We keep two registers of electors in Leeds - the electoral register and the open register (also known as the edited register).
The electoral register
The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections.
Unlike the open register, the information in the electoral register is not sold on to anyone. Credit reference agencies may only use it to check someone’s name and address if they are applying for credit, and for other purposes specified in law.
The electoral register can be viewed by the public at Leeds Town Hall or the Central Library under supervision. Handwritten notes can be taken but not photocopies or electronic recordings.
How the electoral register is used
- election staff, political parties, candidates and holders of elected office use the register for electoral purposes
- your local council and the British Library hold copies that anyone may look at under supervision. A copy is also held by the Electoral Commission, the Boundary Commissions (which set constituency boundaries for most elections) and the Office for National Statistics
- the council can use the register for duties relating to security, enforcing the law and preventing crime. The police and the security services can also use it for law enforcement
- the register is used when calling people for jury service
- Government departments may buy the register from local registration officers and use it to help prevent and detect crime. They can also use it to safeguard national security by checking the background of job applicants and employees
- credit-reference agencies can buy the register to help them check the names and addresses of people applying for credit. They also use it to carry out identity checks when trying to prevent and detect money laundering
It is a criminal offence for anyone to supply or use the register for anything else.
The open register
The open register is an extract of the electoral register, but it is not used for elections. It may be purchased in whole or in part by any person, company or organisation.
Everyone has the right to opt out of the open register and remain on the electoral register. This means you will still be able to vote, and credit reference agencies can still access your entry on the electoral register, but the details we hold will not be sold.
How the open register is used
- businesses checking the identity and address details of people who apply for their services such as insurance, goods hire and property rental, as well as when they shop online
- businesses selling age-restricted goods or services, such as alcohol and gambling online, to meet the rules on verifying the age of their customers
- charities and voluntary agencies, for example to help maintain contact information for those who have chosen to donate bone marrow and to help people separated by adoption to find each other charities, to help with fundraising and contacting people who have made donations
- debt-collection agencies when tracing people who have changed address without telling their creditors
- direct-marketing firms when maintaining their mailing lists
- landlords and letting agents when checking the identity of potential tenants
- local councils when identifying and contacting residents online
- directory firms to help users of the websites find people, such as when reuniting friends and families
- organisations tracing and identifying beneficiaries of wills, pensions and insurance policies
- private-sector firms to verify details of job applicants
Opt out of the open register
To opt out of the open register,
complete the form on GOV.UK.
Please be aware that opting out will not necessarily mean that nobody has your details anymore. It only means that your name and address will not be on the open register in the future. Anyone who has already bought the open register will have those details.
The website of the
Information Commissioner’s Office External link contains information on how you can stop your personal information being used for any sort of direct marketing.
Your open register choice will continue until you tell us that you wish to change it (unless you change address – then you would have to make a new registration application and open register choice).
Purchasing the open register
The open register can be purchased. The costs are:
- sale of paper copy of electoral register - per 1,000 (or part of 1,000) electors: £5
- administration fee for producing paper copy of the Register (per request): £10
- sale of digital copy of electoral register - per 1,000 (or part of 1,000) electors: £1.50
- administration fee for producing data copy of the Register (per request): £20
Changing your details on the register
If you need to change your personal details, for example to correct a spelling mistake, change your name or register at a new address you need to re-register with the correct details through the
national registration site. You will need your national insurance number to hand.
