Register to vote or update your details

To register to vote you must be:

• over 16 years of age. You can start voting when you turn 18
• a British, Irish, EU or qualifying Commonwealth citizen

There is also another category of elector:

Anonymous.  You can register as an anonymous elector for safety reasons, for example you are escaping violence. To register anonymously you will need documentary evidence such as a court order or an injunction. Please contact us to discuss this further.

Your name must be on the electoral register if you want to vote in UK elections and referendums.

It's your responsibility to register on the electoral register. You won't automatically be registered even if you pay Council Tax.

You can check if you’re already registered to vote by contacting us using the details on this page.

There are two versions of the electoral register:

• electoral register – this includes the name and address of everyone registered to vote. We only use it for electoral purposes. It's also used by other organisations for certain purposes specified in law, such as detecting crime, calling people for jury service and checking credit applications.
• open register – we don’t use this version for elections. The open register is available to anyone who wants to buy a copy. For example, it is used by some businesses and charities to confirm name and address details.

You can search the open register online using a commercial service. However, you can’t search the full electoral register online.

You can view the full electoral register at our office in Fleet. Please contact us using the details on this page.

Your name and address will be automatically included in the open register unless you ask for them to be removed. Removing your details from the open register does not affect your right to vote.

You can use the form on this page to tell us to remove your name from the open register. You must be on the electoral register first before we can do this. You will be asked to provide your name, address, date of birth and contact details. 

We will confirm this has been done by email within 10 working days

Making changes to the register

Tell us to remove your name and address from the open register

You don’t need to tell us again if you told us previously.

We produce a new full and public version of the electoral register each year.

Are your details correct?

If you have recently received an electoral registration letter from us and you need to confirm or change other details, please visit our annual update of the electoral register page which will guide you through the process, including using security codes.

Access for people with disabilities

Please contact us if you need advice about registering to vote. We have large print documents available on request.

You can also adjust the size of the text on these web pages by clicking on the text size button at the top.

Mencap has produced a set of easy-read guides to voting and registering to vote.