IRCTC Travel Agent Registration for Agencies

Say you run a small travel office. You sell flights, bus seats and hotel rooms, and customers keep asking, “Can you do my train ticket as well?” It’s a fair thing to want to add. But rail booking doesn’t work like the other things you sell, and it’s much cheaper to learn the differences before you pay anyone than after.

This guide sticks to rail tickets and tells you where it stops. When a point comes from SiOnline’s own pages and not from IRCTC, the sentence says so. If you only want the application steps, read about IRCTC agent registration.

What does “IRCTC travel agent” actually mean?

People use the phrase for three different things, and mixing them up is how agencies end up buying the wrong thing.

Rail e-ticketing agent. This is the route this guide covers. A PSP registers your agency, and IRCTC issues a Retail Service Provider (RSP) ID (IRCTC Agent Policy, effective 29 November 2019). The policy describes that ID as “for booking of e-Tickets only”. A new retail e-ticketing agent has no direct application route to IRCTC, so there’s no form to fill in on IRCTC’s side.

IRCTC Tourism travel agent. IRCTC’s tourism arm has its own site. It says “Agents are not authorized for online booking with part payment at www.irctctourism.com” (IRCTC Tourism). The homepage links to a Travel Agents section, and the terms there are separate from everything in this guide. Read them on that site.

Special categories on IRCTC’s PSP list. IRCTC publishes a register of authorised providers (a PDF dated March 2026). It lists categories such as Rail Travel Services Agents (RTSA), Town Booking Agency and City Booking Agency. IRCTC’s norms say an RTSA writes to IRCTC with a Zonal Railways letter confirming its status (IRCTC RTSA norms). The register also has a heading, “Authorized Travel Agents- Internet café Scheme (ICS)”, that names five trade bodies. It doesn’t say what that means for an individual agency. If your agency belongs to one of those bodies, ask the body and your provider which route is open to you (IRCTC PSP list).

Whose name goes on the agent ID?

This is the question agencies trip over, because an agency is not a person.

IRCTC’s Agent Policy makes Aadhaar verification of the RSP mandatory at registration, and it makes PAN mandatory too. It also asks for a correct address and a mobile number, e-mail ID and PAN that are unique. The same policy says “KYC of the RSP is the responsibility of the PSP”. So the provider you pick is the one who carries the verification work.

On SiOnline’s current documents required for IRCTC agent registration page, the agent ID is issued in your own business name. A travel agency gives the proprietor’s or signatory’s documents plus the agency’s registration papers. For a partnership firm, that page lists a partnership deed, the firm’s PAN and the authorised partner’s KYC. For a private limited company, it lists the certificate of incorporation, the company PAN and the authorised signatory’s KYC.

Because the Agent Policy checks the RSP’s Aadhaar and PAN, ask your provider one plain question: when the agency is a firm or a company, which person’s Aadhaar and PAN will the ID be tied to? And get the exact document list from them before you start collecting papers.

The one thing that holds up most applications

On SiOnline’s current registration page, a PAN, mobile number or email that’s already attached to an IRCTC account is the most common cause of delay. If the proprietor has ever booked tickets on a personal IRCTC account, check that first. SiOnline runs its eligibility check on exactly those three items before you pay.

Can your staff share one agent ID?

If more than one person is going to book, settle this before you register.

The Agent Policy prohibits “sharing of access credentials to web services”. It also says “Transfer/Sharing of RSP ID given to RSPs by IRCTC is prohibited”, and it makes the PSP responsible for stopping it. So for an agency, one ID isn’t a shared desk login. Plan on one person per ID.

Here are the login rules in plain terms. A retail agent can log in with OTP, or with a Class 3 digital signature certificate (DSC) if they hold one (IRCTC integration policy, effective 2 September 2020). A DSC is optional.

If two or three of your staff need to book at the same time, don’t guess and don’t work around it. Ask your provider in writing whether the agency can register more than one ID, in whose name each one would sit, and what each costs. IRCTC’s agent documents don’t say whether one agency can hold more than one ID, so nobody can promise you an answer from memory.

What can the agent ID book?

The ID books reserved rail e-tickets. Three points apply as of 17 October 2026.

Seat availability is the same as everyone else’s. SiOnline states that an agent sees the same availability as a personal user or a railway Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counter.

Tatkal has an agent-only restriction. The announcement published by PIB (release 2135694, 11 June 2025) bars authorised agents from opening-day Tatkal in the first 30 minutes. That means 10:00 AM to 10:30 AM for AC classes and 11:00 AM to 11:30 AM for non-AC classes. From 15 July 2025, Tatkal tickets booked through authorised agents also need OTP authentication, sent to the mobile number the user gives at booking (PIB, retrieved 17 October 2026). If your customers expect you to grab Tatkal seats the moment the window opens, tell them about that gap up front. There’s more on this in the post on Tatkal timings for IRCTC agents.

The customer has to come to you. The policy says tickets “should be booked only when the customer approaches the RSP”, with the customer’s knowledge and acceptance.

What about your website or app?

If your agency has its own website or app, read this one slowly. The Agent Policy prohibits engaging any third party to sell e-tickets by any mode, and it names e-commerce platforms operating through a website or smartphone application. Whether your own site or app is allowed is a question for your provider, so ask before you build a booking page around the ID.

