Malawi

Republic of Malawi · ISO MWI

Malawi has a rated national right-to-information law (adopted 2017, scored 104/150 by the RTI Rating, checked 2026-07-05), and a candidate service-rights route exists that we have not confirmed against the official text. Subdivision entries below marked “to confirm” are tasks, not facts.

Your first move, anywhere

Request legal route, responsible officer, fees, timeline, appeal route, and one high-value record: budget, contract, land, hospital stock, service standard, audit, court delay, police complaint, or procurement payment.

Convert the legal right into a citizen test: receipt, tracking number, statutory deadline, written reasons, actual record release, appeal, and proactive publication.

Capture flags to watch: Delay; discretion; opacity; fragmentation; fear; patron dependency; counterfeit transparency

Right to information

Sourced

National lawAccess to Information Act, 2017 Official text still to confirm before you rely on it.

RTI Rating score104/150 · rank 35 · Strong legal framework

Where the law is strong and weakRight of access 3/6 · Scope 27/30 · Requesting procedures 15/30 · Exceptions and refusals 18/30 · Appeals 21/30 · Sanctions and protections 6/8 · Promotional measures 14/16

Source: RTI Rating country data · last checked 2026-07-05

Right to service

To confirm

StatusCandidate legal family, needs official verification

Legal familyCitizen charter / ombudsman / administrative justice route

Candidate route (to confirm)Verify citizen or client service charter, ombudsman jurisdiction, judicial-review/administrative-justice statute, digital-service standards and sectoral deadlines.

The usability test to runReceipt + tracking + deadline + written reason + appeal + remedy + claimant protection

NoteDo not count a Public Service Commission as RTS unless it creates enforceable service standards for citizens.

Sources: OECD Administrative Simplification

Help confirm this

Search the official gazette and government sites for: "Malawi" "right to service" OR "public service guarantee" OR "citizen charter" OR "service charter" OR "administrative procedure" OR "ombudsman". Found the law? Send it through the route below.

Inside Malawi: 31 subdivisions

Where a subdivision shows a cited law, the citation comes from the named source and the official text still needs confirming. Where it shows nothing, the national law may apply and the local rules are unconfirmed.

What to confirm at your local office, whichever subdivision you are in

Verify statutory deadline and extension rule.
Verify filing fee, copying fee, waiver, and electronic access rule.
Verify internal review, independent review, judicial review, and silence-as-refusal rule.
Verify relevant information commission, ombudsman, court, tribunal, or internal appeal body.
Verify official web portal or responsible officer contact.

Records that should already be published: Budget; procurement; contract awards; payment status; public land; service standards; audit reports; subsidies; court/police/hospital/school records.

Code	Subdivision	Type	Access-law status	Source · checked
MW-BA	Balaka	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-BL	Blantyre	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-C	Central Region	Region	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-CK	Chikwawa	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-CR	Chiradzulu	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-CT	Chitipa	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-DE	Dedza	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-DO	Dowa	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-KR	Karonga	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-KS	Kasungu	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-LI	Lilongwe	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-LK	Likoma	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-MC	Mchinji	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-MG	Mangochi	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-MH	Machinga	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-MU	Mulanje	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-MW	Mwanza	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-MZ	Mzimba	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-N	Northern Region	Region	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-NB	Nkhata Bay	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-NE	Neno	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-NI	Ntchisi	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-NK	Nkhotakota	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-NS	Nsanje	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-NU	Ntcheu	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-PH	Phalombe	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-RU	Rumphi	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-S	Southern Region	Region	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-SA	Salima	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-TH	Thyolo	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05
MW-ZO	Zomba	District	No local law confirmed · national law may apply: Access to Information Act, 2017 To confirm	source · 2026-07-05

Right to service, all 31 subdivisions: Candidate legal family, needs official verification (inherited from the national status above).

Improve this page

If you can confirm any entry for Malawi against the official text, send the law's title, the official link or scan, the office you dealt with, and the date. Every submission is reviewed before anything changes on this site; nothing publishes automatically. Route: the contact on the About page.

This atlas and the Capture Index never mix

The atlas is the open reference layer: every jurisdiction, graded, with unverified entries shown as tasks. The Capture Index is a separate scored product: verified sources only, with right of reply before publication.