Annual Household Enquiry Form FAQs

I’ve advised the Council Tax department about my new address – why am I not on the electoral register?

By law, the electoral register must be ran independently to Council Tax and so notifying one department does not automatically register you with the other. For example, the Council Tax may be paid by the landlord and not the residents of the property. As such, the Electoral Registration Officer is not permitted to directly register individuals using Council Tax records.

I’m concerned that having my name on the register may impact upon my safety – what should I do?

There are two options available in this circumstance:-

• You can ask for us to remove your name from the publically available open register, meaning that third parties would not have access to your details. Your name would remain on the full electoral register which is open to public inspection under supervision at the Council Offices, but anyone searching it would need to already know your address because the register is compiled in street order.
• If you think that the above may not be sufficient, you can apply to register anonymously. This would mean that your details would not be included on the register, but you would still be able to vote. For further information, please don’t hesitate to contact us.

I’ve registered in the last couple of weeks – why is my name not on the form?

Due to the large quantity of forms that we need to print, we need to send the data to our printers a couple of weeks in advance. As such, you may have registered since your form was printed. You should add your name to the form and if we need any further information, we will get in touch.

We’ve only just had an election – why are you doing a household canvass now?

By law, every council in the country has to conduct a canvass of every residential property in their area on an annual basis.

Why do you need to know if I’m aged over 76?

The electoral register is used to summon individuals for Jury Service. We need to know if you are aged 76 or over as this means that you are exempt from being summoned.

Why do I have to reply if there are no changes or no one is eligible to vote?

We are required to canvass every property once a year. Where we don’t receive a response, we are obliged to send reminder forms and make door to door enquiries. If we don’t receive a response, you could be fined £1,000.

As a new elector, why do I need to separately register as well as return the Household Enquiry Form?

The Household Enquiry Form lets us know who is currently resident at an address but doesn’t allow us to register new electors. This is because the law requires individuals to provide further information such as their date of birth and National Insurance number before they can be added to the register. As such, once you have responded to the Household Enquiry Form, each new elector needs to separately register. The easiest way to do this is online at www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.

If I respond using the internet or telephone service, do I need to return the paper form as well?

No, you only need to respond using one of the available methods.

My main residence is elsewhere – should I register to vote here?

You should only register to vote at your main residence – the only exception is for university students (see below). If you think you will be away from your main residence at the time of an election, you should consider applying to vote by post.

I am a university student – where should I register?

Students are able to register at both their home and term time addresses but may only vote once at the same election. As students tend to move often and elections can happen at any time, we would recommend including their names on the form for their home address, as a minimum. Furthermore, as the electoral register is also used for credit purposes, there could be financial implications if they are removed from the register at their home address.

I will be moving home shortly – what should I do?

If you expect to move homes imminently, please leave the form for the new residents to complete. Once you have moved to your new home, you will need to re-register there.

A member of my household has permanently moved to a nursing home – what should I do?

You should remove their name from the register at your address as we liaise directly with all of the nursing homes in our District to ensure that all of their residents are registered.

Why do I need to include 16 and 17 year olds?

As elections can be called at any time, we include all 16 and 17 year olds on the electoral register to ensure that they are eligible to vote as soon as they turn 18.