The policy also doesn’t mention air, bus or hotel bookings. Don’t assume the rail ID carries them. If your provider says it can support them, ask for those terms in writing.

How does the agent charge affect your pricing?

A travel agency normally prices its own products. Rail tickets are different, because IRCTC’s norms set the charge, not you.

As of 17 October 2026, on SiOnline’s published figures, the agent charge is ₹40 per PNR for AC classes and ₹20 per PNR for non-AC classes. It’s per PNR, not per passenger, and it’s printed on the ticket. IRCTC’s Norms for Internet Cafe Scheme list the same ₹20 and ₹40 amounts, inclusive of GST, as the maximum, and say they’re liable to change without notice.

For an agency, that has three consequences.

• No add-on fee on the rail ticket. IRCTC doesn’t allow an agent to add any other charge, including for checking availability or for cancelling. Payment-gateway charges: being confirmed with IRCTC.
• An itemised invoice. The policy requires an invoice that separates the railway fare, IRCTC’s charges, the agent charge and the payment-gateway charge, with tax shown separately.
• What SiOnline charges on a booking. On ticket bookings, SiOnline pays agents no commission and shares no payment-gateway charges; it charges the agent only ticket fare + PG charges + IRCTC charges.

One gap to know about: these documents don’t say whether a bundled holiday price may include a rail component. If you sell packages, ask your provider and your own adviser before you quote a bundled price that has a train ticket inside it.

What about IRCTC Tourism?

IRCTC Tourism is run separately. It sets its own packages, flyers and prices. SiOnline’s IRCTC tourism page describes ticketing and tourism as handled separately, and it doesn’t say whether tourism needs a separate registration or fee. If you want to sell packages, start with the Travel Agents section on irctctourism.com and ask the provider you’re considering exactly what they can and can’t do. Don’t assume that a rail ID carries over.

What does registration cost?

The IRCTC agent registration fees page owns the figures, so check it for anything current. Here’s the picture as of 17 October 2026, on SiOnline’s published figures.

• Standard registration is ₹3,000 incl. GST. It’s one-off, non-refundable, and covers OTP login.
• The agent ID renews at ₹2,360 per year.
• OTP login renews at ₹1,180 per year.
• A maintenance charge of ₹236 per month applies. It doesn’t replace either renewal.

You can pay the registration fee in two instalments. The first is due at signup, and the second when document verification completes. The agent ID is created only after 100% payment.

Watch what you print

Agencies love a nice visiting card, so this part matters. The Agent Policy says no advertisement in print or press media may be issued without IRCTC’s written permission. It also says the IRCTC logo may not go on visiting cards, letterheads or pamphlets unless approved. Check your wording against the policy before you send anything to the printer.

A checklist before you register

1. Decide whose name the ID will carry. Gather that person’s PAN and Aadhaar details, plus the agency’s registration documents.
2. Check that the PAN, mobile number and email you plan to use aren’t already on an IRCTC account.
3. Find your provider’s exact company name in IRCTC’s PSP file. The PSP verification guide shows you how.
4. Ask in writing: how many IDs can the agency hold, which login option applies, what recurs each month and year, and when is payment due?
5. Ask how the Certificate of Authorisation will be issued. The policy says the PSP issues it and the outlet displays it.
6. Plan to keep the records the policy asks for: the customer’s written or electronic request and ID copy, for six months.

If you decide to go ahead with SiOnline, use the IRCTC agent registration page. It starts with an eligibility check on your PAN, mobile number and email. The first instalment is due at signup after that check; the second is due when document verification completes.

Questions agencies ask

Can I sell air and bus tickets on the same ID?

The Agent Policy defines the agent ID as “for booking of e-Tickets only” and doesn’t mention air, bus or hotel bookings. Ask your provider in writing before you promise either to a customer.

Can several staff share one IRCTC agent ID?

No. The Agent Policy prohibits transfer or sharing of the agent ID, so plan on one person per ID. Ask your provider in writing whether the agency may hold more than one ID.

Does IRCTC Tourism need a separate registration?

IRCTC Tourism sets its own packages, flyers and prices. SiOnline’s IRCTC tourism page describes ticketing and tourism as handled separately, and it doesn’t say whether tourism needs a separate registration or fee. IRCTC Tourism has its own Travel Agents section on irctctourism.com, which this guide doesn’t cover.

Sources and checks

• IRCTC, Revised Agent Policy for e-ticketing Principal Service Providers, effective 29 November 2019, Agent_Policy.pdf, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• IRCTC, Policy for Integration of B2B and Internet Cafe Principal Service Providers, effective 2 September 2020, integration policy PDF, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• IRCTC, Norms for Internet Cafe Scheme (file date 14 June 2021), NormsforInternetCafeScheme.pdf, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• IRCTC, Norms for RTSA agents (file date 30 August 2019), NormsforRTSA.pdf, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• IRCTC, Authorised Principal Service Providers (file created March 2026), PSP list, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• IRCTC Tourism, public site, retrieved 17 October 2026.
• Press Information Bureau, Ministry of Railways, release 2135694, 11 June 2025, PIB, retrieved 17 October 2026.

Facts on this page were last checked on 17 October 2026. Rules and fees change, so confirm them at the source before you act.