About the electoral register

In England, every Council is required to appoint an Electoral Registration Officer who is responsible for compiling and maintaining the register. Mike Gravatt, Assistant Director of Resources (Corporate Services) holds this post in this borough.

Using information received from the public, registration officers keep two registers – the electoral register and the open register (also known as the Edited Register).

What it is

The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections.

The register is used for electoral purposes – such as making sure only eligible people can vote – and for other limited purposes specified in law. The personal data in the register must always be processed in line with data-protection legislation.

You can apply for anonymous registration if your safety would be at risk if the register of electors contained your name or address.

Who uses the electoral register?

Election staff, political parties, candidates and holders of elected office use the register for electoral purposes.
Your local council and the British Library hold copies that anyone may look at under supervision. A copy is also held by the Electoral Commission, the Boundary Commissions (which set constituency boundaries for most elections) and the Office for National Statistics.
The council can use the register for duties relating to security, enforcing the law and preventing crime. The police and the security services can also use it for law enforcement.
The register is used when calling people for jury service.
Government departments may buy the register from local registration officers and use it to help prevent and detect crime. They can also use it to safeguard national security by checking the background of job applicants and employees.
Credit reference agencies can buy the register. They help other organisations to check the names and addresses of people applying for credit. They also use it to carry out identity checks when trying to prevent and detect money laundering.

It is a criminal offence for anyone to supply or use the register for anything else.

View the electoral register

The electoral register is a public document, but it can only be inspected under supervision in person at the Electoral Services Office.

It is not available to view online, however there are certain websites, such as 192 and People Tracer who make use of the information in the open register.

We do not provide any information directly to these websites. If you are concerned about your details appearing on these sites, you should contact them directly.

If you do not want your name and address to appear in the open register, ensure that you opt out when you complete your registration form.

Open register

The open register is an extract of the Register of Electors, but it is not used for elections. It can be bought by any person, company or organisation.