Voter ID in West Bengal

The Indian General Election for 2024 in West Bengal will be conducted between 19 April and 1 June. The elections will be held in seven phases. The schedule for the elections was announced by the Election Commission of India on 16 March 2024. 

Election Schedule 

The schedule for the General Elections in West Bengal is mentioned in the table below: 

The results of the General Elections in West Bengal will be announced on 4 June 2024. 

CEO and Officers 

1. Dr. Aariz Aftab – Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2231 0880 
2. Shri Amit Roy Chaudhury – Addl Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2231 0848 
3. Shri Bijit Kumar Dhar - Addl Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2231 0845 
4. Shri Arindam Niyogi - Addl Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2231 0843 
5. Shri Rahul Nath – Joint Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2231 0854 
6. Smt. Kakali Mukherjee – Deputy Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2231 0841 
7. Shri Sumanta Roy – Deputy Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2262 7912 
8. Shri Subrata Pal – Deputy Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2231 0844 
9. Smt. Bulan Bhattacharya – Deputy Chief Electoral Officer: 033-2262 7913 
10. Shri Ashish Baran Pal – System Manager: 033-2231 0847 

How to Apply for  West Bengal Voter ID Online?

This page is dedicated for people who are looking for step-by-step instructions on how to apply for voter ID card online in West Bengal.

If you are resident Bengali, who wishes to register yourself as a voter, here is such a guide to take you through the entire procedure:

1. To commence with the process, first go to the official website of West Bengal CEO and you will be led to their home page with servile sectors and mapping panel to other sections of the portal.
2. As a new voter ID card applicant from West Bengal, please open the Form 6 (application form). You can choose your regional language or English to fill in the form.
3. You should also sign up for a new user account with your personal email id and mobile phone number. Once you are successfully registered, a confirmation email and SMS will be sent to your email and mobile respectively.
4. You can start entering details asked on Form 6 after you register and confirm.
5. Once you entered the required credentials, you will be asked to upload a passport sized photo (which has to be less than 350 kb of size to be accepted).
6. You shall also attach or upload your supporting KYC documents that serve as an identity proof, proof of age as well as proof of residence. It could be a copy of your Aadhar card, passport, driving license, utility bill, SSLC Book among others.
7. Done with uploading all the documents? Now it is time to finally submit the application form (Form 6) to the website of Chief Election Officer of West Bengal.
8. In two or three weeks your verification process will begin. A booth level officer will be sent to check the legality and accuracy of all the documents submitted.
9. If all the info and paperwork are up to the mark and accurate, you will be sent your new voter ID card in four or five weeks by post.
10. Please note that if you are a school, college or university student, then you must also provide another declaration duly attested by the principal of your institute.

Election Forms Available in West Bengal:

There are many elections forms listed on the site. Each form is fashioned for different purpose. You need to be careful to get the correct form.

The form names and their purposes are given below:

1. Form 6 (Application for inclusion of name in electoral roll)
2. Form 7 (Application form for objection/ deletion of a name in electoral roll)
3. Form 8 (Application form for correction of details given)
4. Form 8 A (to apply for transposition of an entry in the electoral roll).

How to Apply for Voter ID Card Offline in West Bengal?

No matter how user-friendly or hassle free the government has made the online application process, not everyone has the means or familiarity with current technology, particularly in rural areas. And West Bengal with the obvious exception of Kolkata is replete with quaint rural places. These folks can still apply for a voter ID card offline in West Bengal by going to the concerned (that is, nearest) electoral office to collect the relevant form.

Please follow the below steps for the same:

1. Secure the application form (Form 6) from among the other listed forms from your nearest electoral office.
2. Fill in as directed. Double check to ensure that there are no errors in the details you have provided.
3. Along with the correct form for application, as in a duly filled Form 6, you should also submit other KYC documents as required. These documents serve as proofs of age, identity and residence.
4. You must also remember to specify details of your family members who already have election ID card. If their name is already in the electoral roll, it will speed up your verification.
5. Go to the nearest Regional Electoral Registration Office to submit the form and documents. After approval and verification from the office comes the next step, which is the Booth Level Officer (BLOs) being sent by the ERO to verify every information in person.
6. To see that all listed voters are given a voter ID, regular drives are organized by the Election Commission of India (ECI) at Designated Photographic Locations (DPIs). You are sure to have come across one.

How to Track Voter ID Status in West Bengal?

Tracking Voter ID Status Online

The facility to track your voter ID application is not available on the West Bengal CEO website. You can search for your name in the electoral rolls to ensure that your name has been included.

1. Visit the Search page on the website.

1. You can search District wise or Assembly Constituency wise.
2. Enter either your name and relation's name, or EPIC number.
3. Click on "Search" to get your results.

