Postal voting is available in England, Scotland and Wales on request, for all elections. You do not need to give any reason for wanting a postal vote.
You can apply to vote by post for a particular election, a set period of time or for all future elections. You can also vote by post if you are abroad on election day. But you must be registered to vote first.
Find out more about voting by post by watching the YouTube video's produced by the Electoral Commission. There are eight videos in total: two videos (on absent voting and acceptable campaign activities) each produced in English, Urdu, Gujarati and Punjabi.
Postal vote application form
You can apply for a postal vote by completing the postal vote application form on the Electoral Commission website and returning it to the Electoral Services Department using the contact details below.
Postal vote application form guidance
- Enter your full names, address and contact details.
- Confirm if you would like a permanent postal vote, whether you require a postal vote for a specific date of if you require a postal vote for a certain time period.
- If you will be away from home, then you can choose to have your ballot papers sent to an alternative address. You must state the reason for needing your ballot papers to be sent to an alternative address.
- You must enter your date of birth in the format DD/MM/YYYY and then sign the form. Please note that your date of birth and signature must be kept within the borders provided. Failure to do this may invalidate your postal vote statement,
- Please date the completed application.
Please note: If you apply for postal vote, a council officer may hand deliver the voting pack and conduct a face to face survey with you to stress the importance of completing the vote yourself. They may also visit after you have submitted your postal vote to ask whether you personally completed the ballot paper.
