What is the electoral register?

The electoral register is the list of everyone who is registered to vote. You must be on the register to vote at elections.

How do I register to vote?

1. Fill in the electoral registration form (ER3a)
2. Make sure you sign the 'declaration'.
3. Return the form to your local electoral registration office.
4. Register as soon as you can.

When should I register?

You can register at any time.

The register of electors is updated and a new version published on or shortly before 1 December each year. However, if you are not already listed on the register or if you want to be registered at a new address, you can apply at any time to have your name included. You can register as soon as you move to a new address.

Additions and deletions to the register can be made every month, except September, October and November, when the new register is being prepared. Applications have to be made at the beginning of the month in order to be included on the updated register published the following month.

Please note that in the run up to an election you will only be able to vote at that election if your name has been added to the register of electors up to 11 working days before the date of the election.

Who can register to vote?

To be included on the register you must:-

• be resident at a qualifying address in the area
• be a British, or other Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or of another member state of the European Union
• not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart)
• be aged 16 years or over. You can apply if you will become 18 years of age before the register is next revised in the autumn but you will not be able vote until you are 18 years of age.

Overseas electors

If you are a British citizen living outside the United Kingdom, and you satisfy the conditions set out below, you may register as an overseas elector. This will enable you to vote at Parliamentary and European Parliamentary elections in the UK (if you are a peer you will be entitled to vote only at European Parliamentary elections).

You must be a British citizen. You must also satisfy one set of the following two sets of conditions:

Set 1: (for those who were registered as electors before leaving the UK, within the last 15 years)

• your name was included in a register of parliamentary electors in respect of an address in the UK,
• that entry in the register was made on the basis that you were resident, or to be treated for the purposes of registration as resident, at that address,
• that entry in the register was in force at any time falling within the period of 15 years ending immediately before the date of your application, and
• subsequent to that entry ceasing to have effect no entry was made in any register of parliamentary electors on the basis that you were resident, or to be treated for the purposes of registration as resident, at any other address.

All of the conditions in the set must be met.

OR

Set 2: (for those who were too young to be registered as electors before leaving the UK, within the last 15 years)

• you were last resident in the United Kingdom within the period of 15 years ending immediately before the date of your application,
• you were by reason only of your age incapable of being included in any register of parliamentary electors in force on the last day on which you were resident in the United Kingdom, and
• the address at which you were resident on that day was situated within the constituency concerned and your parent or guardian was included, in respect of that address, in a register of parliamentary electors or a register of local government electors in force on that day.

All of the conditions in the set must be met.

If you would like to register as an overseas elector, contact the Electoral Registration Officer for further details and an application form.

Crown servants and members of the forces

There are separate arrangements for registering Crown servants and members of the armed forces serving abroad. Contact the Electoral Registration Officer for details and an application form.

Two versions of the register

There are two versions of the register - the full version and the edited version. Your details will appear on the full version of the register, but you can choose whether or not your details appear on the edited register. The full register is used for elections, preventing and detecting crime, and checking applications for credit. The edited register is available for general sale and can be used for commercial activities such as marketing.

The Full Register

The full register lists everyone who is entitled to vote. You can check it by calling at the council offices or at some local libraries. Only certain people and organisations can have copies of the full register, and they can only use it for specified purposes. These include electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit. The law says who can have a copy of the full register and what they can use it for. The full list of such persons and purposes is given in the Representation of the People (Scotland) (Amendment) Regulations 2002. It is a criminal offence for them to pass it on to anyone else or to use it for any other purpose.

The Edited Register

The edited register leaves out the names and addresses of people who have asked for their names to be excluded from that version of the register. The edited register can be bought by anyone who asks for a copy and they may use it for any purpose.

Application Forms

Some of the most commonly used application forms are available from the menu under Electoral Registration on this site, and are available for downloading from this site. You may print them off and send them to the appropriate Electoral Registration Officer.