Guidance for Returning Officers administering Local Government Elections in England

Print full guidance

Requests to hold a by-election

Requests to hold a by-election to fill a casual vacancy must be made in writing by two local government electors from within the local authority area.1 The requests do not have to arrive at the same time and can be in any form, for example, letter, fax or email, and do not necessarily have to be signed. They can be a request by two electors, or two separate requests from individual electors in the local authority area.

There is no need for electors to wait for the notice of vacancy to be published by the relevant authority before submitting a request for a by-election. Regardless of when the requests arrive, even if they arrive before the notice of vacancy is published, this triggers the start of the election timetable.
 
The requests must be sent to the Proper Officer of the authority and can be inspected by any person once they have been received.

There is no time limit for receiving the requests but, if the required number is not received, the seat will remain vacant.
 

Where a casual vacancy occurs at a parish council, a request for a by-election must be made within 14 working days of the publication of the notice of vacancy by ten electors from within the relevant electoral area (i.e. from the parish area or from the ward if the parish council is warded). The requests from the ten electors may be submitted together, separately, or a combination of the two.
 
Requests for by-elections for a parish council must be made to the Proper Officer of the relevant district or unitary council in England.2
 
Subject to the six month rule, if the required ten requests for a by-election to fill a casual vacancy on a parish council have not been received in the 14 working days after the notice of vacancy has been published, the parish council must fill the vacancy by co-option. This co-option should take place as soon as is practicable after the end of the 14 working day period.3
 
This means that the parish council must, at its next meeting, consider the co-option of a person to the council. There are no set procedures for how a person should be co-opted and the process for this is a matter for the remaining members of the parish council.4 If they do not fill the vacant seat at the next meeting, it should remain a matter of business until the seat has been filled through their chosen co-option process.  

Last updated: 4 November 2022