Registering as a voter and getting a voter ID
Your name is added to the electoral roll in Telangana, and your voter ID card (EPIC) comes to your home free by speed post.
About this guidePending verification
Published on 12-11-2026. Not every fact has been checked against its official source yet: confirm at the office.
For whom: Indian citizens who ordinarily live in Telangana: people who are 18 or older, people about to turn 18, and voters who have moved here from another state or another place.
Answer the questions below first. Then the documents and steps open.
1Your situation
We show only what your answers need.
- Which of these are you?
- Have you been registered as a voter anywhere before?
- How old are you?
- How will you apply?
Your answers stay on this phone.
Each step below says who it is for. Confirm yours at the office, then change your answer here.
Another route for you
Form 6, in these steps, is for people who ordinarily live in India. An Indian citizen living abroad for work, study or another reason, who has not taken the citizenship of another country, can register as an overseas elector with Form 6A. The name goes on the roll of the constituency where the Indian address in your passport is (Representation of the People Act, 1950, section 20A).
→ Send Form 6A to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of that constituency: by post, in person or online. Paste a recent passport-size colour photo on it. Attach self-attested copies of the passport pages with your photo, your address in India and your other details, and of the page with your valid visa; without them the application can be rejected. If you hand it in yourself, show the original passport. If you already have a voter ID card from India, give it back with Form 6A. The BLO checks the documents with your relatives at the passport address, or they are sent to the Indian Mission in the country where you live; if a hearing is needed, an officer there hears you, and you are not asked to come to India. Overseas electors get no voter ID card (EPIC): you vote in person at the polling station, with your original passport, on polling day. Tell the ERO when your address abroad changes, and when you come back to live in India.
Sources: 3
This route does not apply to your situation
Only Indian citizens can be registered as voters: a person who is not a citizen of India cannot be enrolled (Representation of the People Act, 1950, section 16). An OCI cardholder is a foreign national, not a citizen of India (Ministry of Home Affairs notification S.O. 1050(E), 4 March 2021), and is not entitled to vote (Citizenship Act, 1955, section 7B(2)).
→ If your name is still on an electoral roll in India from before, you can ask for your own name to be deleted with Form 7; "not an Indian citizen" is one of the reasons on it. Give the form to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of that constituency, or file it online on the Voters' Service Portal.
Sources: 3, 11, 12, 13
This route does not apply to your situation
Only Indian citizens can be registered as voters: a person who is not a citizen of India cannot be enrolled (Representation of the People Act, 1950, section 16). People who stopped being Indian citizens when they took another country's citizenship cannot be enrolled either (ECI's Manual on Electoral Rolls).
→ If your name is still on an electoral roll in India from before, you can ask for your own name to be deleted with Form 7; "not an Indian citizen" is one of the reasons on it. Give the form to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of that constituency, or file it online on the Voters' Service Portal.
Sources: 3, 13
This route does not apply to your situation
You must be 18 to be registered. Applying in advance is only for those who will be 18 on one of that year's four qualifying dates (1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October). Before 17 this is usually not possible.
→ Come back to this guide when you are 17. If unsure, call 1950 and ask.
Sources: 3, 4, 15
2Documents you need
Tick the ones you have. They are kept in this browser.
Details
Recent, unsigned, white background, 4.5 cm x 3.5 cm. Eyes open, and both edges of the face clearly visible.
Sources: 1
Details
Any one of: birth certificate from the local body, municipality or Registrar of Births and Deaths; Aadhaar card; PAN card; driving licence; Class 10 or Class 12 certificate (CBSE, ICSE or State Board) showing the date of birth; Indian passport. If you have none of these, you may give another document and write its name on the form; you must then appear in person before the ERO or an officer the ERO names.
If you don't have it: If you do not have a birth certificate, that guide says how to get one.
Sources: 1, 3
Details
Any one of: water, electricity or gas connection bill for that address (for at least a year), Aadhaar card, current passbook of a nationalised or scheduled bank or the post office, Indian passport, Revenue Department land records, registered rent or lease deed (if you rent), registered sale deed (if you own the house). If you have none of these, you may give another document and write its name on the form.
