SIR begins in Delhi today: Know key dates, documents required and everything about EC exercise

The Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls in the national will begun today with house-to-house verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs). Election officials said the exercise is aimed at ensuring that the electoral rolls remain accurate and up to date ahead of future elections in Delhi.

Along with Delhi, SIR also begins in Karnataka, Meghalaya, Maharashtra and Jharkhand today.

Addressing a press conference on Monday, Delhi's Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) Alok Kumar said the exercise will begin on June 30, Tuesday with house-to-house verification by Booth Level Officers (BLOs).

Key SIR dates in Delhi

In Delhi, the SIR will continue till July 29. After this, the draft electoral roll will be published on August 5.

The period for filing claims and objections will continue from August 5 to September 4, while the notice phase and disposal of claims and objections will take place from August 5 to October 3. Finally, the publication of the final electoral roll is scheduled for October 10.

“During the exercise, BLOs will visit every household to distribute pre-printed enumeration forms in duplicate to existing electors and assist them in filling them. If a voter is unavailable, the form will be handed over to an adult family member or left at the residence if it is locked,” Kumar said on Monday.

The BLOs are expected to make at least three visits to collect the filled forms. One copy of the submitted form will be retained by the BLO, while the other, carrying an acknowledgement of receipt, will remain with the elector, Kumar said.

At present, there are 1,45,10,298 voters in Delhi. This includes 67,98,142 women and 1,024 third gender voters.

More than 13,000 BLOs have been deployed for the exercise and will visit households to verify the details of existing voters, identify eligible new voters and facilitate corrections in the electoral rolls.

SIR acrimony between EC and oppostion

The SIR of electoral rolls, which has so far led to the deletion of nearly six crore voters, has completed one year, news agency PTI said on 26 June.

The exercise, which triggered acrimony between the Opposition and the Election Commission, continues in as many as nineteen states and Union territories, with the Supreme Court upholding its constitutional validity.

The pilot SIR exercise began in Bihar on 24 June last year, ahead of the assembly polls.

Post Bihar SIR, its voters' list was pruned by nearly 65 lakh amid allegations by opposition and activists that the poll authority was working at the behest of the BJP to disenfranchise citizens for want of documents.

In March, the Supreme Court unanimously upheld the EC's constitutional validity in carrying out SIR.

House-to-house enumeration

During the SIR, BLOs will conduct house-to-house enumeration. Every existing elector whose name exists in the electoral roll will be made available an Enumeration Form through BLOs. The elector has to fill the enumeration form, filling his/her required details and has to return one copy to the BLO.

"If BLO finds that any house is locked or closed at the time of enumeration, she/he shall slip the Enumeration Forms in the house and make at least three visits to collect filled-up Forms. Despite this, if someone is unable to receive the form, they can also fill it out online," Kumar said earlier.

"For the convenience of the general public, the voter list of the last Special Intensive Revision held in the year 2002 in Delhi has been uploaded on the website of the CEO, Delhi. Further, voters who have shifted in Delhi from other states after 2002 can find their names in the ECI's Portal. All the Electors who are permanently staying in Delhi prior to 2002, can check their name in the voter list of 2002 available on the website of the Chief Electoral Officer, Delhi," he said.

In Delhi, a large number of people come from other states and live on rent.

“if any elector has come from another state and settled in Delhi after 2002, their name will not appear in the 2002 voter list of Delhi. In such a case, electors are requested to search their details from www. voters.eci.gov.in and note down their details such as relative name, State Name, AC (Assembly Constituency) Name, AC Number, Part No, Sr No. as appearing in the voter list of 2002/2003/2005, year of last SIR held in that particular State, as the case may be,” he told news agency ANI

One-day training of BLOs

Before the formal begining of the exercise, a one-day training session for poll officers and representatives of political parties participating in SIR exercise in Delhi was held.

The training was attended by sub-divisional magistrates (election), electoral registration officers, assistant electoral registration officers (AEROs), BLO supervisers and other officials, according to a statement from the Chief Electoral Officer (CEO) of Delhi.

Various aspects of SIR, 2026, were held during the two sessions of the training and briefing programme, in collaboration with technical experts from the Election Commission of India.

What are Key Steps in SIR

The BLOs will:

-Collect Form 6 & Declaration form for inclusion of new Elector and help in Matching/Linking

- Help the Elector fill in the EF or Enumeration forms, collect it and submit it to the ERO/AERO

- Make at least 3 Visits to the house of each Electors.

Electors can also fill the EF Online, particularly urban voters/ temporary migrants.

-Identify dead, permanently shifted and voters who are registered at more than one place

- Except the EF, no other document needs to be collected with EF during enumeration phase

List of Indicative Documents

1. Any Identity card/Pension Payment Order issued to regular employee/pensioner of any Central Govt./State Govt./PSU.

2. Any Identity Card/Certificate/Document issued in India by Government/local authorities/Banks/Post Office/LIC/PSUs prior to 01.07.1987.

3. Birth Certificate issued by the competent authority.

4. Passport.

5. Matriculation/Educational certificate issued by recognised Boards/universities

6. Permanent Residence certificate issued by competent State authority

7. Forest Right Certificate 8. OBC/SC/ST or any caste certificate issued by the Competent authority

9. National Register of Citizens (wherever it exists)

10. Family Register, prepared by State/Local authorities.

11. Any land/house allotment certificate by Government.

12- For Aadhaar, Commission’s directions issued vide letter No. 23/2025-ERS/Vol.II dated 09.09.2025 shall apply

An extract from a previously verified electoral roll may be accepted for identity verification in certain SIR cases.

Key Things to Know About SIR

-Documents are generally requested only if additional verification is needed by election officials.

-Voters should keep both original documents and photocopies ready if asked for verification.

-Submission of SIR-related forms and verification documents is completely free

-A voter’s eligibility is decided based on valid records, age, and residence details as per Election Commission guidelines.

(With agency inputs)