In order to vote in an election you need to be on the electoral register.

Register to vote

The law changed in June 2014 to a new system called Individual Electoral Registration.

The easiest way to register is by going online. You will need your National Insurance number.

  Register to vote Opens in a new window

If you need a paper form, please ring us.

Please note: After you have applied to register, we will need to check and process your application before it can be approved. We will do this as soon as we can.

The annual register is published on 1 December each year from the electoral information you give us.

After the annual register is published, we update that register under the monthly rolling registration procedure between January and September.

Under normal circumstances, no monthly updates are published in October and November).

Registering to vote: easy read guide

GOV.UK and Mencap and written a step-by-step, easy read guide to registering to vote, for people with a learning disability. The guide is an example of an application to register to vote.

Voting by post

If you are unable to get to the polling station on polling day, you can apply to vote by post. Any person on the register can apply for a postal vote. The deadline for applications is 11 working days before an election.

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Voting by proxy

Voting by proxy means that you appoint someone you trust to vote on your behalf. Voting by proxy can be useful if you can’t get to the polling station on election day, for example if you fall ill or you are abroad. 

If you already have a postal vote and wish to change to a proxy you must tell us 11 working days before the poll. The deadline for new proxy applications is 6 working days before an election.

  Register to vote by proxy Opens in a new window

Emergency proxy

In certain circumstances, where you have an emergency that means you cannot go to the polling station in person you can apply for an emergency proxy up to 5pm on the day of the poll.