How to register and vote at elections

You can register to vote if

You can register to vote if you are:

• 16 years old or over (you can only vote once you are 18)
• living at an address in Wiltshire
• You are a British or Irish citizen 

You can also register if you have permission to enter or stay in the UK, Channel Islands or Isle of Man 

or 

You do not need permission and you are a:

• Commonwealth citizen 
• citizen of Denmark, Luxembourg, Poland, Portugal or Spain 
• citizen of another EU country if you have had permission to enter or stay, or not needed permission since 31 December 2020 and this has continued without a break.

Special arrangements for registering to vote

Information on how to vote if you are in any of the following circumstances:

• You are a student and you have two addresses (opens new window)
• You live or work abroad (opens new window)
• if you're in the armed forces (opens new window)
• if you are a Crown servants and British Council employees (opens new window)
• if you have no fixed address (opens new window)
• if you're a prisoner on remand (opens new window)
• anonymously (opens new window) if you're in danger

More details about registering to vote can be found on Electoral commission: voter (opens new window).

Register to vote (opens new window)

After you've applied

We will confirm that your electoral registration has been successful by email or by post. If we need further information to complete your application or we cannot verify your application because you have not provided your national insurance number or birth date we will contact you to request this information.

To verify your identity, you may be asked to provide evidence such as a passport, driving licence or utility bill. This is known as documentary evidence.

Electoral Registration deadlines

Rolling registration means that you can register to vote at any time of the year.

If you wish to register to vote for an election in your area you can register up to 12 working days before polling day to be included on the register.

Outside of elections the electoral register is published on the first working day of the month.

The Electoral Register and the Open Register 

There are 2 kinds of electoral register. The Electoral Register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote and it is only used for voting and The Open Register for details of these registers, see The electoral register explained.

Public inspection of the Electoral Register

Anyone is able to go and view the paper copy of the current electoral register and its subsequent updates. Registers are available for inspection under supervision at our three main Council offices: 

• County Hall, Trowbridge, BA14 8JN
• Bourne Hill, Salisbury, SP1 3UZ
• Monkton Mark, Chippenham, SN15 1ER