Four things you need to know for polling day

You can enter your postcode into our search to check where your polling station is.

It might not be the closest one to where you live, and it might have changed since the last time you voted. You have to go to your allocated polling station, and you can't go to a different one close to where you work, for example.

Your polling station will also be on your poll card, which you’ll receive through the post a few weeks before polling day.

Sometimes polling stations are in village halls or libraries, but they can also be in buildings like pubs, museums or even hairdressers.

To vote at a polling station at these elections in England, you will need to bring photo ID.

The staff at the polling station will:

• check that you’re on the electoral register
• check that your photo ID is accepted, and that it looks like you
• cross your name off the register, and give you your ballot paper or papers (you might have more than one ballot paper if there is more than one election taking place in your local area on the same day)

You can use your passport or driving licence, or one of the other accepted forms of photo ID, such as a blue badge or an Older Person’s Bus Pass funded by the Government of the United Kingdom. If you applied before the deadline, you can take your Voter Authority Certificate with you.

Check the full list of accepted forms of photo ID.

You can also find out more about the process and answers to questions you might have.

Polling stations will be open from 7am to 10pm on Thursday 4 May.

You can go to vote at any time polling stations are open. If it’s busy at the end of the day, you’ll still be able to vote as long as you joined the queue before 10pm.

Did you know? You can take your completed postal vote ballot pack to your polling station or your local council office on polling day, if you didn’t post it in time.

If you're not sure what to do, or need any help, just ask the staff at the polling station. They will be happy to assist you.

There are a number of things at the polling station to help you cast your vote, including a large print sample ballot paper, and a tactile voting device to help if you have a visual impairment.

If you want to, you can take your phone into the polling booth to use magnifier or text-to-speech apps, or the phone torch to improve lighting. When using your phone, don’t take any photos inside the polling station, as you might accidentally reveal how someone has voted.  

You can also ask polling station staff to help you, or you can bring anyone 18 or over with you to help you cast your vote. They don’t need to be eligible to vote in that election.