Register to vote

If you’re not registered, you can’t vote. It’s as simple as that.

Register to vote now

You can register to vote when you’re 16. You can start to vote when you turn 18.

Luckily, you don’t need to register before every election.

You need to register if:

• you’ve never registered to vote before
• you’ve just become old enough to register

You need to register to vote again if:

• you’ve moved house recently
• you’ve changed your name for any reason

You’ll stay registered to vote as long as you live at the same address and don’t change your name. When you become old enough to vote, your record will be updated automatically.

Registering to vote takes just five minutes if you do it online. All you’ll need is your National Insurance number.

Soon after you’ve registered, you’ll appear on the electoral register. This is a list of everyone in your area who is registered to vote. These lists are managed by your local council’s elections team.

There are two versions of the electoral register, the full register and the open register. Your details, which includes your name and address, will be included on both the open register and the full register.

If your details are on the open register, anyone such as businesses and charities can use your information to contact you about their services. You can choose not to be on the open register when you register to vote of this during your registration, or at any time by contacting your local elections team.

Your details on the full register can only be used for: 

• election reasons. This includes elections staff and registered politicians and campaigners
• detecting crime
• calling people for jury service
• checking credit applications

If your details appearing on either type of register might be a risk to your safety, or the safety of someone you live with, you might be able to apply to vote anonymously. 

You can’t check online to see if you’re registered to vote. If you have any questions about the electoral register or registering to vote, contact your local elections team. They’ll be happy to help.

Find your local election team’s contact details

If you’re not registered, you can’t vote. It’s as simple as that.

Register to vote now

You can register to vote when you’re 14. You can start to vote in some elections when you turn 16.

Luckily, you don’t need to register before every election. You need to register if:

• you’ve never registered to vote before
• you’ve just become old enough to register

You need to register to vote again if:

• you’ve moved house recently
• you’ve changed your name for any reason

You’ll stay registered to vote as long as you live at the same address and don’t change your name. When you become old enough to vote, your record will be updated automatically.

Registering to vote takes just five minutes if you do it online. If you’re 16 or older, all you’ll need is your National Insurance number. If you’re under 16, you won’t be asked to supply a National Insurance number.

Soon after you’ve registered, you’ll appear on the electoral register. This is a list of everyone in your area who is registered to vote. These lists are managed by your local council’s elections team.

There are two versions of the electoral register, the full register and the open register. Your details, which includes your name and address, will be included on both the open register and the full register. 

If your details are on the open register, anyone such as businesses and charities can use your information to contact you about their services. You can choose not to be on the open register when you register to vote of this during your registration, or at any time by contacting your local elections office. If you are under 16 years old, you will only be added to the full register.

• election reasons. This includes elections staff and registered politicians and campaigners
• detecting crime
• calling people for jury service
• checking credit applications

If your details appearing on either type of electoral register might be a risk to your safety, or the safety of someone you live with, you might be able to apply to vote anonymously.

You can’t check online to see if you’re registered to vote, but if you have any questions about the electoral register or registering to vote, you should contact your local elections team. They’ll be happy to help.

If you’re not registered, you can’t vote. It’s as simple as that.

Register to vote now

You can register to vote when you’re 14. You can start to vote in some elections when you turn 16.

Luckily, you don’t need to register before every election.
You need to register if:

• you’ve never registered to vote before
• you’ve just become old enough to register

You need to register to vote again if:

• you’ve moved house recently
• you’ve changed your name for any reason

You’ll stay registered to vote as long as you live at the same address and don’t change your name. When you become old enough to vote, your record will be updated automatically.

Registering to vote takes just five minutes if you do it online. If you’re 16 or older, all you’ll need is your National Insurance number. If you’re under 16, you won’t be asked to supply a National Insurance number.

Soon after you’ve registered, you’ll appear on the electoral register. This is a list of everyone in your area who is registered to vote. These lists are managed by your local elections team.

There are two versions of the electoral register, the full register and the open register. Your details, which includes your name and address, will be included on both the open register and the full register.

If your details are on the open register, anyone such as businesses and charities can use your information to contact you about their services. You can choose not to be on the open register when you register to vote of this during your registration, or at any time by contacting your local elections office. If you are under 16 years old, you will only be added to the full register.
Your details on the full register can only be used for: 

• election reasons. This includes elections staff and registered politicians and campaigners
• detecting crime
• calling people for jury service
• checking credit applications

If your details appearing on either type of register might be a risk to your safety, or the safety of someone you live with, you might be able to apply to vote anonymously. 

You can’t check online to see if you’re registered to vote, but if you have any questions about the electoral register or registering to vote, you should contact your electoral registration office. They’ll be happy to help.

If you’re not registered, you can’t vote. It’s as simple as that.

Register to vote now

You can register to vote if you’ll be 17 by 30 November that year. You can start to vote when you turn 18.

Luckily, you don’t need to register before every election. 
You need to register if:

• you’ve never registered to vote before 
• you’ve just become old enough to register 

You need to register to vote again if:

• you’ve moved house recently 
• you’ve changed your name for any reason
• you’re invited to register to vote by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland

A little while after you’ve registered, you’ll appear on the electoral register. This is a list of everyone in your area who is registered to vote. It’s managed by the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.

You can choose for your contact details, including your name and address, to be on the edited register or the full register.

If your details are on the edited register, anyone such as businesses and charities can use your information to contact you about their services. If your details are on the full register, your contact details can only be used for:

• election reasons. This includes elections staff and registered politicians and campaigners
• detecting crime
• calling people for jury service
• checking credit applications

If your details appearing on either type of register might be a risk to your safety, or the safety of someone you live with, you might be able to apply to vote anonymously. 
Every 10 years, work is carried out to make sure that the electoral register in Northern Ireland is up to date. This is called the canvass.

All voters are asked to register to vote so their details are accurate.

You can’t check online to see if you’re registered to vote. If you have any questions about the electoral register or registering to vote, contact the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland.

A video by young people at the Democracy Box, our youth voice partner for Wales, 2023.

Visit the Democracy Box’s website.