Tracking Voter ID status via SMS

To track your Voter ID status, you can send the following SMS:

1. WB EC voter ID number to 51969
2. Voter ID number to 9433633333

You will be provided with your electoral details such as your number, name of assembly constituency, part number and details of the polling booth.

Calling on the Dedicated ECI Helpline Number

You can call the ECI Helpline number 1950 toll free. The helpline is available on all working days between 10:00 am and 5:00 pm.

Verification Process of the Voter ID card in West Bengal:

The role of West Bengal election commissioners in the processing and verification of information provided by prospective voters is highly significant as they structure and organize the voter list of qualified applicants in a timely and seamless manner. They conduct Lok Sabha and State Assembly elections as well as look after Gram Panchayat elections. Yes, their responsibilities are huge and ongoing.

Once your form is submitted, the verification process starts. The state CEO is in charge of this. A booth level officer assigned for various regions will call at your home to validate your given residential address along with all the papers provided. The verification will take at least 60 days, after which you will be sent your new voter id card. It will be sent by post by the district level officer of election commission.

How to Apply for Duplicate Voter ID Card in West Bengal?

Needless to say, Voter ID Card is one of the most essential document every citizen must have as it is provided by the government itself. That is why if you lose it, you must lose no time in reporting the loss to the police as well as applying for a duplicate voter id. The whole process commences with procuring the right duplicate voter ID card form that can be collected from your regional state election commissioner’s office. You also have the option to download it from the state CEO website.

However before you apply for a duplicate voter ID card in West Bengal, there are a few legal measures to be completed as explained below:

1. First and foremost, the moment you find that you lost your voters ID, go to the police station in your jurisdiction to file an FIR. It should contain elaboration on the circumstances in which the card is lost or stolen. Keep a copy of FIR with you in case the election commission officer requests for it.
2. Now you may either collect the 002 form (for duplicate voter ID card applicants) from your regional election commission office or download it directly from their online portal yourself.
3. Fill the form as directed as per the given guidelines and submit it by affixing an FIR copy, proof of age, residence and a copy of photo ID to it. It could be anything from a copy of SSLC book, utility bill, driving license, passport, Aadhaar card, rental/ lease agreement among others.

Process of Voter ID Card Correction Online in West Bengal:

Here comes the role of Form 8. The Form 8 is especially useful for those people who find any kind of mistakes on their new voter ID card. And these alteration or correction has to be made at the earliest as this is your ID proof as well. At times you might also end up receiving the incorrect voter ID card altogether. To get these corrections done online without the added bother of visiting to the regional electoral office many times, you can simply download the Form 8 and fill it. After submission of the form with relevant documentation, the same verification process involving a Booth Level official coming to your place of residence to validate all the information provided. Once this hurdle is jumped, you will get the renewed voter ID card.

Process of Voter ID Card Correction Offline in West Bengal:

Government is well aware that online services are not accessed by all and always make provisions to correct voter ID offline as well. If you do not want to do the voter id correction process online, you may call at your regional electoral office and ask for the Form 8 from there. Fill it as per the guidelines and submit it. If they ask you for supporting documents for proof needed for the requested alteration, please provide that.. For example, if you are recently married and think it a good idea to change your surname, you will be asked for the copy of your marriage certificate. Post submission, the verification process of sending a Booth Level officer to your place to check your details directly will ensue. After satisfactory scrutiny, you will be given the newly updated voter ID card.

Process of Changes of Address for Voter Card Online in West Bengal:

Has your residential address been printed incorrectly in the Voter ID card issued in West Bengal? Or have you relocated your residence to a new assembly constituency or a city? In all the above cases, you need to make sure that the address is updated accordingly as soon as possible in your Voter ID card too. This is not as tedious a process as it was a few years ago, thanks to the most modern online services.

You can follow the below steps for the same:

1. Log in to the Chief Electoral Officer’s using your credentials received at the time of application. Click on ‘Electoral Services’ seen on the home page.
2. Click on the option ‘Change of Address’ and a form will be displayed on screen.
3. Please enter the EPIC number. If you do not have it with you, you can also click on ‘Don’t know EPIC’, the system will request for your district and constituency by which your number can be tracked.
4. Enter the new and old address as asked and agree to the declaration (that the information given is correct). Click on submit after which the usual review and verification by an officer follow. You will soon get the new card.

Process of Changes of Address for Voter Card Offline in West Bengal:

You can also opt for the old fashioned way, which is acquiring Form 8 A in person from the relevant regional office and doing as directed by any staff there.

The procedure on how to go about the change of address in Voter ID in West Bengal is elaborated below:

1. Duly fill and sign the form number 8 A which is specifically designed for this purpose.
2. With all required documents for new address such as utility bill, passport, aadhar card or ration card affixed on the form, submit the form at your nearest Electorate office.
3. The Election Commission Office will analyze your form and will send a new, modified Voter ID card to your new address.