Every British, Republic of Ireland and qualifying Commonwealth citizen over 18 years of age. (A person who is a Commonwealth citizen is a qualifying Commonwealth citizen for registration purposes if they do not require leave to remain in the UK or they do require leave to remain in the UK but have not been granted such leave or are treated as having been granted such leave).

You must be on the electoral register to be able to vote in an election.

The electoral register is the list of everyone who is registered to vote in a council area. You must be on the electoral register to vote at elections, and not being on the register can also affect your credit rating. You are not automatically registered, even if you pay council tax.

Electoral registration takes place on a local basis by each local council electoral registration office. You may have moved house or perhaps are unsure if you are registered. You can check this by contacting the Elections Office on 0300 300 8008.

There are two versions of the register - the full version and the edited version. Your details will appear on the full version of the register, but you can choose whether or not your details appear on the edited register by ticking the 'opt out' box on your registration form. The full register is used for elections, preventing and detecting crime, and checking applications for credit. The edited register is available for general sale and can be used for commercial activities such as marketing.

Call the Elections Office on 0300 300 8008 to check whether you are registered. If you are not registered we can provide you with a form to register for future elections.

• You are required to do so by law
• If you do not register, then you cannot exercise your right to vote in any election or referendum
• It is much harder to obtain credit if you are not on the Register of Electors
  

No, electoral registration is a separate process performed by the elections office. There are different requirements to be registered to vote.

The register of electors is often used by credit reference agencies to counteract fraud.  If you have been told by a bank or credit reference agency that you have been denied credit because they are unable to verify your details on the register of electors, you will need to contact the Electoral Services team on 0300 300 8008 to confirm that you are registered. 

Sometimes the records maintained by credit reference agencies are not up to date.  They should be able to supply you with a copy of your record so that you can check the details.

If you are not registered as an elector then the Electoral Services team will be able to provide the necessary forms or you can download them from the CBC website. Please note that you are not automatically included on the electoral register if you are paying council tax.

Students are entitled to register at both their home address and their university (term time) address if it is a different electoral area.

It is an offence to vote more than once in a national election - this includes the General Election.

Yes, you can make a 'declaration of local connection'.

Please contact the Elections Office on 0300 300 8008 for more information about registering for future elections.

It is now possible for certain vulnerable electors to register anonymously. Electors who feel that their safety may be at risk by registering in the normal way should contact the Electoral Registration Office for further information.