Today is the last date for SIR voter list update but the deadline may get extended in many states including UP and West Bengal. The Election Commission will review the progress today. So far 99.59% form digitization has been completed under SIR.
New Delhi. In which direction is the big process of updating the voter list in India, i.e. Special Intensive Revision (SIR) moving forward? Today is its most important day. Because the last date for submission of SIR form in 11 states and union territories is today, and in the meantime a special meeting of the Election Commission is going to be held. It is believed that in this meeting there may be discussion on extending the deadline of SIR in many states including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal. This information has come out quoting Election Commission sources. That is, the coming few hours can decide how far the updating process of the country’s largest voter list – especially UP’s voter list of more than 15 crore – will go.
SIR deadline has already been extended, why was extension necessary?
The Election Commission has already extended the SIR deadline by 7 days on November 30. Because in some states the work of field verification, form collection and digitization was not completed. Now the Commission has said that the final voter list will be released on 14 February 2026 instead of 7 February. That means the entire calendar has moved forward by one week. According to sources, this is absolutely possible because big states like UP and Bengal have more population and the process of verification is also bigger.
New timeline for voter verification
According to the Election Commission, the revised dates are as follows:
- Door-to-door voter verification: Till December 11
- Draft Voter List Released: 16 December 2025
- Objections/Claims: 16 December to 15 January
- Hearing and Verification: 16 December to 7 February
- Final voter list released: 14 February 2026
That means, from form submission to final list, the dates have been pushed forward at every stage.
How much work has been done so far?
According to the latest data of Election Commission:
- Form distribution: Almost 100%.
- Form digitization: 99.59%.
- UP (15.44 crore voters): Forms digitized-99%.
- Madhya Pradesh, Puducherry, Lakshadweep: Digitization-100%.
This means that the work is almost complete, but verification and follow-up is still pending in some states. This is the reason why there seems to be a possibility of the SIR deadline being extended.
What is SIR and why is the Election Commission doing it?
SIR i.e. Special Intensive Revision is a big national process, in which the information of every voter is re-checked.
This is important because:
- Many people get new houses.
- Even after the death of many people, their names do not disappear.
- Some people remain voters at two places.
- Duplicate voters are found in some places.
- The names of many people are registered with wrong address or wrong age.
To correct all this, BLOs go door-to-door to collect information and get forms filled.
In which states is SIR running?
SIR is currently running in the following states/UTs:
- Uttar Pradesh
- west bengal
- Rajasthan
- Madhya Pradesh
- Goa
- Gujarat
- Tamil Nadu
- Puducherry
- Chhattisgarh
- Kerala
- Andaman and Nicobar
- Lakshadweep
There are a total of 51 crore voters in these 12 states. To cover these, 5.33 lakh BLOs and more than 7 lakh BLAs are working in the field.
What does a voter have to do during SIR?
The process is very easy for the common citizen:
- BLO/BLA will bring the form to your home
- Your information-name, age, house number will be matched.
- If your name is in two places, it is necessary to remove it from one place.
- If the name is not entered, then a new form will have to be filled and the documents will have to be submitted.
- If correction is required, the information will be updated in the same form.
- All this work is done for free.
Which documents are valid for SIR?
These documents are valid for Voter ID update or adding new name:
- Aadhar card
- pensioner id
- ID issued by government department
- Passport
- birth certificate
- 10th mark sheet
- caste certificate
- permanent residence certificate
- NRC register
- family register
- House/land allotment letter
Note: Aadhaar is valid as identity proof, but not as citizenship proof.
What to do if your name is removed from the list?
When the draft voter list will be released on December 16, if the name is not visible then-
- You can make claim/objection within one month.
- You can appeal against the decision of ERO to DM and then to CEO.
Why is Bihar’s SIR list valid in other states?
- If a person shows the part of the voter list after Bihar SIR in which
- If his parents’ names are there, he will not have to provide separate proof of citizenship.
- Just providing proof of date of birth will be sufficient.
- That is, the list of Bihar has been considered a reliable basis.
Is there preparation for elections behind SIR?
Yes. Assembly elections are to be held in these states in the coming years:
- 2026: p. Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Puducherry
- 2027: UP, Gujarat, Goa
- 2028: Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh
Therefore, the Commission wants that the new voter list should be clean, updated and error-free.