Applying for Voter ID Card through NVSP (National Voters Service Portal)

If you are a resident of India and have attained the age of 18 by January 2019 you are eligible to apply for voter id and caste your vote in the up-coming Lok Sabha Elections.

It is a duty of every eligible citizen to caste their votes in the elections, an important decision is in your hands, and if you don't still have a voter ID or EPIC (Elector's Photo Identity Card) then you should apply for now as soon as possible. The Election commission has made it very easy for any Indian citizen to do so - all you need is a your identity and address proofs, and an internet connection.




I will guide you through the entire process, I myself have recently registered as a voter in the state of Madhya Pradesh, you should too from your Assembly Constituency.

Things you will need

A few things are needed before we proceed, please note it down, it will be easier to start filling the online form if you already have prepared this things beforehand

1. Address Proof - An address proof is mandatory, it can be Aadhaar Card, Driving License, Gas Connection Bill, Electricity Bill, Rent Agreement in your name and your current address.
   
   Note for people whose address proofs don't have their current address: However, many people faced problems because they reside in another city or state for education or work, no problem, ECI has made it easy for you too. In case your address is not the same as your current residential address on any of your document there is an easy option. You can submit a scanned copy Registered Post in your name on your current address as a proof of address as well!
   
   So, what you have to do is, go to your nearest IndiaPost Post Office, buy an envelope and send it to your residential address with proper name on the envelope leaf's "To" field.
   
   You may receive it in 1 - 2 days, then you can take a scan of it on both sides, and use it as Proof of Address for your current residential address.
   
   This is what I provided as my proof of address for my current address
   
   
   
2. Identity Proof: Identity proof is more common, it can be Birth Certificate, PAN Card, 10th Admit Card or Certificate etc. Any or most Govt. documents with your date of birth is accepted as identity proof. Please check the list of documents on NVSP site as well.
   
3. If you are over age of 21 and registering for the first time, you will also need to fill in Age Declaration form. It is a simple document, with declaration of your age, you will have to download the Age Declaration form, print it out, put your details in the fields, do your signature at the given space. And scan it to upload it.
   
   When your are on the NVSP site filling up the form, you will get the link to download Age Declaration Form, but when I tried it, it was not working so I had to use some other techniques to download the form eventually from the server, but you can save your time, I uploaded the raw Age declaration form on Google Drive, so you can download it here:
   
   Age Declaration Form Download 
   
4. Your passport size photo, in a digital format.
   
5. An Internet connection. I believe you have it since you are reading this article. 

A tip: If you do not want to spend time and money to get your documents scanned copies then if you have a phone with good quality camera you can use the camera to take pictures of your documents and then edit it in photo software like Snapseed (for mobile) or Adobe Photoshop and adjust colors etc to make it look clearer. I did it just like it, and it saved me a lot of time and trips to the printer store, so if you do not have scanner printer at home then try this method. 

Filling up the Form

On the NVSP site the form can be found on this URL

https://www.nvsp.in/Forms/Forms/form6

The above is Form 6 (Application for Inclusion of Name in Electoral Roll for First time Voter OR on Shifting from One Constituency to Another Constituency. )

Choose the language you want to fill the form in

Other form fields are very simple and self explanatory. Fill in each of the fields, your permanent address, your residential (current) address and so on. 

Under "Supporting Documents" you can upload the scanned copies of documents we discussed in previous section. 

After Submission

After you submit the form, you will receive the reference number for tracking of your application. 

Use that reference number to track the application on this URL:

https://www.nvsp.in/Forms/Forms/trackstatus

My experience: 

I submitted the application on 3rd March 2019, and by 16th of March 2019, my EPIC was generated and my name was added in the voter list. 

The above is the example of track status screen. 

You may get a call for field verification soon, and then upon field verification your application will be accepted (or rejected) and the EPIC will be generated. 

I still to receive my Voter ID Card, but I believe it will be sent soon. I will update it once done, or maybe if anything else needs to be done in order to get the EPIC.