EA Bulletin: 406 England

Following the publication of the Invitation to Register (ITR) forms in 2024, we received significant feedback regarding the length of the forms and wording of the question relating to the applicant’s nationalit(y/ies). As a result, we have thoroughly reviewed our forms and made a number of edits. We have addressed the significant concerns regarding the length of the form.  

A summary of changes

The forms have gone from 6 to 4 pages. To do this, we have made the following changes:

• The forms now have a smaller section dedicated to the Historical Residency Question (HRQ) with the eligibility criteria explained on the letter template page.  
• The wording that preceded the immigration question has been removed and should therefore address the issue of applicants not completing their nationality status.
• The forms can now be printed in either a single sheet A4 layout (4 sides of A4) or A3 booklet (1 sheet A3 folded to make A4 booklet)

As mentioned in bulletin 396 England these forms are prescribed in law, and as such both the content and the layout must not be changed by EROs, Local Authorities or parties.  

A sample of the updated ITR forms can be viewed here to give you early sight of the form content prior to us completing and publishing all versions of the forms by late February. This prior notice is also to allow you to agree templates with external printers, if necessary.  

The forms and letters will also be shared with EMS suppliers to support their preparation for the implementation of the updated forms. The sample forms are watermarked and should not be used to submit applications. The current versions can still be accepted until the updated versions are finally published.  

The full set of updated ITR forms will be published on our webpage, by the end of February. We will continue to keep you updated via our bulletin articles.

We are currently recruiting to the Electoral Registration Guidance Manager position in our Guidance Team. This flexible post is either London office or home based. 

The closing date for applications is 12 noon, Tuesday, 4 February 2025.  If you would like an informal discussion about this role, please contact Charlene Hannon, Head of Guidance on [email protected] . For further information or to apply, please visit the recruitment page of our website.

At the beginning of this month, we launched our RO and CRO pre-polls surveys for the May 2025 polls. Thank you to those who have already completed the surveys.

We appreciate that there is still some uncertainty in the electoral sector around the May 2025 polls. Until we understand more about the government’s plans, we will continue to operate on the basis that the 2025 elections will take place as normal. Therefore, we still need to collect this information as we usually would.

If you haven’t already completed the survey, our regional teams will be in contact with you to let you know that the new deadline for completion is Friday 31 January 2025.    

If you are an RO or CRO and have not received an email with a link to the survey or have any questions regarding the surveys, please do not hesitate to contact us at [email protected] .