Register to vote

To check if you are already registered to vote, use our contact form.

If you need official confirmation that you are registered to vote for a mortgage, loan or credit agreement, or similar, we can send you an official letter. Please specify this when you contact us.

Contact Electoral Services

How to register

You can register to vote online or by post.

To register to vote you must be aged 16 or over and one of the following:

• a British citizen
  
• an EU citizen resident in the UK
• a qualifying Commonwealth citizen* resident in the UK

* a qualifying Commonwealth citizen is someone who has leave to enter or remain in the UK, or does not require such leave. See The Electoral Commission guidance for a full list of Commonwealth countries.

Online

Register to vote online using the GOV.UK website. You will need to provide your National Insurance number.

Register to vote online

By post

If you can't register online you can find and download a paper form on GOV.UK. Easy read, accessible and different language versions are available.

Paper forms

Register to vote if you live in the UK
Register to vote if you live abroad
Register to vote as a Crown Servant or British Council employee
Register to vote if you have not got a fixed or permanent address
Register to vote anonymously
Register to vote if you are in the armed forces

Print off, complete and return to:

Registering to vote at more than one address

People are usually registered at one address only, which they consider to be their permanent home address. If you are living somewhere temporarily but have a permanent address, you should register at the permanent address.

Students

Students can register to vote at both home and term-time addresses. If your home and university addresses are in two different local authority areas, you can vote in local elections in both areas.

However, even if you are registered in two areas, for example at home and at university, you can only vote in one at a general election.

It is a criminal offence to vote twice in a UK general election.

If you are going to be away from your registered address during an election you may also wish to register for a postal vote, or to apply for someone to vote for you.

Registering to vote without a fixed address

You can register to vote even if you do not have a fixed address.

To register, you need to give an address where you would be living if it were not for your current situation or an address where you have lived in the past. If you are homeless, you can give details of where you spend a substantial part of your time.

Find out more about electoral registration for someone with no fixed or permanent address on GOV.UK.

Anonymous registration

Anonymous registration was set up to help individuals whose safety would be at risk (or where the safety of other people at the same address as them would be at risk) if their name or address was listed on the electoral register, for example a person who has fled domestic abuse.

If you are registered anonymously your name and address will not appear on the electoral register.

Find out more about anonymous voting registration on GOV.UK.

Voting if you move or live abroad

You can register as an overseas voter if you are a British citizen.

If you want to vote in England you can apply to register by using the above button.

Renewing your registration

Once your application has been approved you will be registered for up to 3 years. You will get a reminder when it's time to renew.

If you do not renew your registration, you will be removed from the register and must make a fresh application in order to vote again.

Voting if you are registered as an overseas voter

You can vote in UK Parliament elections.

You may be able to vote in referendums. Each referendum has different rules on who can vote in it.

You can apply to vote by post or proxy online by using the links below:

• apply for a postal vote through GOV.UK
• apply for a proxy vote through GOV.UK

Learning disabilities and registering to vote

People with a learning disability have the same right to vote as everyone else. View a step-by-step, easy read guide to registering to vote for people with a learning disability on GOV.UK. This guide is an example of an application to register to vote.

Changing your details

If you need to change your personal details, for example, to change your address, correct a spelling mistake or change your name, you need to re-register with the correct details through the national registration site. You will need your National Insurance number to hand.

After you register to vote

If we need more information to complete your application, we will contact you to ask for it. 

If we have everything we need, we will let you know when you are added to the register. The register is updated monthly. The date you are added to the register will depend on when you completed your application.

Credit reference agencies

Section 114 of the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2002 allows legally registered credit reference agencies to buy a copy of the full register each year when published. They may also request and purchase monthly register updates.

Find more information on the electoral and open register.

Electoral Services are not responsible for updating credit agency records. It can often take 6 to 8 weeks for credit records to be updated.

If a credit agency tells you that you are not registered to vote, please contact us with your full name and address.

We cannot contact credit agencies directly about an individual's registration but we can supply you with email or written confirmation of registration. This may be accepted by a credit reference agency to help resolve any queries.

Electoral and open registers

If you would like to know more about the registers we keep or if you want to opt out of the open register, see the Electoral and Open Register page.

Information we will hold about you

We have a statutory obligation to retain certain information about you. To find out more detail about this, read our privacy notice.