Voter ID

Regardless of whether you have ID to present in a polling station or not, you must still ensure you that you are registered to vote. You can register to vote online at www.gov.uk/registertovote. If you are not registered to vote, you will not be able to vote in the election even with acceptable forms of ID.

From May 2023, voters in Wales will need to show photo ID to vote in person, at polling stations in some elections.

Voter ID Required	Voter ID Not Required
Police and Crime Commissioner Elections	Local Council Elections and By elections
UK Parliamentary Elections	Senedd Elections

What ID do voters need to bring with them?

Acceptable Photo ID	ID Not Accepted
Passport Photo Driving Licence inc. provisional Blue Badge Immigration documents PASS Card Photo Concessionary Travel Pass National ID Card	Railcards Student IDs Photocopies of documents Electronic Copies of documents (i.e. photographs of ID on phone)

The photographic identification does not need to be in date to be used but the photograph needs to bear a likeness to the voter. 

A full list of what forms of photo ID are acceptable can be found here.

What if you do not have photo ID?
If you cannot provide one of the required forms of identification as set out in legislation, you can apply for a free voter ID document, which is known as a Voter Authority Certificate.

You can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate here

You will need to have registered to vote before you can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate. If you have not already done so, you can register to vote here.

To apply for a free Voter Authority Certificate, you will need to provide a recent digital photograph and your National Insurance number (NI Number).

The NI number is required to ensure it is the person applying for the certificate and is verified against the Department for Works and Pensions database. If the NI number does not match the check, voters will need to provide supporting documentary evidence (bank statements, council tax bills, utility bills etc) before the application can be processed.

Voters will need to provide a photograph as part of the application process. Photographs can only be uploaded as a file from a previously taken photograph and cannot be taken as part of the application process in the same way it can for other applications such as a passport.

There are also strict rules in legislation as to what kind of photograph can be accepted to approve the application.

The digital photo must be:

• clear and in focus
• in colour
• against a plain, light-coloured background
• your true likeness, with no photoshop or filters
• at least 600×750 pixels
• JPG, PNG or GIF format — min 50KB, max 20MB

In the photo you must:

• face forwards, looking straight at the camera
• be alone, with no other objects or people
• have a plain expression
• have eyes open and visible, with no hair in front of them
• not wear sunglasses, but normal glasses are fine if you typically wear them
• not have a head covering (apart from religious or medical reasons)
• not have ‘red-eye’, glare or shadows over your face

The deadline to apply for a voter certificate is 5pm 6 working days before polling day (excluding bank holidays).

Certificates will be sent directly to the voters registered address unless the voter requests for it to be sent to County Hall, Usk for collection for a specific reason.

What if you want to vote by post?

Currently there is no need for voters who vote by post to provide ID when applying to vote by post, but you will need to provide your date of birth and signature on the application and returned postal vote to verify that it is you who completed the postal vote.

These requirements are likely to change in the future and voters will need to provide ID when applying for a postal vote, but no date is confirmed for the change.

What if there is a combined election where voter ID is needed for one election, but not the other?

Governments have committed to not combining polls on the same day but there may be circumstances where it is unavoidable. Where this happens, voters will need to provide ID to receive both ballot papers in the polling station. If you arrive to vote without ID, you will only be entitled to receive the ballot paper for the election that does not require ID and you will need to return with ID to receive the other ballot paper/s.