How to Fill Out and Submit the Alabama Voter Registration Form

To register to vote in Alabama, fill out the state’s postcard voter registration application with your name, residential address, date of birth, driver’s license or Social Security number, and signature, then submit the Alabama voter registration form online, by mail, or in person to your county Board of Registrars at least 15 days before the election you want to vote in.

Who Can Register

Alabama’s basic qualifications come from Section 177 of the state constitution. You must be a U.S. citizen, a resident of Alabama and of the county where you plan to vote, and at least 18 years old on or before Election Day.¹ There is no minimum length-of-residency requirement beyond being a current resident when you apply.

Two groups are disqualified: anyone convicted of a felony involving moral turpitude, and anyone a court has declared mentally incompetent. Alabama law lists 46 specific felonies that count as crimes of moral turpitude, including murder, rape, kidnapping, human trafficking, robbery, and certain drug offenses.² A felony conviction that isn’t on that list does not cost you your voting rights. If you were convicted of one of the listed offenses, you can apply to the Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles for a Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote (CERV) using form ABPP-4, then submit the certificate to your county Board of Registrars and register normally.³

Where to Get the Form

The application is a single postcard-sized form, and Alabama makes it easy to obtain a blank copy:

Download the fillable PDF from the Secretary of State’s website, type your information into it, and print it out.⁴
Pick one up at your county Board of Registrars office.
Request one by mail by calling the Elections Division at 1-800-274-8683 or writing to the Office of the Secretary of State, Elections Division, P.O. Box 5616, Montgomery, AL 36103.⁴
Grab one at a driver’s licensing office, a county or select municipal public library, or a Department of Human Resources, WIC, Medicaid Agency, or Department of Rehabilitation Services office.⁵

What to Put in Each Field

Every field on the form has to be legible. Registrars process thousands of these, and anything they can’t read either slows the application down or triggers a follow-up letter.

Full legal name. Print your first, middle, and last name, plus any suffix like Jr., Sr., or III. If your name has changed since a previous registration, write in your former name too so the registrar can locate and update your existing record.

Residential address. This is the physical street address where you live, and it determines your voting precinct. A P.O. box will not work. If you don’t have a traditional street address, you can describe or diagram the location of your residence on the form.

Mailing address. Fill this in only if it differs from your residential address.

Date of birth. Required so the registrar can verify you meet the age requirement.

Identification number. Enter your Alabama driver’s license number or Alabama non-driver ID number. If you have neither, enter the last four digits of your Social Security number. Print the digits clearly in the boxes provided so they scan correctly.⁶

Signature and date. Your signature confirms under penalty of perjury that everything on the application is true and that you meet the eligibility requirements.

You will not see a party affiliation question. Alabama does not register voters by party. When you show up to vote in a primary, you tell the poll worker which party’s ballot you want.⁷

How to Submit It

Alabama accepts registrations through three channels. Each one ends up at your county Board of Registrars.

Online

If you hold a valid Alabama driver’s license or non-driver ID, you can register electronically through the Secretary of State’s online portal. The system pulls your information from state records and walks you through each field. Complete all the confirmation screens so the submission goes through.⁶ Without an Alabama-issued ID, you’ll need to use the paper form.

By Mail

Print and sign your completed form, then mail it to the Board of Registrars in the county where you live. The Secretary of State’s website has a directory with the address and phone number for every county board.⁵ The form has to be postmarked by the registration deadline for the election you’re targeting.

In Person

Drop the completed form off at your county Board of Registrars office or at any of the state agency locations that handle voter registration: driver’s licensing, public libraries, DHR, WIC, Medicaid, and Rehabilitation Services offices. Those agencies forward your paperwork to the registrar.⁵

Deadlines for 2026

Alabama closes voter registration 14 days before every election. The last day you can register or update your information is the 15th day before Election Day.⁸ County registrar offices stay open during that blackout period and on Election Day, but they cannot process new registrations in that window.

The key dates for the 2026 cycle:

Primary Election on May 19, 2026. Registration deadline is May 4, 2026.⁹
Primary Runoff on June 16, 2026. Registration deadline is June 1, 2026.¹⁰
General Election on November 3, 2026. Registration deadline is October 19, 2026.¹⁰

Miss a deadline and your registration is still processed. It just won’t take effect until the next election.

Updating a Name or Address

If you’ve moved within Alabama or changed your name, use the same voter registration application with your current information. There’s no separate update form. Any of the three submission methods works.⁴ The Board of Registrars will mail you a new voter identification card with the updated details once they process the change. Submit the update before the registration deadline so you’re assigned to the correct precinct.

What Happens After You Submit

Your county Board of Registrars reviews the form to confirm it’s complete and that you meet the eligibility requirements. If something is missing or illegible, the registrar will try to contact you by mail, phone, or email to get the missing information.¹¹ An incomplete application won’t be thrown out, but it will sit unfinished until you respond. Double-check the form before mailing it.

Once you’re approved, you’ll get a voter identification card in the mail confirming your registration. If it hasn’t arrived within a couple of weeks, contact your county Board of Registrars to check the status.¹² You can also confirm your status any time through the Secretary of State’s VoterView tool at myinfo.alabamavotes.gov by entering your first name, last name, and date of birth. VoterView also shows your polling location.¹³ Check well before Election Day.

Two Things to Know Beyond Registration

Active-duty service members, military family members, and U.S. citizens living abroad do not use the state postcard form. They register with the Federal Post Card Application (FPCA), which doubles as an absentee ballot request. The FPCA is available from a unit Voting Assistance Officer, from fvap.gov, or from the Alabama Secretary of State at 1-800-274-8683.¹⁴ Voted ballots must come back by U.S. mail or a commercial carrier; Alabama does not accept ballots returned electronically.¹⁵

Registering is only half of it. Alabama also requires photo identification to vote in person. Accepted IDs include an Alabama driver’s license, a non-driver ID, a U.S. passport, a military ID, a tribal ID, a state or federal employee ID, and a student or employee ID from any public or private college or university in Alabama or from an out-of-state institution of higher learning. Digital driver’s licenses and digital student IDs from Alabama schools also count.¹⁶ If you don’t have any of these, you can apply for a free Alabama Photo Voter ID card at your county Board of Registrars, at a mobile location in your county, or at the Secretary of State’s office in Montgomery.¹⁷

1
Alabama Legislature. Constitution of Alabama 2022 – Section 177
2
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 17-3-30.1 – Disqualification of Electors for Felonies Involving Moral Turpitude
3
Alabama Bureau of Pardons and Paroles. Pardons and Certificate of Eligibility to Register to Vote
4
Alabama Secretary of State. Register to Vote / Update Your Information
5
Alabama Secretary of State. Alabama Voter Registration General Information
6
Alabama Secretary of State. Alabama Electronic Voter Registration Application
7
U.S. Election Assistance Commission. Alabama Voter Info
8
Alabama Legislature. Alabama Code 17-3-50 – Registration Deadline
9
Alabama Secretary of State. Voter Guide 2026
10
Alabama Secretary of State. Upcoming Elections
11
Cornell Law Institute. Alabama Admin Code Rule 820-2-2-.12 – Processing Voter Registration Forms
12
Alabama Secretary of State. Alabama Secretary of State – Frequently Asked Questions
13
Alabama Secretary of State. VoterView
14
Alabama Secretary of State. Military and Overseas Absentee Voting
15
Alabama Secretary of State. Instructions to Alabama UOCAVA Voters
16
Alabama Secretary of State. Valid ID at the Polls
17
Alabama Secretary of State. How to Get a Free Photo Voter ID Card