Who can vote — and how?
The nutshell
Voting has a few rules. A voter must be 18 or over, live in the UK, and be signed up to vote first. Then a vote can be cast at a polling station, by post, or through a trusted stand-in.
Everything on this page comes from the official election rules. Every source tag — like EC — opens where a fact comes from.
The basics
Who can vote
A UK general election picks the MPs who sit in Parliament. To vote in one, a person must be 18 or over on polling day, the day the vote is held.EC
That person must also be a British, Irish or qualifying Commonwealth citizen and live at a UK address. A qualifying Commonwealth citizen is someone with permission to live in the UK.EC
Getting on the register
Being on the electoral register is the first step. The register is the official list of people who are allowed to vote. Getting a name onto it is called registering.GOV
Registering is free. It happens online at GOV.UK, or by post. A person normally registers once, not before every election.
Showing photo ID
Since May 2023, a voter at a polling station in England, Scotland or Wales must show an accepted photo ID, such as a passport or a driving licence. This rule came from the Elections Act 2022. Northern Ireland has needed photo ID for longer.HoC
A voter without an accepted photo ID can apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate.GOV
Ways to vote
There are three ways to cast a vote. The most common is in person at a polling station on election day. A polling station is a local place set up for voting, often a school or a hall.GOV
A vote can also be sent by post. Or it can be cast by proxy, which means a trusted person votes on behalf of the registered voter.
- Photo ID checks that each voter matches the register (UK government)
- Northern Ireland has needed photo ID at elections since 2003 (House of Commons Library)
- A free Voter Authority Certificate covers anyone without accepted ID (Electoral Commission)
- About 16,000 people turned away at the 2024 election did not return to vote (Electoral Commission)
- Proven cases of voting as someone else were already very rare (Electoral Commission)
- The ID rule fell hardest on lower-income voters (Electoral Commission)
The deep end6 min
Different rules for different elections
The rules above are for a UK general election. Some elections use wider rules. In Scotland and Wales, people aged 16 and 17 can vote in Scottish Parliament, Senedd and local council elections. Qualifying foreign nationals living in Scotland or Wales can vote in those elections too.EC
These groups cannot vote in a UK general election, and cannot vote in English local elections. A qualifying foreign national is a citizen of another country who has permission to live in the UK.
Voters living abroad
A British citizen living outside the UK can often still vote in a UK general election. Registering as an overseas voter is needed first.EC
The debate about photo ID
The photo ID rule is the newest and most debated part of voting in person. Supporters, including the UK government that brought in the Elections Act 2022, argue that checking ID protects the vote and matches long-standing practice in Northern Ireland.HoC
Critics point to the 2024 general election, when the Electoral Commission found about 50,000 people were first turned away, and around 16,000 of those voters did not return to vote. The Commission also reported that proven cases of voting as someone else were already very rare, and that the rule affected some groups more than others.HoC
The Electoral Commission has called for changes to make photo ID easier to meet, while keeping the check in place.HoC