HOW TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN THE UK- STEP-BY-STEP GUIDE (VIDEO)

Register to Vote in the United Kingdom: To register to vote online, you need just five minutes and your National Insurance number. Every legal UK resident or student must have a National Insurance.

If you cannot register online, you can download a paper form (Opens in new window).

You don’t need to register to vote before every election.

Update your details

If you move house, you should register to vote again.

If you change your name for any reason, you can either:

contact the electoral services team at your local council and request a change of name form
register to vote again

WHY YOU NEED TO BE ON THE UK ELECTORAL REGISTER

By law, you must be on the Electoral Register if you are eligible to be on it

as well as enabling you to vote at national and local elections, it is a way for you to get a credit rating from Credit Reference Agencies. If you’re not registered, it may impact you when applying for things like mortgages and mobile phones. This is because credit agencies use the register to validate applications.

Why should you Register to vote?

You have a proof of address registered in the UK government electoral register and you can always amend this when you move to a new location
It gives you a say on important issues that affect you – from roads and recycling, to education and climate change.
Voting gives you a say on who represents you in your local council, in the UK Parliament and in Europe
Elections can be called at short notice – if you’re not registered you can’t vote.
If you’re a student living away from home, you can register where you live at University or College as well as your normal home address providing they are not in the same local authority area
If you don’t register, you can’t vote! – It’s as simple as that. To vote in any UK elections, you have to be on the electoral register.
People across the world have died fighting for the right to vote and be part of a democracy. In the UK, in the early 20th century, people were killed during their struggles to get the vote for women.
Black people were not allowed to vote in South Africa until the end of apartheid in 1994. Today, many people across the world are still denied the right to vote. By voting you are showing your support for people who have had to fight hard for democracy.

WATCH VIDEO HOW TO REGISTER TO VOTE IN THE UK

Register to vote: Qualifying Foreign Citizens

Commonwealth Citizens:

To qualify, Commonwealth citizens must be resident in the UK and either have leave to remain in the UK or not require such leave. Commonwealth citizens include those of British Crown Dependencies and British Overseas Territories. Also note that you must be 16 years above to qualify to register and vote in the UK.

List of Commonwealth Countries Qualified to Vote are:

Antigua and Barbuda, Kenya, Samoa, Australia,Kiribati, Seychelles,The Bahamas Lesotho Sierra Leone, Bangladesh, Malawi, Singapore, Barbados, Malaysia, Solomon Islands, Belize Maldives, South Africa, Botswana, Malta, Sri Lanka, Brunei.Others are; Darussalam Mauritius, Swaziland,Cameroon,Mozambique,United Republic of Tanzania, Canada, Namibia, Tonga Cyprus, Nauru Trinidad & Tobago Dominica, New Zealand, Tuvalu Fiji Islands, Nigeria,Uganda,The Gambia, Pakistan, United Kingdom,Ghana,Papua, New Guinea,Vanuatu,Grenada,Rwanda,Zambia,Guyana,St Kitts & Nevis,Zimbabwe, India, St Lucia
Jamaica,St Vincent & The Grenadines

ALSO READ: HOW TO UPDATE & CHECK YOUR DBS PROFILE IN THE UPDATE SERVICE

Forms of ID Used To Vote in The UK

You may already have a form of photo ID that is acceptable. You can use any of the following:

Passport
Driving licence (including provisional licence)
Blue badge
Certain concessionary travel cards
Identity card with PASS mark (Proof of Age Standards Scheme)
Biometric Immigration document
Defence identity card
Certain national identity cards