If you don't have it: A student living in a hostel or mess can enrol there if the course is recognised by a government, a board or a university and lasts at least 1 year, with a bonafide certificate from the head of the institution; or the student can enrol at the parents' address instead. A homeless person can enrol without any address document: the BLO visits at night, more than once, to see that the person sleeps at the place given.
Sources: 1, 2, 3
Details
The form ECI issued with its SIR order. If you, your mother, father or another relative were on the roll of the last intensive revision, in Telangana or in any other state, give those details (name, EPIC number if any, state, district, constituency, part number, serial number). Telangana's last intensive revision had 1 January 2002 as its qualifying date; other states have their own dates. Give your parents' and spouse's names, and declare that you have not taken another country's citizenship. If you are giving Form 6, also declare that you are not enrolled anywhere else; if you moved from another state and are giving Form 8, mark the Form 8 line instead. Then sign. You can look up names on the old roll on the Voters' Service Portal; your BLO can help.
If you don't have it: BLOs were told to carry blank forms during the SIR's house-to-house visits; ask your BLO for one.
Not confirmed: ECI's SIR order asks for this form 'henceforth' and gives no end date; by its schedule Telangana's SIR ended on 1 October 2026. We did not see an official text saying it is still asked for, nor how it is given online. Ask your BLO or 1950.
Sources: 6
Details
If you were born in India, depending on your date of birth: before 1 July 1987, one document for yourself; between 1 July 1987 and 2 December 2004, one for yourself and one for your father or mother; after 2 December 2004, one each for yourself, your father and your mother (and if a parent was not Indian, a copy of that parent's passport and visa at the time of your birth). If you were born outside India: proof of your birth registration from the Indian Mission abroad. If you became a citizen by registration or naturalisation: your certificate of registration of citizenship. Documents (not a complete list): identity card or pension order of a Central or State Government or PSU employee or pensioner; any document issued before 1 July 1987 by the government, a local body, a bank, the post office, LIC or a PSU; birth certificate; passport; Class 10 or other educational certificate; permanent residence certificate; forest right certificate; caste certificate (OBC, SC, ST or other); National Register of Citizens (where it exists); a government family register; a government land or house allotment certificate. Aadhaar is also accepted, as proof of identity only, not of citizenship. Give self-attested copies.
Sources: 6
Nothing to get ready before these steps.
3Your steps
· Do them in order. Tick each one when it is done.
- Do this nowIf: Indian citizen living in India
First check whether your name is already on the electoral roll.
A person may be on the roll in one place only. If your name is already on the roll at the address where you live, do not apply again: for a card, a lost card or a correction, see the guide on voter ID corrections and a new card (Form 8).
Open the official pageNot confirmed
This search page works only with JavaScript, and we could not see its screens. ECI's manual says you can search by name and a relative's name, or by EPIC number.
Sources: 3, 10, 13, 15, 2
- Do this nowIf: Indian citizen living in India
Call 1950 and ask whether the special revision (SIR) of the Telangana roll is over, and how to apply now.
Not confirmed
ECI's press note 086/2026 of 14 May 2026 ordered a Special Intensive Revision (SIR) in Telangana: qualifying date 1 October 2026; BLO house visits 25 June to 24 July; draft roll 31 July; claims and objections 31 July to 30 August; notices and decisions until 28 September; final roll 1 October 2026. By that schedule the revision is over; we did not see an official notice that the final roll was published, nor a revised schedule.
Sources: 3, 5, 15
- Do this nowIf: 17 (not yet 18)
You can apply in advance, before you turn 18, if you will be 18 on one of that year's four qualifying dates (1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October).
The ERO keeps your application and decides it in the three months that begin with the first qualifying date on or after your 18th birthday, preferably in the first month (if you turn 18 in March, that date is 1 April and it is decided between April and June); only then is your name added.
Not confirmed
ECI's manual says advance applications are taken from the day that year's draft roll is published. We did not see "apply at 17" in an official text; the rule is turning 18 on one of that year's qualifying dates. Ask your BLO or 1950 whether your application can be taken now.
Sources: 3, 4
- Do this nowIf: 18 or older
If you turned 18 after the last qualifying date (1 January, 1 April, 1 July, 1 October), your name is added from the next one.
Sources: 4, 3
- Do this nowIf: No, this is my first timeIf: 18 or older / 17 (not yet 18)If: Online: the Voters' Service Portal or the ECINET app
On the Voters' Service Portal or in the ECINET app, choose "Form 6" (new voter registration).
