Virginia Voter Registration Requirements

To be eligible to register to vote in Virginia, a person must:

• Be a resident of Virginia (a person who comes to Virginia for temporary purposes and intends to return to another state is not considered a resident for voting purposes).
• Be a citizen of the United States.
• Be 18 years old (any person who is 17 years old and will be eighteen years of age on or before the next general election shall be permitted to register in advance and also vote in any intervening primary or special election).
• Not be registered and plan to vote in another state.
• Not currently be declared mentally incapacitated by a court.
• If convicted of a felony, your right to vote must be restored.

Eligible individuals may obtain a registration application at any of the following locations:

• Register online
• Local voter registration office
• Download a PDF copy of the registration form (available in Spanish, Vietnamese, Korean)
• State or local government offices when applying for or recertifying for Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), SNAP, WIC, Medicaid or Rehabilitation Services.
• Offices of the State government that provide State-funded programs primarily engaged in providing services to persons with disabilities
• Armed Forces recruitment offices
• Public libraries
• Virginia Department of Elections office
• Department of Motor Vehicles offices
• Voter registration drives.

Completed applications can be filed with the local registrar’s office or mailed to the address printed on the form. Applications can be submitted using either the Virginia Voter Registration Application form or the National Mail Voter Registration Form. Military personnel and others residing outside the United States should contact the Federal Voting Assistance Program for registration information.

After you have submitted your application, you will receive a voter information card or other correspondence confirming your registration status. If you do not receive it, contact your local Registrar’s Office to ensure that your application was processed. You can also check your voter record online. Please note that the voter information card or other correspondence confirming your voter registration status does not qualify as a photo ID. For information about acceptable forms of photo identification for voting in person or how to obtain a Voter Photo ID Card, please visit: elections.virginia.gov/voterID or call toll-free (800) 552-9745 or TTY: 711.

Note: Voter registration deadlines also apply to updating your voter registration address. Generally, the registration deadline is three weeks before a general election and shorter for special elections to fill vacancies. If your address change is not received by the general registrar’s office by the deadline applicable to the election in which you wish to vote, you may not be allowed to vote. Please notify the general registrar of address changes promptly.

Increase your chances of successful registration:

• Completely fill out all information fields on the application. If any requested information does not apply to you, clearly indicate so by writing the word “NONE” or “N/A” in that space.
• Sign and date the application.
• Submit your completed application by mailing it to the proper address or delivering it to your local registrar’s office. The mailing address for the General Registrar can be found using our look-up tool.

Failure to properly complete the form may result in your registration being delayed or rejected. Note that you must provide your Social Security number, if you have one, when registering to vote in Virginia. Therefore, if you do not provide your Social Security number, your voter registration application will be rejected. State and local election officials will use your Social Security number as a unique identifier to ensure that no individual is registered in more than one location. Records containing your Social Security number will not be open to public inspection. Your Social Security number will appear on reports compiled only for official use by voter registration and election officials, and for court jury selection purposes.

Where to Send Your Completed Application

Voter registration applications can be mailed via the U.S. Postal Service or delivered in-person to any official registration office.

• If mailed, the application must be postmarked no later than the deadline.
• If delivered in-person, by the applicant or a third party, the application must be received before the close of business on the deadline. On the last day of registration for an election, all general registrar’s offices close at 5:00 p.m.
• Applications postmarked or received after the deadline will be held and processed after the election.
• For questions regarding completing the application and voting on Election Day, call your local registrar’s office.
• Check your voter registration record online.
• For other questions, contact the Virginia Department of Elections.