To vote in an election in the United Kingdom your name must be included on the electoral register being used for that particular election.
You must also fulfil at least one of the following criteria:
- you must be eighteen years or over on the day of the election
- you are a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen
- you or your spouse are a member of HM Forces
- you are a crown servant employed outside of the UK
- you are a citizen of a non-Commonwealth European Union member state (eligible for local and european parliamentary elections only)
- you are an overseas elector (eligible for parliamentary elections only)
Non-permanent UK residents
Anyone without a permanent address can register to vote in the area where they spend a substantial part of their time, even if that is not a permanent residential address. You need a special form to do this.
The Electoral Services Office can send you a form, or you can collect one from the office if you do not have a postal address.
If you are a British citizen living overseas you may be eligible to register for voting in parliamentary and European parliamentary elections held in the UK.
Overseas citizens and members of HM Forces can get further information about overseas registration and can download an overseas registration form from the About my vote website.
