Electoral Registration

Who can see your name and address on the electoral register?

New laws have been brought in to restrict the ways in which the electoral register can be used.

From now on you can choose not to have your name shown on the register that is sold to the public and to mailing firms.

The Electoral Registration Officer makes and keeps 2 versions of the Electoral Register, the full and the edited.

The full register lists everyone entitled to vote. It can be checked at our office by prior appointment. Only certain people and organisations can have copies of the full register and they can only use it for specified purposes.

These include electoral purposes (including use by candidates and political parties), for law enforcement and also for use by credit reference agencies (so they can confirm you live where you say you do). The law says who can have a copy and what they can use it for.

The edited register leaves out the names and addresses of people who have asked for them to be excluded from the edited register. The edited register can be bought by anyone who asks for a copy and they can use it for any purpose.

Anyone can inspect a copy of the full register at the Civic Centre under supervision, but they would have to know your address to be able to find your name. It would be very difficult for them to find your address by just knowing your name.

It is against the law for anyone to use the full electoral register for any purpose not provided for within the Representation of the People (Amended) Regulations 2002.