Running electoral registration - England

Acceptable document types for the exceptions process

In all cases the documents required to successfully establish an applicant’s identity should refer to the applicant by name. The types and quantities of documents required to successfully establish an applicant’s identity are as follows:

any one document from table 1
one document from table 2 and two additional documents from either table 2 or table 3
four documents from table 3

Table 1: Primary identification documents1
Document	Notes
the applicant’s passport	Any current passport
the applicant’s identity card issued in the European Economic Area	Must be valid
the applicant’s biometric immigration document issued in the United Kingdom in accordance with regulations made under section 5 of the Borders Act 20072	Must be valid
the applicant’s electoral identity card issued in Northern Ireland	Must be valid
the applicant’s photocard driving licence granted in the United Kingdom or driving licence granted by a Crown Dependency, which bears a photograph of the applicant	Must be valid (full or provisional)

Table 2: Trusted Government Documents3
Document	Notes
the applicant’s birth certificate	Issued in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies only
the applicant’s marriage or civil partnership certificate	Issued in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies only
the applicant’s adoption certificate	Issued in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies only
the applicant’s firearms certificate granted under the Firearms Act 1968	Issued in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies only
the record of a decision on bail made in respect of the applicant in accordance with section 5(1) of the Bail Act 1976	Issued in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies only
the applicant’s driving licence, which is not in the form of a photocard	Issued in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies only
the applicant’s driving licence, granted other than in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies, which bears a photograph of the applicant	Must be valid for at least 12 months from the date the applicant entered the United Kingdom

Table 3: Financial and Social History Documents4
Document	Notes	Issue Date and Validity
Mortgage Statement	UK, Crown Dependencies or EEA	Issued in the last 12 months
Bank or Building Society Statement	UK, Crown Dependencies or EEA	Issued in the last 3 months
Bank or Building Society account opening confirmation letter	UK and Crown Dependencies	Issued in the last 3 months
Credit card statement	UK, Crown Dependencies or EEA	Issued in the last 3 months
Financial statement, e.g. pension or endowment	UK, Crown Dependencies or EEA	Issued in the last 12 months
Council Tax statement	UK and Crown Dependencies	Issued in the last 12 months
Utility Bill – not mobile phone bill	UK and Crown Dependencies	Issued in the last 3 months
P45 or P60 statement	UK and Crown Dependencies	Issued in the last 12 months
Benefit statement e.g. Child Benefit, Pension	UK and Crown Dependencies	Issued in the last 3 months
Central or local government, government agency, or local council document giving entitlement, e.g. from DWP, Job Centre Plus, HMRC	UK and Crown Dependencies	Issued in the last 3 months

For information on the document retention period for documents received as part of an application, including under the exceptions process and for what should be reflected in your document retention policy see our guidance on document retention.

We have produced template notices and letters which you may use when undertaking the exceptions process.

Diweddarwyd ddiwethaf: 25 Chwefror 2026