Individuals must be on a UK electoral register at the time of the donation.1
This includes overseas electors.
How do you check permissibility?
You can use the electoral register to check if an individual is permissible. Candidates and their agents are entitled to a free copy of the full electoral register in the run-up to an election.2
You must only use the register for checking if a donor is permissible or other electoral purposes. You must not pass it on to anyone else.3
You should contact the electoral registration department at the local council or the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland (EONI) as appropriate, in writing for your copy, explaining that you are asking for it as a candidate at an election or as the election agent on behalf of the candidate.4
You should also ask them to send you all the updates to the register. This is important because an elector may be removed from the register and so at the time of making the donation not be a permissible donor. You will receive the register in electronic form unless you request a printed version of the register.5
You can find contact details for local councils through our postcode search.
You must check the register and updates carefully to make sure that the person is on the register on the date you received the donation.
In special circumstances, people have an anonymous registration. If the individual is anonymously registered, you must provide a statement that you have seen evidence that they have an anonymous entry on the register.6
Evidence will be in the form of a certificate of anonymous registration. You must submit a copy of the certificate with this statement alongside your spending return.7
What information must you record?
You must record:
the full name of the donor
the address as it is shown on the electoral register, or if the person is an overseas elector, their home address (whether in the UK or elsewhere)8
You may find it helpful to note the donor’s electoral number as a record of your checks.