Postal vote renewal reminder for residents

If you vote by post, there’s an important change you need to know about. A new law means that postal votes now expire after three years. 

This means that anyone who applied for their postal vote before 31 October 2023 must reapply before 31 January 2026 if they want to keep voting by post.

How we’re contacting affected voters

We’ve already contacted everyone affected by email or letter earlier this year. From October 2025, we’ll be writing again to anyone who hasn’t reapplied yet. Reminder letters will follow in December 2025.

The easiest way to renew your postal vote is online. You’ll need your date of birth, National Insurance number and you will need to upload a picture of your signature to confirm your identity. You can also download a paper copy form here and return it to us by email or post.

Cancelling your postal vote

If you don’t want to vote by post anymore, please let us know as soon as possible so we can save on unnecessary printing and postage. You can cancel your postal vote online, by email, or by sending us a letter at:

The Electoral Registration Officer

Freepost: RTKL-JXUU-TLUB

Wokingham

Berkshire 

RG40 1GY

Why your information matters

This information is used to verify your identity, and to verify that your postal vote has not been completed by someone else. It is therefore important that it is provided to ensure the application goes smoothly.

If you are unable to provide a signature, you can contact the Electoral Services team who can advise on the next steps.

What happens if you don’t reapply

Anyone who hasn’t renewed by 31 January 2026 will receive a letter in February confirming their postal vote has been cancelled. 

Residents will still be able to reapply for a new postal vote for future elections if you wish, depending on the postal vote application deadline for each future election. Details of deadlines for upcoming elections can be found here