Bafta has announced the dates for submissions and voting in the upcoming Bafta Film Awards, which will be held in London on February 22, 2026.
More time for film viewing, more time for voting, and a timeline that places the announcement of nominations after the equivalent reveal from the US Academy Awards are some of the big takeaways from Bafta’s announcement today.
The Bafta Film Awards ceremony will be a week later than it was in 2025, when it was held on February 16, and Bafta has used those extra days to give more time to voters.
Round one voting (to determine longlists) closes on January 5, compared to December 30 last time around. For acting categories, round one voting closes on December 29, compared to December 23 last year.
For the 2025 awards, voters only had seven days for round-two voting, which determines the nominations. This has been extended to 11 days, with longlists announced on January 9 and round-two voting closing on January 20.
Final-round voting (to determine winners) runs from January 28-February 17. This voting window is similar to last year, except about a week later in the calendar.
The biggest discrepancy with the 2025 awards is the nominations announcement date – January 27, 2026, as opposed to January 15 last time around.
The next US Academy Awards will announce its nominations on January 22 – five days before Bafta, despite the fact that the Oscars ceremony will be on March 15, a full three weeks after the Bafta Film Awards.
This disrupts the traditional sequencing of Bafta and Oscar, at least when it comes to the announcement of nominations. In 1998, the Bafta Film Awards and Bafta TV Awards were split into two separate ceremonies, and in 2001, the Bafta Film Awards moved from its traditional March or April slot into February, jumping ahead of the US Academy Awards and becoming a key ceremony signposting the way to Oscars.
Since 2001, the Bafta nominations have always arrived ahead of Oscar nominations, but this will not be the case for the upcoming film awards season.
The dates for 2026’s Bafta Film Awards are below.
2026 Bafta Film Awards – key dates
Submissions
October 23: Deadline for submission of stage one entry forms
November 4: Categories and supporting statements published on Bafta View
November 17: Deadline for stage two entry submission
November 26: Draft entered films list (DEFL) to be made available to voters and entrants
December 1: Deadline for requests to changes to the draft entered films list
Voting
December 5: Round one voting opens at 10am; entered films list (EFL) distributed
December 29: Round one voting closes at 4pm (acting categories)
January 5: Round one voting closes at 4pm (all other categories)
January 9: Longlists announced; round two voting opens at 4pm
January 20: Round two voting closes at 4pm
January 27: Nominations announced
January 28: Round three voting opens at 10am
February 17: Round three voting closes at 4pm
February 22: EE Bafta Film Awards ceremony