Applications for an absent vote received before the relevant day
You need to plan for how you will manage absent vote applications received before the relevant day.
Application type
Received before 3 November
UK Parliament and Police and Crime Commissioner elections
Process application as normal before, on or after the relevant day.
Senedd and Local government elections
Process application as normal but can only be determined up to the relevant day. For more information on what to do if a fresh application introduces discrepancies see our guidance on discrepancies requiring a pre-convergence write out.
Senedd and Local government elections absent voting applications not determined by the relevant day
An application for a Senedd and Local government elections absent vote that is made before but not determined by the relevant day is to be treated as not having been made. This is because these applications will not include the required information to enable ID verification to take place as required under the new rules.
As soon as practicable after the relevant day, you must send information about how to make a fresh application to any affected electors, at their qualifying address.1
New applications received on or after the relevant day
All absent voting applications received on or after the relevant day must satisfy the new requirements including information for the verification of personal identifiers.2
Where an application does not contain the required information, you should, where possible, make enquiries to obtain the missing information. If the missing information is not submitted, the application cannot be accepted. You should write to the elector to explain why the application has not been accepted and how to make a fresh application that meets the new requirements.
1. Regulation 30, Part 7, The Absent Voting (Miscellaneous Amendment) (Wales) Regulations 2026 (Wales)↩ Back to content at footnote 1
2. Regulation 51(2) (aa), Representation of the People (England and Wales) Regulations 2001 (as amended)↩ Back to content at footnote 2