How to verify OTP for an IRCTC cancellation or refund

The OTP step on a cancellation exists for a good reason: it stops a ticket being cancelled by somebody who is not the passenger. That protection is worth the extra thirty seconds, and it is also why the code does not always come to you.

Before you cancel anything

Say the charges out loud to the customer first.

Railway cancellation charges apply, they vary by class and by how close to departure you are, and they are not reversible once the cancellation is done. A customer who expected a full refund and received a partial one will remember that conversation, and it is much easier to have before the cancellation than after.

This single habit prevents more counter disputes than anything else in this guide.

The cancellation and OTP steps

1. Sign in to the agent interface with the ID the booking was made on.
2. Find the booking by PNR. Confirm the passenger name matches before going further — cancelling the wrong PNR is not undoable.
3. Select the passengers being cancelled. Partial cancellation is possible; make sure you have selected only the intended travellers.
4. Confirm you have told the customer the charges.
5. Request the OTP. It goes to the mobile number attached to the booking.
6. Enter the code and confirm. If more than a few minutes have passed, request a fresh one rather than entering an expired code.
7. Give the customer the cancellation confirmation. Not a verbal assurance — the confirmation.

Whose phone does the OTP reach?

This is the part that catches agents out, and the answer is deliberate.

The code goes to the number the booking was made against. If you booked on the customer’s own details, they receive it — you do not. That is the protection working as intended, not a fault.

Practically, it means a cancellation for an absent customer needs them reachable at that moment. If they are not, the cancellation cannot proceed, and telling them that plainly is better than leaving them expecting a refund that is not in motion.

Three different things people call “refund”

Getting these straight is most of the job, because they have different rules and different outcomes.

Cancellation. A ticket exists and is being given up. Charges apply by class and timing. The refund is what remains after them.

Failed booking. No ticket was ever issued — the request broke before a PNR existed. Nothing is being refunded, the authorisation is simply reversed, and no cancellation charge applies because there is nothing to cancel. Covered separately.

TDR. A claim filed when normal cancellation is unavailable — the train was cancelled by the railway, a coach was not attached, a confirmed berth was not provided. It is assessed after the fact and it is not instant.

Using the word “refund” for all three is how a customer ends up expecting the outcome of one and receiving another.

If the OTP never arrives

• Confirm the number on the booking, not the number of the person standing in front of you
• Check the customer’s signal and DND settings if it is their phone
• Request a fresh code rather than reusing one — expired codes fail identically to wrong ones
• If nothing arrives at all, do not repeatedly retry. Take the PNR and call us; repeated attempts can complicate the record rather than help

After the cancellation

Hand over the confirmation, and tell the customer the refund reaches the original payment route rather than arriving as cash at your counter.

Agents who skip that sentence get a second visit two days later asking where the money is.