Register to vote
Who can register?
You must be a British, Irish or Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of a European Union state and a resident in the borough of Swindon.
Although you must be aged 18 years or over to vote, it is possible to register to vote if you are 16 or 17. In this instance your name will be added to the register and shown with the date on which you will be eligible to vote. You will then be able to vote in any election that happens on or after your birthday.
Although no one is obliged to vote, the law does require that a canvass is carried out annually for all properties in the borough of Swindon. The current Register of Electors was published on 1 December 2023.
Individual electoral registration (IER)
Each person applying to be added to the electoral register now needs to provide their National Insurance number and date of birth. If you do not know your National Insurance number or have lost it, visit the GOV.UK website.
This additional identifying information will allow each person's details to be verified against the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) database before they are added to the electoral register.
How to register
Online
It is generally easier and more cost effective to register online via the GOV.UK website. You can also use the GOV.UK website if you have moved house and need to re-register.
By telephone
You can call Customer Services on 01793 464601.
One of our team can start your application to register over the phone. In order to do this you will need to provide:
- your date of birth
- your National Insurance number
We also have special application forms for people living overseas, service voters, crown servants or diplomats and their dependants, homeless people, voluntary patients in mental health hospitals and people who wish to register anonymously.
Please contact us on the number above to seek further advice.
Rolling registration
You can register as an elector at any time. Your details will only appear on the electoral register once they are received by Electoral Services and are successfully verified under the IER process.
This process is subject to strict deadlines and the date your application is received. New dates for publication, for the following year, are available from November.
The Electoral Registration Annual Canvass runs from August to November each year. Any successful applications to register during the annual canvass period will not appear on the electoral register until the December publication.
The dates for publication and their respective qualifying dates for 2025 are:
- Wednesday, 11 December 2024 / Thursday, 2 January 2025
- Friday, 10 January 2025 / Monday, 3 February 2025
- Friday, 7 February 2025 / Monday, 3 March 2025
- Monday, 10 March 2025 / Tuesday, 1 April 2025
- Wednesday, 9 April 2025 / Thursday, 1 May 2025
- Friday, 9 May 2025 / Monday, 2 June 2025
- Monday, 9 June 2025 / Tuesday, 1 July 2025
- Thursday, 10 July 2025 / Friday, 1 August 2025
- Friday, 8 August 2025 / Monday, 1 September 2025
- Tuesday, 9 September 2025 / Wednesday, 1 October 2025
- Friday, 10 October 2025 / Monday, 3 November 2025