In the Philippines, transferring voter registration is essential for citizens who have moved to a new address in a different barangay, municipality, city, or province.
This process ensures voters can participate conveniently and fairly in elections at their new place of residence.
Learn the importance of transferring voter registration, detailing requirements and eligibility, and a step-by-step procedure to complete the transfer.
Target beneficiaries include all eligible voters who have changed addresses and wish to update their registration to reflect their current location.
Why Transfer Voter Registration and Its Implications in the Philippines
In the Philippines, the right to vote is both a privilege and a responsibility for every eligible citizen.
However, maintaining an accurate and updated voter registration is crucial to exercising this right effectively.
When individuals move to a new address in a different barangay, municipality, city, or province, it becomes essential to transfer their voter registration.
This ensures that they can participate in elections conveniently and fairly in their new place of residence.
Importance of Transferring Voter Registration
Ensuring Accessibility and Convenience
Voting in the precinct nearest to one’s residence reduces the logistical challenges on election day.
Transferring your voter registration to your new address means you won’t have to travel long distances to cast your vote.
This is particularly important for those who have moved to different regions or provinces, as traveling back to their original precinct can be time-consuming and costly.
Accurate Representation
Each voter’s registration in the correct precinct contributes to the accurate representation of the local population in government.
Elected officials are meant to represent the interests of their constituents.
Therefore, voting in the correct precinct ensures that your voice is heard in your current community and that local issues affecting you directly are addressed by your representatives.
Avoiding Legal Issues
Voting in a precinct where you no longer reside can lead to legal complications.
The Commission on Elections (COMELEC) maintains strict regulations to prevent electoral fraud and ensure the integrity of the voting process.
Transferring your voter registration helps you comply with these regulations and avoids potential legal repercussions.
Requirements and Eligibility
Residency
A person needs to be a resident of the place where he or she plans to vote for at least six (6) months prior to the May 2025 elections.
Identification Documents
Bring a valid identification document to prove your identity:
- Employee’s ID with employer’s signature
- Postal ID
- PWD ID
- Student’s ID or a library card, signed by school authority
- Senior citizen’s ID
- Driver’s license
- NBI clearance
- Passport
- SSS/GSIS ID
- Integrated Bar of the Philippines ID
- License issued by the Professional Regulation Commission
- For indigenous peoples or members of indigenous cultural communities, a certificate of confirmation from the National Commission on Indigenous Peoples
- Any other valid ID
* Police clearance and cedulas are not accepted.
If you do not have any of the mentioned documents, the COMELEC says on its website that an applicant “may be identified under oath by any registered voter of the precinct where he/she intends to be registered, or by any of his/her relatives within the fourth civil degree of consanguinity or affinity.”
A registered voter may identify only up to three applicants.
Additional Forms for Specific Groups
If you are a person with a disability or a senior citizen, you also need to fill out Annex B or the “supplementary data form.”
How to Transfer Your Voter Registration
Step 1: Fill Out the Application Form
- Fill out an application form called the CEF-1.
- It can be downloaded from the COMELEC website or obtained from the Office of the Election Officer (OEO) in your city or municipality.
- If you are going to print the form, make sure that it is printed on 8” x 13” paper and printed back to back.
- Shade the oval beside the “APPLICATION FOR TRANSFER OF REGISTRATION RECORD,” and answer whether you are transferring your registration within the same, or from another, city or municipality.
- Provide your new address and the length of time you have stayed there.
- If you want to transfer your registration to another city or municipality, you need to complete a personal information form, which can be found on the second page of the CEF-1 form.
The application form for voter registration can also be accomplished through the iRehistro website.
Using the online platform, however, does not mean you are registered automatically.
Do not sign or affix your thumbmark on the application form at home.
You need to sign it in front of the election officer in your local COMELEC office.
Step 2: Submit the Application Form and Other Required Documents
- Go to your local COMELEC office or the OEO to submit your completed application for registration and necessary documents.
- You can also get and fill out the forms at the local COMELEC office.
- To find the COMELEC office nearest you, check the COMELEC website for details of the poll body’s Metro Manila and city/municipality offices.
- Applications for registration may be filed at the OEO in your city or municipality from Monday to Friday, and at satellite registration offices every Saturday, from 8 am to 5 pm.
- Voter registration will run until September 30, 2024.
- The poll body reminds the public to contact local COMELEC offices ahead of time since OEOs are closed during disinfection days prescribed by local governments.
- Satellite registration schedules may vary per locality.
- Your biometrics will then be collected using the COMELEC’s voter registration machine.
- These include your photo, fingerprints, and signature.
- You will be given an acknowledgment receipt that shows you have successfully filed your application for transfer of voter registration.
- Do not lose this small document.
Step 3: Wait for Your Application to Be Approved
- Submitting your application to the COMELEC does not mean you are already registered for the 2025 national and local elections.
- The Election Registration Board needs to approve your application first.
- The ERB approves all qualified applicants during its quarterly meetings which happen on the third Monday of April, July, October, and January of every calendar year.
Once your application is approved, the local election officer will include your registration in the book of voters in your locality.
This means you have successfully transferred your registration.
The COMELEC’s voter care center says those who want to verify their voter registration status may do so in two ways:
- Call the COMELEC’s Information Technology Department at 8527-9365 or 8526-7769
- Directly inquire with the OEO in your district, city, or municipality
You can ask your local COMELEC office about the status of your application two to three weeks after an ERB hearing.
If you have other questions regarding voter registration, visit the COMELEC’s official website, or reach out to the poll body on Facebook.
You may also send an email to the COMELEC’s Election and Barangay Affairs Department at ebad@comelec.gov.ph or call (02) 8525-9298 or 09275595926.
Video: [2025 NLE Voter Registration] Application for Transfer of Registration Record
Eligible voters in the Philippines who have moved to a new address can apply for a transfer of their voter registration record at the local Office of the Election Officer or designated satellite sites.
Applicants need to bring a completed CEF-1 Application Form and a valid ID.
The voter registration period runs from February 12, 2024, to September 30, 2024, including holidays, from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.
Conclusion
Elections in the Philippines often mean a homecoming.
Some of us go home to our respective provinces or cities where we first registered as voters.
But just in case you’re not too keen on buying a plane ticket home, hopping on a plane or ship for a day-long trip, or going on a long drive on May 9, 2025 for the national elections, you can easily transfer your voter’s registration to your current city or municipality.
And you still have until September 30, 2024, to do this.
Now, distance won’t be an excuse for not exercising your right to vote come election day.