Postal voting
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Make sure you're registered to vote
To vote in any election in the UK, you must be registered to vote.
Applying for a postal vote
There are two ways to apply to vote by post:
You can choose how long you want your postal vote to last, up to a maximum of three years.
It’s best to apply as soon as you have decided you want to vote by post to make sure your ballot paper arrives in good time.
Find your local council's address and send your completed application form here.
Applying for a postal vote
Scottish Parliament and local council elections
Download, print and complete a postal vote application form for Scottish Parliament and local council elections.
UK Parliament elections
Apply for a postal vote on gov.uk
Applying for a postal vote for more than one election
Download, print and complete a postal vote application form to vote by post in any election
It’s best to apply as soon as you have decided you want to vote by post to make sure your ballot paper arrives in good time.
Find your local electoral registration office's address and send your completed application form here.
Applying for a postal vote
Senedd and local council elections
Download, print and complete a postal vote application form for Senedd and local elections.
UK Parliament elections
Apply for a postal vote on gov.uk or download, print and complete an application form to vote by post in UK Parliament elections.
Applying for a postal vote for more than one election
Download, print and complete a form to vote by post in any election.
It’s best to apply as soon as you have decided you want to vote by post to make sure your ballot paper arrives in good time.
Find your local council's address and send your completed application form here.
Applying for a postal vote
To apply for a postal vote in Northern Ireland, you must download, print and complete a voting by post form available on the EONI website.
If you registered to vote online, you’ll need to include your Digital Registration Number (DRN) when applying for a postal vote.
If you’ve forgotten your DRN, you can request it online using the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland’s Am I Registered service.
You can vote by post if you can't get to the polling station on polling day because of:
- illness
- disability
- holiday
- work arrangements
In certain circumstances, you can also apply for an indefinite postal vote. You can do this at any time of year.
Once you have completed the application form and signed it, you need to send it by post to the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.
Important dates and deadlines
You must submit your application by 5pm, 11 working days before the election you wish to vote in.
Ballot papers are printed around three weeks before polling day. Yours will then be sent to you in your postal voting pack.
If you have applied for a postal vote fewer than three weeks before the election, your pack will be sent to you as soon as possible.
If you’re waiting on your postal pack and want to check when it will be sent, contact your local elections team.
Your postal vote needs to be with the elections team at your local council by 10pm on polling day to be counted.
If you can't send your postal vote in time, you can take it your polling station.
You may also be able to hand it in to your local council office, but you should contact your local council to check if this is possible.
Important dates and deadlines
You must submit your application by 5pm, 11 working days before the election you wish to vote in.
Ballot papers are printed around three weeks before polling day. Yours will then be sent to you in your postal voting pack.
If you have applied for a postal vote fewer than three weeks before the election, your pack will be sent to you as soon as possible.
If you’re waiting for your postal voting pack and want to check when it will be sent, contact your returning officer.
The Returning Officer must receive your postal vote by 10pm on polling day to be counted.
If you can't send your postal vote in time, you can take it to a polling station in the constituency.
You may be able to hand it in to your local council office, but you should contact your Returning Officer to check if this is possible.
Get help with your postal vote
Contact your council if you need help filling in your application form, or if you are unable to print it.
They can also tell you if you have already registered for a postal vote.
If you think your postal voting pack could be lost, contact your council as soon as possible.
If you can't send your postal vote yourself, you can:
- ask someone you know and trust to post it for you, or
- contact the elections team at your local council to ask if they can collect it from you.
Contact your local council to cancel your postal vote. You must do so before 5pm, 11 working days before the election you will be voting in.
If you have already returned your completed postal vote, you will not be able to cancel it for that election.
You can hand in your postal vote at your polling station on polling day if you no longer want to post it.
If you have moved or changed your name since applying for a postal vote, you will need to apply again.
Get help with your postal vote
Contact your electoral registration office if you need help filling in your application form, or if you are unable to print it.
They can also tell you if you have already registered for a postal vote.
If you think your postal voting pack could be lost, contact your Returning Officer as soon as possible.
Your postal vote will contain instructions about how to complete and return your postal vote. Make sure you have filled in your postal voting statement as well as your ballot paper(s) before returning your postal vote.
If you need more help or require information in another format or language, there is information in the postal vote pack on what to do and who to contact.
If you can't send your postal vote yourself, you can:
- ask someone you know and trust to post it for you, or
- contact your Returning Officer to ask if they can collect it from you.
Contact your electoral registration office to cancel your postal vote. You must do so before 5pm, 11 working days before the election you will be voting in.
If you have already returned your completed postal vote, you will not be able to cancel it for that election.
You can hand in your postal vote at a polling station in the constituency on polling day if you no longer want to post it.
If you have moved or changed your name since applying for a postal vote, you will need to apply again.
Get help with your postal vote
Contact the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland if you need help filling in your application form, or if you are unable to print it.
If you think your postal voting pack could be lost, contact the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland as soon as possible.
If you can't send your postal vote yourself, you can:
- ask someone you know and trust to post it for you
- contact EONI to ask if they can collect it from you.
If you want to cancel your postal vote then you should contact the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland to request this.
If you have already returned your completed postal vote, then you will not be able to cancel it for that election.
If you have moved or changed your name since applying for a postal vote, you will need to apply again.
If you live overseas and your last UK address was in Northern Ireland, you cannot vote by post. You will need to vote by proxy or in person instead.
If you know that you won’t be able to get to the polling station on polling day, you can ask someone you trust to cast your vote on your behalf.
This is called a proxy vote.
There are two ways to apply to vote by post:
You can choose how long you want your postal vote to last, up to a maximum of three years.
UK Parliament elections
UK Parliament elections
Apply for a postal vote on gov.uk or download, print and complete an application form to vote by post in UK Parliament elections.
Important dates and deadlines
You must submit your application by 5pm, 11 working days before the election you wish to vote in.
Ballot papers are printed around three weeks before polling day. Yours will then be sent to you in your postal voting pack.
If you have applied for a postal vote fewer than three weeks before the election, your pack will be sent to you as soon as possible.
You can request an update on when your postal vote will be sent if you are concerned it will not come in time.
Your postal vote needs to be with the elections team at your local council by 10pm on polling day to be counted.
Important dates and deadlines
You must submit your application by 5pm, 11 working days before the election you wish to vote in.
Ballot papers are printed around three weeks before polling day. Yours will then be sent to you in your postal voting pack.
If you have applied for a postal vote fewer than three weeks before the election, your pack will be sent to you as soon as possible.
You can request an update on when your postal vote will be sent if you are concerned it will not come in time.
Your postal vote needs to be with the elections team at your local council by 10pm on polling day to be counted.
Get help with your postal vote
If you think your postal voting pack could be lost, contact your Returning Officer as soon as possible.
If you can't send your postal vote yourself, you can ask someone you know and trust to post it for you.
If your last UK address was in England or Wales, contact your local council to cancel your postal vote. If your last UK address was in Scotland, contact your electoral registration office to cancel your postal vote.
You must do so before 5pm, 11 working days before the election you will be voting in.
If you have already returned your completed postal vote, you will not be able to cancel it for that election.
You can hand in your postal vote at your polling station on polling day if you no longer want to post it.
If you have moved or changed your name since applying for a postal vote, you will need to apply again.