Requirement to show ID at polling stations

Voters in England, Scotland and Wales need to show photo ID to vote at polling stations in some elections.

This applies to:

• UK General elections
• Local elections and by-elections in England
• Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales
• UK parliamentary by-elections
• Recall petitions

Voters in Wales do not need to show photo ID to vote at a polling station at Senedd elections or local council elections.

Voters in Scotland do not need to show photo ID at Scottish Parliament elections or at council elections.

If voters don't have accepted photo ID, they can apply for a free voter ID document, which is known as a Voter Authority Certificate.

Voters in Northern Ireland have been required to show ID when voting since 1985, and photo ID since 2002. The new requirement does not change this.

Support to voters 

As part of our duty to inform voters about democracy and elections, we are responsible for making sure that voters know they need to bring an accepted photo ID to vote. 

We launched a new public awareness campaign in January 2024 in England and Wales for the May 2024 local elections in England, and for the Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales. Building on the campaign in England from last year, it explains that voters need to show an accepted form of photo ID in polling stations, and the types of photo ID they can use. It also explains how and when voters can apply for the free Voter Authority Certificate, if they do not have an accepted form of ID.

Although there are no elections in May in Scotland, we are running a public awareness campaign urging Scottish voters to make sure they are ready for changes to how to vote at UK Parliament elections.

We will run our campaign in advance of the UK parliamentary general election.

We work closely with civil society organisations to produce tailored resources for voters who we know are less likely to have the ID they need to vote.

Support to local authorities

We provided updated guidance and resources to support electoral administrators to deliver the new voter ID requirement. Our guidance includes how to manage and process applications for the Voter Authority Certificate, and procedures for polling station staff to follow. 

We are also supporting local authority communications teams by providing a range of resources, such as template press releases and social media content, to help them to raise awareness of voter ID with their residents.

Political parties

We used a variety of channels to ensure that political parties and campaigners are aware of the new voter ID requirement, and how voters can apply for the free Voter Authority Certificate. This included updates to the code of conduct for campaigners.