Register a new party

Overview

You will find information on this page about registering a new political party. If you are looking for guidance for a party that is already registered please see the parties and party officers page.

If you already know what type of party you want to register, go to:

Unsure about the type of party you should register, go to:

What type of party do you want to register?

Looking for background information?

Legislation page for political parties

16 January 2012: Registering a new party for elections on 3 May 2012

If you want to register a new party to contest elections on 3 May 2012 we encourage you to make your application as soon as possible. The deadline for making an application is 23 March 2012 .

We will try to process any applications received after this deadline, but we cannot guarantee that new party applications received after the 23 March will be processed before the register is frozen.

If you would like to talk to us about a new party registration you can contact us on 020 7271 0616 or pef@electoralcommission.org.uk.

What type of party do you want to register?

We register two types of party: a registered political party and a minor party.

Registering a political party

A registered political party can apply to be registered on the Great Britain (GB) register, the Northern Ireland (NI) register, or both registers. Parties on the GB register also select which parts of GB they want to be registered in. Parties can choose a combination of England, Scotland and Wales.

Want more information on registering a political party?

Introduction to registering a political party (PDF)

Want to be able to see all of the available guidance and forms for registering a political party?

Political party - registration and maintaining details

Registering a minor party

A minor party is registered on the Great Britain register, but it can only contest parish council elections in England and community council elections in Wales. Registration as a minor party can also protect a party's name in Scotland.

If you set up a minor party you will not have to submit as much information to us when applying to register, or be subject to the same degree of financial controls, compared to a registered political party.

Want more information on registering a minor party?