Home movers

Don’t forget your furniture, your pets… or your right to vote!

If you’ve just moved house, you will need to register to vote again, and it's incredibly important that you do, otherwise you may not be able to vote! So while you’re unpacking your fridge and updating your TV licence, take a few minutes to ensure you’re registered to vote.

The electoral register is maintained by local electoral registration offices, and they use the register to issue ballot papers at elections. So you need to make sure you’ve updated them when you move, even if you’re still within the same local authority area. You can fill in the registration form on this site, then you just need to print it, sign it, and send it back to the electoral registration office for your area. You can get their postal address and other contact details by entering your postcode on this site.

Register to vote as soon as possible! You might not think there’s a rush, but elections can be called at any time and at short notice, so make sure you’re registered so you can have your say.

Between mid-August and November each year annual canvass registration forms are delivered to every house in Great Britain (there is no annual canvass in Northern Ireland). If you’ve just moved house at this time, you’ll probably find that the form you receive has the details of the old occupants. Its important to update the form with your details and send it back to your local electoral registration office as soon as you can.

If you move house between December and May, it might be even more important to register as you may have missed the annual canvass – and remember that most elections take place in May. If you’ve missed the annual canvass, don’t worry – you can register at any time of year just by filling in a registration form on this site and sending it back to your local electoral registration office.  But be aware, the deadline for registering before an election is 11 working days before election day, so don’t leave it too late or you won’t be able to vote!

Want further information on registration or voting? Have a look at our Frequently Asked Questions.