The Local Election Thursday 7 May – Important Deadlines and a list of accepted forms of photographic identification for voting

Organisation
Reading Borough Council (RBC)
Article date
16 April 2026
Primary interest
Government and Politics

The Local Election will be held on Thursday 7 May, but there are some other important dates you must know about too.

Also, please refer to the attached image below for a list of accepted forms of photographic identification for voting.

For more information and the full list of acceptable forms visit: https://www.electoralcommission.org.uk/voterID

Register to vote by Midnight on Monday 20 April
https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Apply for postal votes by 5pm on Tuesday 21 April
https://www.gov.uk/apply-postal-vote

Apply for free voter ID by 5pm on Tuesday 28 April
https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate

Apply for proxy votes by 5pm on Tuesday 28 April
https://www.gov.uk/apply-proxy-vote

If you are voting by post, please return your vote as soon as possible by Royal Mail. Postal votes must be received by 10pm on 7 May. Choosing to hand in your postal vote will mean that you must complete an additional form with an authorised member of staff. If you do not, your postal vote will be rejected.

Again, to be able to vote you must Register to Vote by Midnight on Monday 20 April at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote