To vote in an election in the United Kingdom your name must be included on the electoral register.
In order to be included in the electoral register you must:
- be aged 16 years or over (although you can only vote in elections from the date of your eighteenth birthday)
- be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen
- be a citizen of a European Union country (eligible for local and European parliamentary elections only)
- be resident at an address in the authority’s area
Special registration arrangements are in place for:
- British citizens living overseas (eligible for parliamentary elections only)
- Members of HM Forces and their spouses
- Crown servants and British Council employees posted outside of the UK
- Patients in mental hospitals
- Prisoners on remand
- Persons with no fixed abode
- Residents on boats without permanent moorings
- Electors who qualify to register anonymously
