Guidance for Returning Officers administering Local Government Elections in England

Candidates are required to complete a home address form. It must be delivered by hand by the close of nominations. The form is not prescribed but the information that needs to be provided is set out in law.1

On the home address form the candidate must state:

• their full name 
• their home address in full
• their qualifying address, or, where they have declared on their consent to nomination that they meet more than one qualification, their qualifying addresses
• which of the qualifications their qualifying address or addresses relate to
• the full name and the home address in full of the witness to the consent to nomination form 

The candidate’s home address:

• must be completed in full
• must not contain abbreviations
• must be their current home address 
• must not be a business address (unless the candidate runs a business from their home)

If any detail of the home address is wrong or omitted, the nomination is not automatically invalid if the description of the place is such as to be commonly understood.

The Commission has produced a home address form as part of its set of nomination papers that you can use to provide to candidates and agents.

The home address form is available for inspection by a limited number of people. Further information can be found in our guidance on the inspection of the home address form.

Candidates who don’t want their home address published

A candidate may choose for their home address not to be published on the statement of persons nominated or the ballot paper. 

In this case the home address form will contain, as well as the full name and home address:2

• a statement, signed by the candidate, which states that they require their home address not to be made public 
• if their home address is in the UK, the name of the relevant area in which their home address is situated 
• if their home address is outside of the UK, the name of the country in which their home address is situated 

If the candidate chooses not to have their home address appear on the statement of persons nominated and the ballot paper, the relevant area in which the candidate’s home address is situated or, if they live outside the UK, the country in which they live must be printed instead.

If by the close of nominations more than one validly nominated candidate has asked for their home address not to be published, you must consider if two or more of them have the same or so similar a name that they are likely to cause confusion. If you consider that this is the case, you may add such details from their home address or nomination form as you consider appropriate to reduce the likelihood of confusion.3
   
Before you make a decision on which details should be included, you must consult the candidate(s) affected, if it is practicable to do so. You must then give notice in writing to the affected candidate(s) informing them of the additional information that will be published.

Meaning of qualifying address and relevant area

Qualifying address means:

• where a candidate has selected option (a) on the consent to nomination, the address in full where they are registered as a local government elector
• where they have selected option (b) on the consent to nomination, the description and the address of that land or premises which they have occupied as owner or tenant
• where they have selected option (c) on the consent to nomination, the address of their place of work 
• where they have selected option (d) on the consent to nomination, the address or addresses in full of where they have resided.

Relevant area means:

For home addresses in England:

• if the address is within a district for which there is a district council, that district;
• if the address is within a county in which there are no districts with councils, that county;
• if the address is within a London borough, that London borough;
• if the address is within the City of London (including the Inner and Middle Temples), the City of London; and
• if the address is within the Isles of Scilly, the Isles of Scilly. 

For home addresses in Wales:

• if the address is within a county, that county;
• if the address is within a county borough, that county borough.

For home addresses in Scotland:

• the local government area in which the address is situated.

For home addresses in Northern Ireland:

• the local government district in which the address is situated.