How to Vote in the UK: Registration, Photo ID, and Deadlines

To vote in the UK, you need to be on the electoral register, old enough and eligible for the election in question, and — if you’re voting in person in Great Britain — able to show an accepted form of photo ID at the polling station. Everything else is detail: which method you use, which deadlines apply, and what to do if your circumstances are unusual.

Who Can Vote

For a UK general election, you must be at least 18 on polling day, registered to vote, and a British, Irish, or qualifying Commonwealth citizen who is either resident in the UK or registered as an overseas voter.¹ A qualifying Commonwealth citizen is someone who has leave to enter or remain in the UK, or who does not need it.²

The rules loosen for devolved and local elections in Scotland and Wales. The voting age drops to 16 for Scottish Parliament, Senedd, and local council elections, and all foreign nationals with legal residence can vote, including all EU citizens regardless of when they arrived.³⁴

In England and Northern Ireland, EU citizens’ local voting rights depend on when they arrived and their nationality. Those legally resident in the UK on or before 31 December 2020 keep local voting rights so long as their residence has continued unbroken. Those who arrived later need the UK to have a bilateral voting agreement with their home country; a handful of such agreements exist. Irish, Cypriot, and Maltese citizens are treated differently and can vote in all UK elections.²⁴ No other EU citizen can vote in UK general elections, however long they have lived here.

Members of the House of Lords cannot vote in UK parliamentary elections.⁵ Convicted prisoners serving a custodial sentence are barred while detained. People on remand, awaiting sentence, serving a default term for non-payment of a fine, or released on home detention curfew or temporary licence can still vote.

How to Register

Registration is online at gov.uk/register-to-vote. You will need your full name, current address, date of birth, and National Insurance number. You can still register without a National Insurance number, but you may be asked for additional identity documents.⁶ Paper forms are available through your local Electoral Registration Office.

Each election has a registration deadline published on the Electoral Commission website. Miss it and you cannot vote in that election, so check well in advance rather than assuming you are already on the register. If you have moved recently, register again at your new address even if you were registered at your old one.

In England and Wales you can register from age 16, though you cannot vote in most elections until 18. In Scotland and Wales, 16-year-olds can both register and vote in devolved and local elections.²

Photo ID at the Polling Station

Since the Elections Act 2022, voters in Great Britain must show photographic ID before receiving a ballot paper. Northern Ireland has required photo ID since 2003.⁷ Without accepted ID, polling station staff cannot give you a ballot.

Accepted documents include:⁸

A UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, British Overseas Territory, EEA, or Commonwealth passport.
A UK, Channel Islands, Isle of Man, or EEA photocard driving licence, including provisional licences.
An Older Person’s Bus Pass, Disabled Person’s Bus Pass, Freedom Pass, 60+ London Oyster Photocard, Scottish National Entitlement Card, or various Welsh and Northern Irish concessionary travel cards.
A Blue Badge.
A PASS card with the hologram.
A Biometric Immigration Document (including eVisas), Ministry of Defence identity card, EEA national identity card, or Voter Authority Certificate.

It must be the original document, not a photocopy or a phone image. Expired ID is still accepted if the photo is a reasonable likeness of you.⁷

Voter Authority Certificate

If you don’t have any accepted ID, you can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate. It’s a paper document with your photo, used solely for voting.⁹ Applying means uploading a recent digital head-and-shoulders photo similar to a passport photo.¹⁰ Each election has its own certificate deadline, published in advance, and it falls roughly a week before polling day.¹¹

Key Deadlines

Missing a deadline can lock you out of an election. The ones to watch:

Voter registration: published before each election on the Electoral Commission website, typically a few weeks before polling day.
Postal vote application: 5pm, 11 working days before the election.¹²
Proxy vote application: 5pm, 11 working days before the election. Same deadline for changing your proxy or switching voting method.¹³
Voter Authority Certificate: about a week before polling day; the exact date is published for each election.
Returning a postal ballot: must reach the local electoral office or a polling station by 10pm on election day.¹⁴

Voting in Person

Your polling card tells you where your polling station is and its opening hours, usually 7am to 10pm. You don’t strictly need the card itself, but you do need your photo ID. Give your name and address to the staff, who check you against the register. Show your ID, and once confirmed you receive a ballot paper.¹⁵

Take the ballot to a private booth, mark a single cross next to your chosen candidate, fold the paper, and place it in the sealed ballot box. Marking more than one candidate in a single-candidate election, such as a general election, spoils the ballot and it will not be counted.¹⁶

Voting by Post

Postal voting starts with an application through the gov.uk service. You’ll need your National Insurance number (or other identity documents) and a photo of your handwritten signature.¹⁷ You can apply for a one-off postal vote or a longer-term arrangement.

Your postal pack contains a ballot paper, a postal voting statement, and return envelopes. Fill in the ballot in private, then complete the postal voting statement with your signature and date of birth. Omit either and the statement is invalid; your vote will not count.¹⁸ Seal the ballot in the smaller envelope, put that and the statement in the return envelope, and post it back with time to spare. Worried about postal delays? You can hand it in at your polling station by 10pm on polling day or at your local electoral office before it closes.¹⁴

Voting by Proxy

If you can neither vote in person nor by post, you can appoint someone to vote on your behalf. Your proxy attends the polling station, identifies themselves, names the person they’re representing, and marks the ballot for you. Apply by 5pm, 11 working days before the election.¹³

One person can act as proxy for no more than four voters in total, of which no more than two can be domestic electors (that is, voters who are not service personnel or overseas voters).¹⁹

Emergency Proxy Votes

Something unexpected after the normal proxy deadline? You can apply for an emergency proxy up to 5pm on polling day. Qualifying reasons include a medical emergency, being unexpectedly called away for work, or having your photo ID lost, stolen, or destroyed after the Voter Authority Certificate deadline has passed.²⁰ The circumstance must have arisen after the normal proxy deadline; forgetting to apply on time doesn’t qualify.

Voting from Abroad

British citizens living overseas can register as overseas voters for UK general elections. The Elections Act 2022 removed the previous 15-year cap, so it no longer matters how long ago you left.²¹ You must have previously lived in the UK, and you register through the same gov.uk service.²²

Overseas registration must be renewed every three years. You’ll be reminded, but if you miss the renewal you’re removed from the register and have to start again.²² Most overseas voters vote by post or proxy. Overseas voting rights cover UK general elections, not local or devolved ones.

Help at the Polling Station

The Elections Act 2022 placed a duty on Returning Officers to provide reasonable equipment to support disabled voters at polling stations.²³ If a physical disability or visual impairment makes it difficult to mark the ballot yourself, you can ask the presiding officer for help or bring a companion to assist you. If a polling station still isn’t workable for you, you can apply to vote by post or proxy instead.

1
GOV.UK. General Election
2
Electoral Commission. Who Can Vote in UK Elections
3
House of Commons Library. Voting Age
4
House of Commons Library. Can EU Citizens Take Part in UK Elections After Brexit
5
Electoral Commission. UK Parliament
6
GOV.UK. Register to Vote
7
House of Commons Library. Voter ID
8
Electoral Commission. Accepted Forms of Photo ID
9
GOV.UK. Apply for Photo ID to Vote (Called a Voter Authority Certificate)
10
GOV.UK. Application for a Voter Authority Certificate
11
Electoral Commission. Applying for a Voter Authority Certificate
12
Electoral Commission. Postal Voting
13
GOV.UK. Apply for a Proxy Vote
14
GOV.UK. How to Vote – Voting by Post
15
GOV.UK. How to Vote – Voting in Person
16
Electoral Commission. Handbook for Polling Station Staff – Supporting a UK Parliamentary Election in Great Britain
17
GOV.UK. Apply for a Postal Vote
18
Electoral Commission. Postal Voting Statement
19
Electoral Commission. Proxy Voting
20
Electoral Commission. Emergency Proxy Vote
21
UK Parliament. Overseas Voters
22
GOV.UK. Voting if You Move or Live Abroad
23
Electoral Commission. Accessibility of Elections