If you have never been on the electoral roll, registration runs on Form 6: the application for inclusion of a name in the roll. It is free, it can be done online, and the card is posted to you at no cost.
Who can apply
You can register if you are an Indian citizen, are 18 or older on the qualifying date, and are ordinarily resident in the constituency you are applying in.
“Ordinarily resident” means where you actually live, not where you own property or where your family is from. A student living in a hostel, a worker in a rented room; both are ordinarily resident where they live.
Form 6 is specifically for first-time inclusion. If you are already registered somewhere and have moved, you need Form 8 instead: see changing your address. Filing Form 6 when you should have filed Form 8 creates a duplicate entry, which is a problem rather than a shortcut.
What you need before you start
- Proof of age: typically a birth certificate, school leaving certificate, or another document accepted by the Election Commission.
- Proof of ordinary residence: a self-attested copy of a listed document in your own name, or in the name of a parent or spouse if the address is theirs.
- A recent passport-size colour photograph, 4.5 cm × 3.5 cm, on a white background, unsigned. Signing the photo is a routine reason for rejection.
- A mobile number and email for status updates.
Aadhaar details are requested for authentication of entries. If you do not have an Aadhaar number, there is an option to declare that; it is not a barrier to registering.
How to file it
- Go to the ECI Voters’ Service Portal at voters.eci.gov.in and create an account with your mobile number.
- Open Form 6.
- Fill in your details, the constituency you are applying in, and your address exactly as it appears on your residence proof, including the PIN code.
- Upload the photograph and your documents.
- Submit, and keep the reference number.
You can file on paper instead, through your Booth Level Officer or the Electoral Registration Officer for your constituency. The blank form is available as a PDF from the ECI.
The form may be filled in English or in the official language of your state, and the language you choose cannot be a ground for rejection.
What happens next
Your application is verified, usually by a Booth Level Officer visiting the address. If it is approved, your name is added to the roll and an EPIC is issued.
The EPIC is delivered free of cost by speed post to the address on the application. Nobody should be charging you for it. If someone offers to “get your voter ID made” for a fee, they are selling you something that is free.
Track progress with your reference number on the same portal. Timelines vary by state and by whether a roll revision is under way.
If you have no documentary proof of residence
The process explicitly accommodates people who cannot produce address documents. Homeless citizens living in sheds or on pavements, and sex workers without documentary proof, are enrolled on the basis of field verification instead. Not having a tenancy agreement does not disqualify you from voting.
One warning worth taking seriously
The declaration on Form 6 is a legal statement. A false declaration is punishable under Section 31 of the Representation of the People Act, 1950, with imprisonment of up to one year, a fine, or both.
In practice this matters most for the “first time” declaration. If you are already on a roll elsewhere and declare otherwise to get a second entry, that is the offence. Update your existing entry instead.
After you are registered
Confirm your name appears on the roll, note your part and serial number, and check which polling booth you are assigned to before polling day.
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