Write your name in Telugu and in English. Upload the photo, proof of age and proof of address, and submit. Note down the reference number you get. Under the 2022 rules giving your Aadhaar number is voluntary, and leaving it out does not mean your registration is refused. Form 6's guidelines still ask for the number, to check your details; if you have no Aadhaar, say so at item 5(b).
Open the official pageNot confirmed
The portal and the app open only with JavaScript, and we could not see their screens. By ECI's manual, online forms let you upload scanned documents and a photo. If you cannot apply online, give a paper form to your BLO.
Sources: 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9
- Do this nowIf: No, this is my first timeIf: 18 or older / 17 (not yet 18)If: On a paper form, through the BLO or at the ERO's office
Fill in Form 6 in two copies.
Paste the photo, and attach copies of the documents signed by you (self-attested). Under the 2022 rules giving your Aadhaar number is voluntary, and leaving it out does not mean your registration is refused. Form 6's guidelines still ask for the number, to check your details; if you have no Aadhaar, say so at item 5(b). Give the form to your area's BLO, or at the ERO or AERO office of your constituency, or send it by post. If you do not know your BLO, ask on 1950.
Sources: 1, 3, 4
- Do this nowIf: Yes, at another address in Telangana, and I now live here / Yes, in another state, and I now live in TelanganaIf: Online: the Voters' Service Portal or the ECINET app
On the Voters' Service Portal or in the ECINET app, choose "Form 8" and tick "shifting of residence".
Give your EPIC number and the new address where you now live, upload the proof of address, and submit. Note down the reference number. If the search shows that your old entry is no longer on the roll, apply as a new voter with Form 6 and the Declaration Form instead.
Open the official pageNot confirmed
The portal and the app open only with JavaScript, and we could not see their screens. By ECI's manual, online forms let you upload scanned documents and a photo. If you cannot apply online, give a paper form to your BLO.
Sources: 2, 3, 4, 8, 9, 6
- Do this nowIf: Yes, at another address in Telangana, and I now live here / Yes, in another state, and I now live in TelanganaIf: On a paper form, through the BLO or at the ERO's office
Fill in Form 8 in two copies and tick "shifting of residence".
Give your EPIC number and your new address, and attach a self-attested copy of the proof of address. Hand it in at the ERO office of the constituency where your new address is, or to the BLO there. If the search shows that your old entry is no longer on the roll, apply as a new voter with Form 6 and the Declaration Form instead.
Sources: 2, 3, 4, 6
- Do this nowIf: No, this is my first time / Yes, in another state, and I now live in Telangana
Under ECI's SIR order, a new voter giving Form 6, or a voter from another state giving Form 8, must also fill in and give the Declaration Form.
Not confirmed
This is a rule of the SIR order. Ask your BLO or 1950 whether it is still asked for after the SIR.
Sources: 6
- Do this nowIf: Indian citizen living in India
The BLO usually comes to your home to check that you live there, but if you gave one of the listed documents the office can decide without a visit.
If the BLO comes, be at home yourself if you can; otherwise another adult of the household can give the details.
Sources: 3
- Do this nowIf: No, this is my first time / Yes, in another state, and I now live in Telangana
If the old-roll details you gave in the Declaration cannot be found or do not match, the ERO sends you a notice.
Then give copies of the proofs the notice asks for.
Not confirmed
Where and within how many days to answer is written on the notice; we did not see that time limit in an official text.
Sources: 6
- Do this nowIf: Indian citizen living in India
The ERO puts your application on the notice board for 7 days for objections, then decides.
If in doubt, the ERO calls you to a hearing. You are told the decision by post and by SMS.
Sources: 3
- Do this nowIf: Indian citizen living in India
If you applied online, check the status on the portal or the app with your reference number.
For any application you can also call 1950.
Open the official pageNot confirmed
The portal and the app open only with JavaScript, and we could not see their screens. If it does not work there, call 1950.
Sources: 3, 8, 9, 15
- Do this nowIf: Indian citizen living in India
Once your name is on the roll, the voter ID card (EPIC) comes to your address free by speed post.
If you moved, you get a new card with the same EPIC number once the move is approved, and you must give the old card back to the ERO straight away.
