How do I register to vote?

Millions of voters across England, Scotland and Wales are heading to the polls on 7 May. Depending where you are, you might be voting to elect your local council members, a new mayor, members of the Welsh Senedd, or Scottish Parliament.

But if you're going to vote, you need to make sure you are registered. The deadline for registering to vote has passed but there's still time to apply for a postal or proxy vote.

Here's what you need to know about how and when you register to vote.

You can still register to vote for future elections

Registering only takes a few minutes if you do it online. It’s the same process whether you plan to vote in person at a polling station, by post, or through a proxy voter.

Go to the gov.uk website and fill out the form. You'll need your National Insurance number and current address details to hand.

If you can't provide your NI number you can still complete the online form but you'll need to provide documents like a passport or utility bill to your local electoral registration office before you're properly registered.

Check you are old enough to register or vote

A dachshund stands in front of a polling station sign

In England and Northern Ireland, you can register to vote when you’re 16 but you currently need to be 18 on polling day to vote. There are no elections taking place in Northern Ireland this year though.

In Scotland and Wales it's different: you can register to vote from 14 and vote in this year's elections if you are at least 16 on polling day. At the moment, you still need to be 18 to vote in the Westminster elections.

Some people are legally excluded from voting - this includes most convicted prisoners serving a sentence, or peers in the House of Lords.

Even if you’ve voted before, you might need to register again

If you’ve moved address, changed your nationality, or changed your name for any reason, you will need to register to vote again.

If you previously registered for a postal or proxy vote you may need to register to vote again as the rules have changed.

Some people can register at two addresses

If you're a student or otherwise spend a lot of time between two addresses you can be registered to vote at both. You can then vote twice on 7 May, as long as they are in different elections.

For example, you can vote at both addresses if they are in two different council areas, or one address is in Wales and another address is in Scotland.

It is illegal to vote twice in the same election, such as being registered at two addresses in Wales and using those addresses to vote twice in the Welsh Senedd election.

Read more about voting as a student or at two addresses on the Electoral Commission website.

You may be able to register to vote if you’re from another country

You can vote if you are a UK, Irish or a qualifying Commonwealth citizen.

Some European citizens can also register to vote but cannot vote in general elections, only local elections.

People living abroad can register as an overseas voter

If you’re a UK citizen abroad, you can register using the same online form but be ready to give extra information about where and when you last lived in the UK and your passport details.

You don’t have to vote in person

If you can’t get to a polling station on 7 May or you don’t want to, you can register for a postal vote or a proxy vote. But you must be registered to vote first.

A postal vote means you can send your vote in by post ahead of polling day, and a proxy vote means someone else votes for you on the day.

There are separate deadlines if you can’t vote in person on 7 May

If you want to vote by post, then you need to submit an application online or by post before 17:00 BST on Tuesday 21 April. You can find all the relevant details on the gov.uk website.

If you’d rather vote by proxy, meaning someone else will vote for you, you need to be registered for a proxy vote before 17:00 BST on Tuesday 28 April. The person voting for you must also already be registered to vote.

There’s also a deadline to apply for free voter ID

Remember, you’ll need to show photo ID when voting in person in England on 7 May, but not in Scotland and Wales. So bring it with you to the polling station! You can use a passport, driving licence, or more than 20 other forms of ID to prove your identity.

If you want to apply for free voter ID, the deadline to apply for the Voter Authority Certificate is 17:00 BST on Tuesday 28 April.

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