Register to vote

You'll also need your National Insurance number, which can be found on your National Insurance card, or in official paperwork such as payslips, or letters about benefits or tax credits. Look out for confirmation to say you're registered, but if you're unsure, need help to register, or to find out who is already registered, Contact Electoral Services.

Who can register

You can register to vote in the UK if you are both:

• 16 years or over (but you will not be able to vote until you are 18)
• a UK citizen (or an Irish, EU or Commonwealth citizen with a permanent UK address)

Change your details

You can also use the Register to vote through Gov.uk service to:

• change your name, address or nationality
• get on or off the open electoral register

To do this, you need to register again with your new details (even if you're already registered to vote).

Why should I register?

• You need to register to be able to vote in elections and referendums. If you're not registered to vote, you don't get a say in who represents you, or how things are run.
• Being on the register helps build your credit rating which could give you access to better smartphone, car, rent or mortgage deals!

The electoral register

When you register to vote, you are added to the electoral register. We keep two registers - the electoral register and the open register.

The electoral register (full version)

Everyone's name and address goes on the full version of the electoral register. The full version of the register is only used for:

• elections
• preventing and detecting crime
• checking applications for loans or credit

The open register (edited version)

This is an extract of the full version, but it is not used for elections. Anyone can buy a copy of this, and it's often used by businesses and charities to confirm name and address details.

You can opt out of the 'open register' - and this will not affect your right to vote. To remove your name from the open register Contact Electoral Services.

How to vote

Find out more about how to cast your vote on the voting page.