Register to vote
Everyone is responsible for registering themselves to vote.
You will not automatically be registered to vote by other contact you have with the Council, such as when you register for Council tax.
Register to vote on the GOV.UK website
If you know someone who can't register to vote online, we can send them a paper registration form.
Please use the below form to contact us, giving their name and address:
Contact us about sending a paper registration form
The electoral register is only updated at certain times of the year, generally the first working day of every month, apart from October and November. Please be aware these are strict legal deadlines which we are unable to change.
Why Register?
- you must be on the electoral register to vote in future elections and referendums
- by law, you must respond to an invitation to register to vote or you could be fined up to £80
- if you are not on the register you may find it harder to get a loan, mortgage, finance agreement, or even a mobile phone contract as the register is used by credit reference agencies
Who can register?
To register to vote, you must be aged 16 or over (but you can’t vote until you’re 18 years old), and one of the following:
- a UK or Irish citizen
- a qualifying Commonwealth citizen living in the UK
- a qualifying EU citizen living in the UK
A qualifying Commonwealth citizen is:
- a citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal, or Spain
- a citizen of another EU country, who has had permission to enter or stay – or not needed permission – since 31 December 2020 and this has continued without a break
More information about qualifying Commonwealth and EU citizens is available on the Electoral Commission website.
Support for people with learning disabilities
Mencap and the Cabinet office have worked together to give guidance on voting and registering for people with learning disabilities, their support workers and families.
Check if you're registered to vote
If you need official confirmation, for example for a loan, you can request this by contacting us using the below form with your name, address and the addresses you would like confirmation for.
Contact us to check if you are registered to vote
We will need to see two forms of ID.
Once we receive your email we will let you know the next steps.
Fraud prevention
We have a duty to protect the public funds we administer and may use information that you provide for the prevention and detection of fraud. We may also share this information with other organisations responsible for auditing or administering public funds for these purposes. More information about how we use your data can be found in our Electoral Services Privacy Notice
