Oct. 5 is the deadline to register to vote for Texas’ next governor, U.S. senator and more than a dozen statewide elected officials during the Nov. 3 general election.

Texas is one of a handful of states with a voter registration deadline 30 days before the election. Here’s what you need to know about checking your status and registering to vote before the end of the day on Monday.

Oct. 5 is also the last day to submit an address or name change for the midterm election.

How do I check my voter registration in Texas?

You can check to see if you’re registered and verify your information through the Texas Secretary of State’s website.

You’ll need one of the following three combinations to log in:

• Your Texas driver’s license number and date of birth.
• Your first and last names, date of birth and county you reside in.
• Your date of birth and Voter Unique Identifier, which appears on your voter registration certificate.

How do I update my voter registration with an address or name change?

You can report an address or name change online. You should do this if you’ve moved since the last time you voted, especially if you have moved to a different county or political district or have legally taken a different name.

Who can register to vote in Texas?

U.S. citizens in Texas can register to vote in the election if they are 18 or older or if they will be 18 by Election Day.

Citizens in the state cannot register to vote if they have been convicted of a felony and are still serving a sentence, including parole or probation, or if they have been deemed mentally incapacitated in court. Here are more specifics on eligibility.

Eligible people experiencing homelessness can vote, as long as they provide on their registration an address and description for where they are residing, such as a shelter or a street intersection. If needed, their mailing address can be different, but a P.O. Box address is usually not considered a residence address in Texas.

Students studying in Texas who are from other states can choose to register to vote in the state with their dorm or Texas address.

How do I register to vote?

Typically, you must complete and submit a paper voter registration application by Oct. 5.

You can find this at county voter registrars’ offices and some post offices, government offices and high schools. You can also print out the online application and mail it to the voter registrar in your county. Download your application here. (You can also request a postage-paid application through the mail, but this will take some time to receive.)

Applications must be postmarked by Oct. 5. You can request the postmark at your local post office to avoid postmark delays for mail that is picked up from mailboxes.

If you’re worried about the registration deadline, you can complete or deliver an application in person to your county’s elections administrator. Find yours here. You can also register through organizations that have volunteer registrars like the League of Women Voters, who often hold voter registration events.

Additionally, Texans may register to vote through the Texas Department of Public Safety while renewing your driver’s license. You may be able to register to vote online if you’re also allowed to renew your license online. Election officials recently discovered a backlog of voter registration applications submitted through DPS, but the Texas Secretary of State’s office said affected voters can cast provisional ballots that will be counted as long as the applications were submitted by the Oct. 5 deadline.

After you register to vote, you will receive a voter registration certificate within 30 days. It’ll contain your voter information, including the Voter Unique Identifier number you may need to update your voter registration online. If the certificate has incorrect information, you’ll need to note corrections and send it to your local voter registrar as soon as possible.

The voter registration certificate can also be used as a secondary form of ID when you vote if you don’t have one of the seven state-approved photo IDs. More information on that here.

Do you have to reregister to vote?

Once you register to vote, you generally remain registered, but there are various reasons why you may want to verify your registration status. For example, if you need to update your registration after a name or address change. You can make those updates online here.

What does it mean if my voter registration is in “suspense”?

If a county receives a non-deliverable notice after sending a voter registration certificate or suspects an address change, a voter is placed on a “suspense list” and asked to confirm their address. Voters on the suspense list can still vote if they update or confirm their address before the voter registration deadline for an election or fill out a “statement of residence” when voting. They may have to vote at their previous polling location or vote on a limited ballot. If no action is taken by a suspended voter, they are removed from the voter rolls after about four years, according to the Texas Secretary of State’s office.

If you’re concerned about your voter registration status, you can verify it online here.

What if I moved after the voter registration deadline?

You must reside in a Texas county by the voter registration deadline to vote in the upcoming election unless you qualify for absentee voting. You can read more about absentee and mail-in voting here.

You can vote at your previous polling location if you moved within the same county or political district. Or you can vote at your new polling location on a ballot limited to the elections you would qualify to vote in at both polling locations, such as statewide races.

Limited ballots are available only during early voting during early voting at a “main early voting polling place,” which is usually the office of the election administrator or county clerk who runs elections in your county. The main early voting polling place should be noted in a county’s list of early voting locations.

What do I do if I run into issues with my voter registration?

If you have questions or concerns about your registration, you can find your county’s voter registration contact here.

Inside polling locations, there are typically “resolution desks” where poll workers can address registration issues.

You can also find more information on frequently asked questions from the secretary of state’s office at votetexas.gov.

For more information about voting by my mail or in person and what’s on the ballot, visit our comprehensive voter guide.