Sources: 1, 3, 14, 2
- Do this nowIf: Yes, at another address in Telangana, and I now live here / Yes, in another state, and I now live in Telangana
When the new card comes, return the old card to the ERO at once.
Sources: 2
- Do this nowIf: Indian citizen living in India
If you want, download the electronic copy of the card (e-EPIC) from the portal or the app, with your EPIC number or the form's reference number.
Open the official pageNot confirmed
The portal and the app open only with JavaScript, and we could not see their screens. If it does not work there, call 1950.
Sources: 3, 8, 9
If something goes wrong
If it is rejectedYou can appeal against the ERO's order to the District Election Officer (DEO) within 15 days: a memo signed by you with a copy of the order, handed in or sent by registered post to arrive in time.
You can appeal against the ERO's order to the District Election Officer (DEO) within 15 days: a memo signed by you with a copy of the order, handed in or sent by registered post to arrive in time. Against the appeal decision you can appeal again to the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO), Telangana, within 30 days. Where it is offered, you can also submit the appeal online on ECINET. If the ERO calls you to a hearing, go or send your reply in writing: you cannot appeal if you did not use your chance to be heard. Or fix the problem and apply again.
District Election Officer (DEO); then the Chief Electoral Officer, Telangana · Open the official page
Sources: 3, 8
If it is lateIf the BLO does not come, the decision is late or the card does not arrive, call 1950, or lodge a complaint on the portal or in the ECINET app.
If the BLO does not come, the decision is late or the card does not arrive, call 1950, or lodge a complaint on the portal or in the ECINET app. You can follow the complaint with its reference number.
1950 (election helpline, toll-free)
Sources: 3, 8, 15
AlsoIf your name was left off the roll in the SIR (for example, if you could not hand in the enumeration form), apply with Form 6 and the Declaration Form.
If your name was left off the roll in the SIR (for example, if you could not hand in the enumeration form), apply with Form 6 and the Declaration Form. By ECI's schedule the SIR's period for claims and objections ran from 31 July to 30 August 2026; after it you can still apply with Form 6 at any time; ask your BLO or 1950 whether the Declaration Form is still asked for.
1950 (election helpline, toll-free)
Sources: 6, 5, 3
AlsoIf the post brings the card back undelivered, the ERO must have the BLO deliver it to you within 15 days.
If the post brings the card back undelivered, the ERO must have the BLO deliver it to you within 15 days. If the address on the card is wrong, the BLO has you fill in Form 8. Meanwhile you can download the e-EPIC.
1950 (election helpline, toll-free)
Sources: 3
If you are asked for more moneyThe forms and the voter ID card are free.
The forms and the voter ID card are free. Do not pay anyone who asks for money to get it done; call 1950 and report it.
1950 (election helpline, toll-free)
Sources: 1, 3
Official websites for this work
- Voters' services (Election Commission) Register as a voter, change details, voter card
- Search the voter list Check whether your name is on the voter list
Related guides
The 15 official pages and papers this guide is written from
- Guidelines for filling up the application Form-6Election Commission of India (Voters' Service Portal), Items 1(a), 1(d), 1(e), 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 · read on 30-10-2026
- Guidelines for filling up the application Form-8Election Commission of India (Voters' Service Portal), Items 1 to 7 · read on 30-10-2026
- Manual on Electoral Rolls, March 2023 (Document 10, Edition 2; Document No. 324.6.ERD:MB:10:2023)Election Commission of India (copy on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Haryana), Printed pages 7 (the 1950 call centres), 42-43 (para 8.2, proof of ordinary residence), 46-47 (para 9.1, qualifying dates and proof of age), 90-91 (BLO field verification, hearings), 99-102 (chapter 12: 7-day notice, appeals, advance applications by quarter), 105-106 (students), 126-129 (paras 14.7 to 14.10: EPIC free, speed post, 32-37 days, undelivered cards), 148-153 (chapter 18: online forms, tracking, e-EPIC, complaints), 380-385 (FAQs: Form 6 and Form 8, Aadhaar voluntary, decision by post and SMS, advance applications, appeals); for who may apply: 35-36 (para 6.2: a voter must be a citizen of India; section 16 of the 1950 Act), 142-144 (chapter 16: overseas electors, section 20A, rule 8B, Form 6A, no EPIC, voting with the original passport), 381-382 and 384-385 (FAQs: non-citizens and former citizens cannot be enrolled; NRIs and Form 6A); also paras 8.5 (homeless persons), 11.6.2 (no appeal by a person who did not use the right to be heard) and 12.1 (forms in duplicate), and FAQs Q4, Q13, Q26 and Q27 · read on 30-10-2026
