How to vote by post

To apply for a postal vote, you have to be registered to vote. 

You can apply to vote by post for just one election, or for every Senedd and council election.  

To vote by post, fill in this form and send it to your local electoral services department (the people who run elections in your area).

If you want to vote by post for the Senedd election, make sure you have applied to vote by post at Senedd elections before the deadline, 5pm 21 April 2026. 

You will need to apply for a postal vote again if you have moved house or changed your name. 

When you apply for a postal vote, you will need to give: 

• your full name

• the address where you are registered to vote

• if you want to vote by post for one election, some elections, or every election

• the address you want the postal vote to be sent to. If this is different to your address, you'll have to say why you want to send the postal vote to a different address

• your signature 

• your date of birth 

After you've applied to vote by post, your local electoral services department (the people who run elections in your area) will check your application. They'll tell you if you can vote by post or if there are any problems with your application.

You will get a postal voting pack in the post before the day of the election. 

The pack will give you instructions on how to vote by post.  

The pack will also have: 

• The ballot (voting) paper 

• A postal voting statement 

• 2 envelopes (envelope A and envelope B)

You will vote once for a political party or independent candidate. This is the same way you would vote if you were voting in-person in a polling station. 

Make sure you follow the instructions on your postal voting pack.

You can send your postal vote by putting it in a post box or taking it to the post office. You do not need a stamp. 

 If you can't do this yourself you can ask someone you know and trust to do it for you. 

You will need to send your vote back early enough to make sure it arrives with your local electoral services team (the people who run elections in your area) by 10pm on the day of the election.

If you can't send your postal vote back early, or you want more time to decide who to vote for, you can still vote by using your postal vote on the day of the election.

You can take your postal vote to a polling station (voting place) in your constituency (voting area) between 7am and 10pm on the day of the election. You can also take it to your council offices.

Voting by post is safe. Send your postal vote back as soon as you can to make sure it's counted, or take it to a polling station on the day of the election.

Staff in your council’s electoral services department (the people that run elections in your area) will check your postal vote statement to make sure it’s you that’s filled in your vote. 

Your vote is still private because you’ll put your ballot paper in a different envelope to your statement, so nobody can see who you vote for. 

If you decide you don't want to vote by post, you can cancel your postal vote.

You have to let your council know if you want to cancel your postal vote before 5pm on 21 April 2026. 

Use our postcode search to find your council contact details. 

You can’t cancel your postal vote if you have already returned it.

All postal votes should arrive by 30 April 2026.

If your postal vote hasn't arrived, you should contact your council's electoral services department (the people who run elections in your area). 

Use our postcode search to find your council contact details.

Your postal vote pack will have instructions on it. If you think you’ve made a mistake after you’ve voted, speak to your local electoral services department.

Speak to your council if you have questions about voting by post. 

You can also find out more at the Electoral Commission website.