Attention!

Applications related to the 2026 general elections may be submitted from February 5, 2026.

Voters who are unable to appear at the polling station to cast their votes due to their health condition, disability or detention may request a mobile ballot box.

Voters who request a mobile ballot box for an address

• that is not located in the electoral district in which they are registered, or

• request a mobile ballot box to an address that is not located in the municipality in which they are registered (except in the case of municipal by-elections or local referenda), then the request for a mobile ballot box shall also be considered as a request for absentee voting.

How to proceed

In order to request a mobile ballot box, you must submit an application.

The application may be submitted electronically, in person, by proxy, or by mail.

• Electronically
• The application may be submitted electronically – with or without electronic identification – by clicking on the "Electronically" icon.

Please note! You can simplify the process by clicking on the LOG IN button and submitting your application after identification.

• In person or by proxy The application may be submitted at any local election office.

Applicants appearing in person may submit their application verbally, while proxies may submit the application by handing in the form completed by the applicant.

• Applications may be submitted by mail in a letter addressed to any local election office.

The form required for submitting an application by mail (in pdf format) can be downloaded here.

The National Election Office will decide on the application in an automatic decision-making procedure.

Please note! The personal data provided in the application must match the data on the applicant's official ID document, and the Hungarian address must be valid.

The application must include the reason for requesting a mobile ballot box and the date of the vote. If you are not requesting a mobile ballot box for your address, you must also provide the exact address where you would like the mobile ballot box to be delivered.

In order to make it easier for the members of the polling station commission to find you, you can provide additional information (e.g., doorbell number or hospital building, ward, and room number).

When submitting the application, you can provide a notification address to which the National Election Office will send its decision on the acceptance or rejection of the application.

On election day, two members of the polling station commission will visit the applicants at their place of residence or at another address specified in the application (e.g., hospital) to collect their vote in the mobile ballot box.

Please note! Those who have requested a mobile ballot box may not vote in the polling station in the "traditional way," i.e., in person, unless the delivery of the mobile ballot box has not yet begun or has already been completed, meaning, if the mobile ballot box is in the polling station.

Please note!

Voters who request a mobile ballot box to be delivered to an address

• that is not located in the polling station in which they are registered, or
• that is not located in the municipality in which they are registered (except in the case of municipal by-elections or local referenda),

the request for a mobile ballot box shall also be considered a request for absentee voting. If the voters' registering was made without submitting an explicit absentee voting request, but by requesting a mobile ballot box, then if the request for a mobile ballot box is withdrawn, it shall be considered that the voters withdraw the absentee voting request, and therefore they shall be returned to the register of voters for their place of residence. Voters may also make a different statement when withdrawing their request for a mobile ballot box, thereby maintaining their absentee voting registration.

General parliamentary elections (rules on absentee voting in the case of a request for a mobile ballot box that also qualifies as absentee voting)

In a general parliamentary election, if you are in Hungary on the day of the election but in a polling station other than the one corresponding to your address in Hungary, you may submit an absentee voting request.

Municipal by-elections (rules on absentee voting in case of a request for a mobile ballot box that also qualifies as absentee voting)

In local municipal by-elections, absentee voting is only possible if the voter's place of residence and place of temporary place of residence are in the same electoral district (in case of single-member constituency elections, in the same single-member constituency; in case of individual list candidate elections or mayoral elections, in the same municipality).

Parliamentary by-elections (rules on absentee voting in case of a request for a mobile ballot box that also qualifies as absentee voting)

In case of by-elections for members of parliament, absentee voting is only possible within the single-member constituency.

Deadlines

Applications for mobile ballot boxes may be submitted from the 66th day prior to the election (in case of the 2026 general parliamentary election, from February 5, 2026). If the application is submitted by mail, it must arrive at the election office by the deadline specified for submitting the application.

1. Deadlines for ONLINE applications

2026 GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

- without electronic identification: applications may be submitted to the National Election Office until 4 p.m. on April 9, 2026.

- with electronic identification: applications may be submitted to the National Election Office until 12:00 p.m. on April 12, 2026.

PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT BY-ELECTION, LOCAL REFERENDUM

- Without electronic identification: may be submitted to the National Election Office by 4:00 p.m. on the third day before the election (Thursday).

- With electronic identification: may be submitted by 12:00 p.m. on the day of the election.

• Deadline for PERSONAL applications

2026 GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION

Applications must be submitted to the local election office by 4 p.m. on April 10, 2026, at the latest.

INTERIM PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS, INTERIM LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTIONS, LOCAL REFERENDUMS

The application must be submitted to the local election office by 4 p.m. on the second day before the election (Friday) at the latest.

• Deadline for applications by MAIL

2026 GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION

The mobile ballot box application must arrive at the local election office by 4 p.m. on April 9, 2026.

PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION, INTERIM LOCAL GOVERNMENT ELECTION, LOCAL REFERENDUM

The mobile ballot box application must arrive at the local election office by 4 p.m. on the third day before the election (Thursday).

• Deadline for submitting the application by proxy

2026 GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION

a) In the case of an application submitted by an AUTHORISED COURRIER

-by 4 p.m. on April 10, 2026to the local election office or

-by 12 p.m. on April 12, 2026to the polling station commission.

b) In the case of an application by an UNOFFICIAL COURRIER (relative or another person)

-by 12:00 p.m. on April 12, 2026to the polling station commission.

PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT BY-ELECTION, LOCAL REFERENDUM

a) In case of an application delivered by an AUTHORISED COURRIER

- by 4 p.m. on the second day before the vote (Friday) to the local election office or

- by 12 noon on the day of the vote to the vote counting committee.

b) In case of an application delivered by an UNOFFICIAL COURRIER (relative or another person)

- by 12:00 noon on the day of the vote to the vote counting committee.

• Deadline for applications for mobile ballot boxes, which also qualify as absentee voting

2026 GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY ELECTIONS

- the application must be received by the election office no later than4:00 p.m. on April 2, 2026.

PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT BY-ELECTION

- the application must be received by the election office by 4 p.m. on the ninth day prior to the election at the latest.

Withdrawal of an application for a mobile ballot box:

2026 GENERAL PARLIAMENTARY ELECTION

The request for a mobile ballot box can be withdrawn no later than4 p.m. on April 9, 2026.

PARLIAMENTARY BY-ELECTION, LOCAL GOVERNMENT BY-ELECTION, LOCAL REFERENDUM

The application for a mobile ballot box may be withdrawn no later than 4 p.m. on the third day (Thursday) preceding the vote.

Documents to be submitted

No documents other than the application are required to be submitted.

Payment obligation

Submitting an application does not entail any payment obligation.

Acting public authority

National Election Office.

Contact details of local election offices(if the application is submitted in person, by a proxy or by post):

https://www.valasztas.hu/en/elerhetosegek

Superior authority/legal remedy

An appeal may be lodged against the decision on the request for a mobile ballot box.

The appeal must be lodged no later than

• upon receipt of notification on the decision,
• upon sending the decision to the storage – if it is not possible to send the decision to the storage location, then instead of sending the decision to the storage – upon sending the decision to the electronic notification address specified by the applicant, or
• in case of a public announcement, the publication of the announcement on the website

on the third day following, but no later than 2 p.m. on the second day before the vote.

The appeal must be submitted in writing to the National Election Office:

• by email: to fellebbezes@nvi.hu or
• by post: National Election Office, 1397 Budapest, Pf. 547. or
• in person: 1054 Budapest, Alkotmány Street 3.

The appeal must contain

• a reference to the violation of rights or interests directly resulting from the decision,
• the name, address, place and date of birth of the applicant, and
• the number identifying the decision affected by the legal remedy.

The absence of the name, address, place and date of birth, and the number identifying the decision affected by the legal remedy shall not result in the rejection of the appeal without substantive examination if the identity of the applicant and the decision affected by the legal remedy can be identified.

The head of the National Election Office shall decide on the appeal, if it is received no later than the twenty-fifth day before the vote, no later than the second working day following its receipt, and if it is received after the twenty-fifth day before the vote, no later than the working day following its receipt, but no later than 3 p.m. on the third day before the vote.

• If the head of the National Election Office upholds the applicant's appeal, he or she shall amend the decision.
• If the head of the National Election Office does not uphold the applicant's appeal, he or she shall submit the appeal to the Metropolitan Court of Budapest no later than the last day of the period available for its consideration, and the court shall decide on the appeal within three days of its receipt, but no later than the day before the vote.

Legal representation is not mandatory in court proceedings.

If the court considers the appeal to be well-founded, it shall amend its decision; otherwise, it shall reject the appeal.

Further information

A mobile ballot box may be requested if the voter is unable to appear at the polling station on election day due to his / her health condition (e.g., hospitalization), disability, or detention (e.g., pretrial detention, imprisonment). The law only allows the use of a mobile ballot box in the above cases; a mobile ballot box cannot be requested for other reasons (e.g., work commitments).

The National Election Office processes the application, makes the decision, and delivers it—for all types of applications—using the electoral IT system, without human intervention, within a24-hour automatic decision-making process, with the following exceptions:

• In the case of applications submitted in person or by a delivery agent:
• • identification,
  • recording of the application, delivery of the decision,
• Human intervention will occur in cases defined in Section 112(3) ofAct XXXVI of 2013on Electoral Procedure (e.g., discrepancies between the applicant's request and the data in the central electoral register). After the human intervention, the request will continue to be processed through the automatic decision-making procedure.
• Another exception is Section 112 (5) of Ve., in which cases the application is assessed by the polling station commission.

Relevant legislation

Act XXXVI of 2013on Electoral Procedure

The data processing information is available here.