Help and Information for users of the Voter Registration Service

  1. What are the two versions of the register?
    • The Electoral Registration Officer makes and keeps two versions of the Electoral Register - the full register and the edited register.

      • The full register

    • The full register lists the name and address of everyone who is registered to vote. The council holds a copy. Anyone can look at it, but it is a criminal offence to supply or use copies for purposes other than those set down in law.
      More information is available from the Electoral Commission website www.aboutmyvote.co.uk and specific information about postal voting is available at http://www.aboutmyvote.co.uk/how_do_i_vote/voting_by_post.aspx
    • The main use of the full register is to show who can vote in elections and referendums. Credit reference agencies can use it, but only to check your name and address if you are applying for credit and for other purposes specified by law. It can also be used for law enforcement.

      • The edited register

    • The edited register is available for general sale and can be used for any purpose. The edited register can be bought by any person, company or organisation and can be used for commercial activities such as marketing. If you want to opt out of having your details appear on the edited register, please indicate this in your registration. The front page of the site states whether this service is available to you. If it is not please amend the optout status on your registration form and return it by post. You must also ask each person named on the form if they want to opt out of the edited register.
  2. Why can I not amend the details of my household online?
    • Government legislation requires that any changes you need to make to your household (other than excluding household members from the Edited Register – see above), must be supported by a written signature and therefore you are required to return the Electoral Registration form to your local authority.
  3. Nationalities who are eligible to register.
    • Citizens of the following EU and Commonwealth countries, who are resident in the UK, may register to vote:
      • European Union
        Austria Belgium Bulgaria Cyprus Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland
        France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania
        Luxemburg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Slovakia Slovenia
        Spain Sweden United Kingdom
      • Commonwealth
        Antigua and Barbuda Australia The Bahamas Bangladesh Barbados Belize Botswana Brunei Darussalam
        Cameroon Canada Cyprus Dominica Fiji Islands The Gambia Ghana Grenada
        Guyana India Jamaica Kenya Kiribati Lesotho Malawi Malaysia
        Maldives Malta Mauritius Mozambique Namibia Nauru New Zealand Nigeria
        Pakistan Papua New Guinea Rwanda St Kitts & Nevis St Lucia St Vincent & The Grenadines Samoa Seychelles
        Sierra Leone Singapore Solomon Islands South Africa Sri Lanka Swaziland United Republic of Tanzania Tonga
        Trinidad & Tobago Tuvalu Uganda United Kingdom Vanuatu Zambia Zimbabwe
  4. I am having technical problems.
    • There may be a local connectivity problem – are you actually connected? Check if you can connect to www.google.co.uk or www.microsoft.com. Many problems are solved if you simply stop and restart your browser, or in more serious cases you may need to reboot your PC.
  5. The internet system won't accept my Security Code or Postcode.
    • Make sure you are entering it correctly; there are 6 numeric digits for "Part One" and 4 numeric digits for "Part Two". These must be entered without spaces into the appropriate textboxes.
      The postcode entered must be the same as the one printed on your registration form. It can be entered with or without spaces in upper or lower case e.g. N8 0NW is the same as n80nw. Make sure you are not confusing 1 with I, or 0 with O. If there is no postcode printed on your form, email your details to the Technical support address below.
  6. The internet system says I've already registered.
    • If someone from the household has already registered, either by phone or internet or SMS (if your local authority is using this service), then the system will prevent anyone else using the same Security Code to log in. Perhaps a friend or relative may have already registered on your behalf?
  7. I have more than one property to register.
    • When you have completed each registration, the internet address from the form must be entered into your browser again. (You may be able to select the address from the drop-down box in your browser address bar.) Pages that your browser may have stored from previous registrations should not be re-used.
  8. I encountered an error OR my internet connection was interrupted during registration, has my registration been recorded?
    • Try logging in again, if the registration was recorded properly the system won't let you in again; if it wasn't, the system will let you in.
  9. I entered my email address but I have not received confirmation that my registration is complete
    • The system is configured to send confirmation emails in batches, rather than immediately after each registration, and it may take several hours before your email is sent.
    • You may have entered an incorrect email address, or there may be other problems beyond our control, such as if your email provider is experiencing technical difficulties, or if you are using mail filtering software this may wrongly identify the confirmation email as unsolicited email or spam.
    • Note that the registration may be complete even if the email confirmation fails to be delivered. Try logging in again, if the registration was recorded properly the system won't let you in again; if it wasn't, the system will let you in.
  10. I am a visually impaired or disabled internet user and require special software or tools to browse the internet. Is the website compatible with my system?
    • We have tested the website on a wide range of different browsers, and incorporated principles of accessibility into the website design wherever possible without compromising the required functionality and security. Thus we have tried to make the website as usable and accessible as possible, but please let us know if you encounter problems and we will investigate them.
  11. How can I ensure that my personal details are kept secure while using this service?

    ERS has physical security in our facilities to protect against the loss, theft, misuse, or alteration of information. There are also different layers of security implemented throughout our website platform, for example hardware and application firewalls; intrusion detection systems; and SSL encryption. You should also take the following steps yourself to further safeguard your personal data:

    • Keep your Registration Form safe at least until you have registered - it has a Security Code printed on it which is used to enter the website.
    • Don't leave your computer unattended when it is switched on.
    • If you use a shared computer ensure that you close the browser after use.
    • Use anti-virus and firewall software to protect your computer, and be sure to keep your anti-virus software regularly updated.
    • Don't open e-mail attachments or click links in email messages from people you don't know.

Technical support