Downtown San Salvador, El Salvador.
El Salvador’s Legislative Assembly has extended the deadline for citizens to update their addresses on the National Identity Document (DUI) ahead of the February 28, 2027, general elections, granting additional time for residents nationwide and abroad.
Lawmakers passed the measure with 59 votes, adding a temporary rule that changes how address updates work in the voter registry, which usually stop one year before general elections under Article 20 of the Electoral Code.
The original deadline for address updates was February 27, 2026. With the extension, Salvadorans will be allowed to modify their address information beyond that date as part of preparations for the nationwide vote.
Authorities said the measure applies to citizens living both inside El Salvador and abroad, aiming to ensure voters are assigned to the correct polling centers when the country elects national and municipal authorities.
Officials emphasized that the extension is designed to improve voter participation and administrative accuracy ahead of elections that will determine the president and vice president, as well as legislators and municipal governments.
Separate provisions address Salvadorans living abroad, allowing them to update address information on their identity documents up to 90 days before election day, significantly expanding flexibility compared with earlier requirements.
Previously, overseas voters were required to complete address changes at least one year before the election, a restriction that lawmakers said created logistical barriers for the diaspora’s participation.
The decree specifies that if a presidential runoff is required, no further address modifications or deadline extensions will be permitted beyond the established timeline.
Lawmakers also referenced the Special Law for the Exercise of Suffrage Abroad, approved in October 2022, which established voting procedures for Salvadorans residing outside national territory.
That legislation allows citizens abroad to vote by presenting proof of nationality with a National Identity Document or a passport issued inside or outside El Salvador, regardless of the document’s validity.
