Electoral Act 1993

Miscellaneous provisions

263: Service of notices

You could also call this:

"How to give someone official notice, like handing or mailing it to them"

When you need to give someone a notice under this Act, you can do it by handing it to them, leaving it at their home address, or sending it to them by registered letter. You can find their home address on the electoral roll. If you send a notice by registered letter, it is considered delivered when it would normally arrive in the mail.

If you send a notice by registered letter and ask for it to be returned if the person cannot be found, the returned letter is proof that the person has moved from that address. This is according to the Postal Services Act 1998. The letter must be sent to the address listed on the electoral roll.

A registered letter is a special kind of mail that uses a system of recorded delivery, like the one provided by a postal operator registered under the Postal Services Act 1998. This type of mail is similar to a registered post service. It provides a way to track the delivery of the letter.

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This page was last updated on 18 July 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM310475.

Topics:

Government and voting > Elections

262: Certificate of court as to result of petitions, or

"What the court decides after checking an election result is fair and correct."

263A: Disclosure of immigration information for matching purposes, or

"Checking if you can vote by sharing immigration information"

Part 9Miscellaneous provisions

263Service of notices

Any notice under this Act may be served on any person by delivering it to that person, and may be delivered to that person either personally or by leaving it at his or her place of residence as stated on the roll or by posting it by registered letter addressed to him or her at that place of residence.
A notice so posted shall be deemed to have been served at the time when the registered letter would in the ordinary course of post be delivered.
Where any notice is sent by registered letter addressed to any person at his or her place of residence as stated on the roll, with a special request that the letter be returned to the sender at the expiration of 15 days if the person to whom the letter is addressed cannot be found, the return of the letter by a person registered as a postal operator under the Postal Services Act 1998 must be treated as sufficient proof that the person has quitted that place of residence.
Registered letter includes any service that—
provides a system of recorded delivery; and
is similar in nature to a registered post service provided by a person registered as a postal operator under the Postal Services Act 1998.

Notes

Section 263(3): amended, on 1 July 2012, by section 51(1) of the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 57).
Section 263(4): inserted, on 1 July 2012, by section 51(2) of the Electoral (Administration) Amendment Act 2011 (2011 No 57).