Register to vote

Registering to vote is quick and simple. You can register online and it should only take five mintues.

Don’t miss your opportunity to vote in elections – make sure you are registered.

You may find it difficult to get credit loans, phone contracts, a mortgage or bank account if you are not on the electoral register.

You can register to vote in elections if you're 16 years old or over (you can't vote until you are 18) and are:

• a UK or Irish citizen
• a citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain
• a citizen of another qualifying EU country
• a qualifying Commonwealth citizen living in the UK

Not all nationalities have the same voting rights and therefore it is important that we have the correct information about you. If you are a former foreign national that has been granted British citizenship, please state British on your application form. 

There are different rules and processes involved if you are living or working abroad.

When you register to vote, you'll need to provide your: 

• National Insurance (NI) number
• date of birth. 

This is so that your identity can be checked and registration approved. If you cannot be verified, we will write to you to explain what to do next. 

You can find your National Insurance number on your NI card, employee payslip or correspondence from HM Revenues and Customs (HMRC). If you can't find your NI number you will need to contact HMRC. 

The registration form will also ask if you wish to be included in the open register, which is an extract of the full electoral register that can be bought by any person, company or organisation.

You will need to register to vote again if you move to a new address within or outside of Brent. 

If you have changed your name or your name has been spelt incorrectly, tell us your new or correct name.

Students may be able to register at home and at their term-time address. So wherever you are on election day, you can vote. You will need to complete a registration form and return it to the electoral registration office at your term-time local council. 

It is a criminal offence to vote twice in a UK general election. Even if you are registered in two areas – at home and at university – you can only vote in one at a general election.

Such an offence could result in a fine of up to £5,000. 

However, if your home and university addresses are in two different local authority areas, you can vote in local elections in both.

You can still register to vote even if you don't have a fixed address. This may be because you're:

• homeless
• remanded in custody
• in a mental health hospital.

To register you will need to fill in a declaration of local connection form

Homeless people: register to vote at the address they commonly spend a substantial part of their time (day or night). You can vote in person or apply to vote by post or by proxy.

Remand prisoners: register to vote at the address of the prison or establishment where they reside, or at the address where they were or would be living if not being held. You can only vote by postal or proxy vote. Convicted persons are not permitted to vote in any election.

Mental health patients: can register at the address of the hospital or establishment where they reside, or at the address where they were or would be living if not a patient. Mental health patients may vote by proxy or a postal vote. Patients who have been given permission to leave the hospital on a temporary basis may also vote in person.

What you need to know

When we receive your form, we will add you to the list of new applications.

Any person may object to your name being added to the electoral register and if this happens we will write to you and tell you.

If your application is not objected to within five working days of receipt, we will add your name to the register and write to you to confirm that your name has been added.

Once an application has been approved:

• separate applications must be submitted to us to vote by post or proxy
• it must be renewed every year - we will send you a form to do this.

You can register to vote anonymously if you feel your safety would be at risk because your name and address were listed on the electoral register.

This is also available to other members of your household.

To apply for anonymous registration, you must give the reasons why you feel you would be at risk and support these with a court order or testimony by a specific, qualified individual such as a chief police officer or director of social services.

You must also meet the normal voter registration requirements.

Contact us for more information or an application form to register to vote anonymously.

Every year, by law, we carry out an annual canvas to ensure that the electoral register is up to date.

As part of this we must contact every property to find out if there are any changes to the household so we can remove the details of people who no longer live there and invite new occupants to register individually. This will take place from July to the end of November in readiness for the publication of the Register of Electors on 1 December.

Emails and paper forms have been sent out to every residential property in Brent.

Please check these communications carefully; instructions will be provided where a response is necessary.

If we do not receive a response to these communications, we will send a member of staff to visit the property to obtain a household response. Personal visits will take place from September to November. Our staff will always be wearing a Brent issued Staff ID, which you should ask to see before giving out any information.

Email

If we hold an email address for you, we may send you an email to ask you to confirm that the details we hold for the property are correct or make changes as necessary. The email you will receive will come from: electoral.services@brent.gov.uk

If you need to make any changes, you can do this online at www.registersecurely.com/brent

You will need your unique two-part security code from the email.

Paper Forms

We will also be sending out paper forms to some properties. Detailed instructions on what action you need to take are on the form.

If a response is required, this can be done online at www.registersecurely.com/brent

You will need your unique two-part security code.

Where a response is required, please make sure that you respond to it as soon as you can, even if there are no changes, the property is empty or you are nobody is eligible to register to vote. It is a legal requirement and you can be fined up to £1000 for not doing so. This will also help us save money as if you do not respond we are required to send you a reminder form or send a canvasser to your property to obtain this information. 

Please note that these forms are not registration forms, they are to collect information only.

Anyone added to the details pre-printed on the form will also need to register individually online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

Registering to vote means you have a right to vote in elections and can also improve your credit rating.