- Press release: amendments to the R.P. Act 1950 and the Registration of Electors Rules in force from 1 August 2022 (new forms, four qualifying dates, voluntary Aadhaar)Office of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi (explaining the Election Commission of India's national rules) · read on 30-10-2026
- Press Note No. ECI/PN/086/2026: Special Intensive Revision, Phase IIIElection Commission of India (copy on the Government of Meghalaya website), Paragraphs 1 to 4; Annexure-I, row 11 (Telangana) (14-05-2026) · read on 30-10-2026
- Letter No. 23/2025-ERS (Vol.II) dated 14 May 2026: SIR of Electoral Roll, with annexures (order and guidelines of 24 June 2025, Aadhaar letter of 9 September 2025, Enumeration Form, Declaration Form, last intensive revision dates, schedule)Election Commission of India (letter to the Chief Electoral Officers of 19 States and Union Territories, Telangana among them; the copy read is on the website of the Andhra Pradesh Non-Resident Telugu Society), The address (Telangana is among the 19 Chief Electoral Officers written to); letter paras 2(c), 2(d), 2(e), 2(f), 2(g) and 2(h); order of 24 June 2025, para 15; its guidelines 4(b), 4(c), 5(d) and 5(e); Annexure-II (Aadhaar as the 12th document, for identity only); Annexure-IV (Declaration Form and its information sheet); Annexure-V, row 17 (Telangana's last intensive revision: qualifying date 01.01.2002); Annexure-VI (Telangana: qualifying date 01.10.2026 and the schedule) (14-05-2026) · read on 11-11-2026
- Press note: ECI to launch a single-point app, ECINET, subsuming over 40 existing appsElection Commission of India (press note on the Government of Sikkim website), Apps to be subsumed, including the Voter Helpline App (04-05-2025) · read on 30-10-2026
- ADC Longleng informs on ECINETDepartment of Information and Public Relations, Government of Nagaland (relaying the Chief Electoral Officer, Nagaland), Services on the ECINET web portal and app (10-07-2026) · read on 30-10-2026
- Voters' Service Portal, home pageElection Commission of India, Home page (it needs JavaScript; only its title could be read) · read on 30-10-2026
- Electoral search (Voters' Services Portal)Election Commission of India, Home page (it needs JavaScript; only its title could be read) · read on 30-10-2026
- Notification S.O. 1050(E) dated 4 March 2021: rights of Overseas Citizen of India cardholders (Citizenship Act, 1955, section 7B(1))Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India (Gazette of India, Extraordinary, Part II, Section 3(ii), No. 962), Rights (1) to (5); Explanation (1): an OCI cardholder is a foreign national holding a foreign passport and is not a citizen of India (04-03-2021) · read on 30-10-2026
- Benefits to which OCI Cardholder is not entitled toConsulate General of India, Birmingham (Ministry of External Affairs), The whole page: no right to vote, as specified in section 7B(2) of the Citizenship Act, 1955 · read on 30-10-2026
- Guidelines for filling up the application Form-7Election Commission of India (Voters' Service Portal), Items 1(a), 1(b) and 3 (deletion of the applicant's own name; reasons include "not an Indian citizen") · read on 30-10-2026
- ECI to fast-track EPIC delivery, electors to get EPICs within 15 days of updation in the electoral rollsDepartment of Information and Public Relations, Government of Nagaland (relaying the Election Commission of India), Whole notice: ECI's new standard operating procedure delivers the EPIC within 15 days of an update in the electoral roll (a new enrolment or a change in an elector's particulars); each stage tracked from EPIC generation by the ERO to delivery by the Department of Posts; SMS to the elector at each stage; an IT module on ECINet (19-06-2025) · read on 01-11-2026
- Voter Guide for General Public (English), "Be a Smart Voter"Election Commission of India (on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Andhra Pradesh), "Call Voter Helpline - 1950": the Election Commission's national helpline, in the Commission's guide for all voters · read on 02-11-2026