How to file an FIR (First Information Report) in Nepal

The Muluki Criminal Procedure (Code) Act divides offences into cognizable and non-cognizable. Cognizable offences are serious enough that police can investigate, and where needed arrest, without waiting for a magistrate's order first: theft, robbery, burglary, assault causing injury, rape and sexual offences, murder. For these, the document you file is an FIR, and the duty officer must register it once your account describes something that fits.

Non-cognizable matters are the rest, minor disputes, some fraud and cheating cases, defamation, and a long list of lesser offences where police generally need a court's direction before investigating properly. For these you file a general complaint, उजुरी, which gets recorded and reviewed but does not automatically launch an investigation the way an FIR does.

Both start the same way, you walk in and describe what happened, and the counter staff decide which document it becomes. If you're not sure which applies, ask directly. If a case sounds like it should be an FIR and you hear something like "maybe just write a complaint instead," ask plainly whether the offence is cognizable, and push if the answer dodges the question.

File at the station covering where the incident occurred, not the one nearest your home. This is territorial jurisdiction, and a station outside its own area may redirect you elsewhere, costing you a day if you didn't check first. If you're unsure which station covers a given street or ward, any nearby station or the District Police Office for that district can tell you, and most will take an initial report and forward it rather than turn you away outright.

If the offence happened across more than one location, file where it took place and mention the other locations in your statement so the investigating officer can follow up there. For anything with immediate danger, an assault in progress, a break-in, an injury accident, call the Nepal Police emergency number (100) first, then file the formal FIR afterward; responding officers will often help with that directly.

You don't need a lawyer to file an FIR, and you don't need a written statement prepared in advance. The duty officer will normally write it down as you state it, or let you write it yourself in Nepali, and should read it back before you sign. What helps is having your facts straight: what happened, when, where, who was involved if known, and what evidence exists.

Bring your citizenship certificate or other ID. If you have evidence, photographs, a medical report, CCTV footage, receipts or ownership papers for stolen property, bring copies, and mention anything you know exists even if you can't produce it on the spot. You are not required to name a suspect, an FIR can say "unknown person" where identity isn't known. What matters is that your account, if true, describes an actual offence, that's what makes it cognizable.

Once the FIR is registered, ask for a copy or at minimum the case number and the name of the officer handling it. This is your proof a report exists and your reference for any follow-up, insurance claim, or court matter later. Do not leave without it.

Registration is meant to open the case immediately, an investigating officer gets assigned, and for cognizable offences police can begin gathering evidence and questioning witnesses right away. How fast that actually happens depends on the station's caseload and the offence's severity, so it's fair to ask the assigned officer what happens next and roughly when. If weeks pass with no update, go back, ask for the officer by name, and keep your own notes of every visit.

This does happen, and it's a real, documented problem rather than a rare edge case. A station might refuse because the case seems complicated, crosses jurisdiction, involves someone with influence, or simply because an officer doesn't want the extra casework. Refusing to register a report describing a cognizable offence isn't supposed to happen, and there is a path around it.

Start by asking for the officer in charge, not just the duty constable, and restate clearly that you are filing an FIR, not a complaint. If that doesn't resolve it, take the matter to the District Police Office covering that area, which can direct a station to register a report or take it directly. You can also raise it with the District Administration Office (Chief District Officer), which has oversight in this area.

Nepal Police also runs public complaint channels for exactly this problem, including a hotline and an online complaint facility through the Nepal Police website. Confirm the current hotline number and online process on nepalpolice.gov.np, as contact channels do get updated. As a last resort, Nepali law allows a complainant to approach a Chief Judicial Magistrate or the relevant court to compel police to register and investigate, worth discussing with a lawyer or legal aid service if it comes to that.