Federal Post Card Application

The Federal Post Card Application is the form absent service members, their families and US citizens abroad use to register to vote, request an absentee ballot and update contact details. Known as Standard Form 76, it rests on the Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act of 1986; the MOVE Act of 2009 requires states to send a requested ballot at least 45 days before a federal election.

The Pentagon's Federal Voting Assistance Program revised it in late August 2026 through emergency approval under the Paperwork Reduction Act, dropping the 'never lived in the United States' box that had been on the form since 2013. The current version, Rev.08-2026 under OMB number 0704-0503, was approved on 28 August 2026 for six months. Its first box now offers three categories: service members and their families, citizens abroad WHO intend to return, and citizens abroad whose return is uncertain.

Because one federal form serves voters in every state, a wording change reaches overseas voters nationwide at once. The Pentagon says states can still accept older versions that carry the required information.