 112 for the unified emergency line anywhere in Maharashtra. Both reach a state control room that can dispatch the nearest available unit. Women's helpline 1091, CHILDLINE 1098 and the cyber fraud helpline 1930 also operate throughout Maharashtra around the clock.
How do I file an FIR at a police station in Maharashtra?
Visit any station in Maharashtra and tell the duty officer what happened. For a cognizable offence the police must register a First Information Report under Section 173 BNSS and cannot refuse. Your statement is read back to you before you sign, and you are entitled to a free copy before you leave.
NC means Non-Cognizable — a register entry for a minor offence where Maharashtra Police need a magistrate's order before investigating. Most NCs filed in Maharashtra relate to lost property such as phones, wallets, passports and vehicle papers. The free copy you receive is what your bank, insurer or the RTO will ask for before issuing a duplicate.
How do I find the nearest police station in Maharashtra?
Use the GPS-based Find Near Me tool, or search by your city, district, locality or six-digit PIN code. The nearest stations appear on a map with distance, phone number and directions. Your location stays in your browser and is never stored.
Can I report cybercrime at any police station in Maharashtra?
Yes. No station in Maharashtra may turn away a cybercrime complaint on the grounds that it has no cyber cell or that the offender is in another state — jurisdiction follows where the loss occurred. For financial fraud call 1930 first, because the window to freeze the receiving account is measured in minutes.
How do I check the status of an FIR in Maharashtra?
Most state police portals let you look up an FIR using its number, the station name and the year. You can also ask the Investigating Officer directly — note their name and number when you file. Under the 2023 codes you are entitled to a progress update within ninety days.
How do I report a lost phone or lost documents in Maharashtra?
Visit any station in Maharashtra and file an NC for the lost item — many districts now also accept this online and email you a downloadable certificate. For a lost phone, additionally file on the CEIR portal, which blocks the handset by IMEI across every Indian network and traces it if the SIM is changed.
What should I do if a police station in Maharashtra refuses my complaint?
Ask for the refusal in writing. Then send a written complaint to the Superintendent of Police for your district by registered post — Section 173(4) BNSS requires the SP to act. If that produces nothing, apply directly to a magistrate under Section 175(3) BNSS, who can order the station to register your FIR.
Yes. Any police station in Maharashtra must record a cognizable complaint regardless of where the offence took place, number it zero, and transfer it to the station holding jurisdiction. Refusing a Zero FIR is itself an offence, and for sexual offences carries a dedicated punishment of up to two years.
How long does police verification take in Maharashtra?
Usually between one and three weeks in Maharashtra, depending on the district and the station's workload. The file is routed to the station covering your address and a beat constable visits in person, so keeping Aadhaar, a utility bill and any rental agreement to hand will shorten the process.
Which is the head of the police force in Maharashtra?
The Maharashtra Police is headed by a Director General of Police who reports to the state Home Department. Below the DGP the force is organised into zones and ranges, with each district commanded by a Superintendent of Police — or, in the larger cities, by a Deputy Commissioner under a Commissionerate system.
The Maharashtra Police portal accepts online reports for certain categories — commonly lost documents, stolen vehicles and cybercrime. A full FIR for a serious offence still generally requires attending a station so your statement can be recorded and read back to you. Check the official Maharashtra Police website for what its portal currently supports.
Can I get a Police Clearance Certificate in Maharashtra?
Yes. Apply through the Passport Seva portal rather than approaching a station directly. The application is routed automatically to the Maharashtra Police unit covering your address, a beat officer verifies your details, and the clearance is issued through the same channel.
PoliceStationsIndia.com is an independent public information directory. Information about police stations in Maharashtra is compiled from public sources for general awareness only. Always verify with official Maharashtra Police sources before acting on any information. This site is not affiliated with any government authority.
