Running electoral registration - Wales

Where an applicant (excluding those previously registered as service voter, merchant seaman or overseas elector) cannot provide documentary evidence of the type and quantity required by the exceptions process to prove: 

• their connection to an address under the previously registered condition
• their connection to an address under the previously resident condition
• their identity1  

you should write to them to communicate the legislative requirements for the appropriate attestation. See our guidance for more information on address attestations. 

You could either design a form containing the necessary legal statements and requirements for an attestation or set out the detail of the requirements in a letter to the applicant. The AEA have developed a template that you could use. 

If an applicant submits an attestation which contains all the required information for that type of attestation, you should accept it as valid.

You could set a deadline date for the applicant to respond. This will help you if you decide to reject an application because no response has been received. The period of time given to applicants to respond is at your discretion. However, you should allow a reasonable amount of time for the applicant to source and return their attestation.

An attestation may be delivered to your office by hand, by post or by electronic means, such as by email. If the attestation is sent electronically, the signature of the attestor must be a photograph or scanned image of a handwritten wet signature.