What if we have recently moved or are moving soon, or if some of the people on the form are living/moving away from home?

You've recently moved in

When you move house you should tell the Electoral Registration Office by law, but it's easy to forget and so if you've recently moved in we may ask you to provide your old address so we can make sure that our records are up-to-date and your details have been removed from your old property.

You may also find that the form you receive has details of the previous occupants.

This could be because:

1) You informed the Council Tax Office that you had moved in, but did not complete and return a 'rolling registration' form.

2) We have not yet received formal notification that the previous occupants had moved out (and we can't just assume that they have left).

3) The previous occupants have not notified the Electoral Services Office of their new address (if in the borough), or we have not received notification that they are now registered elsewhere in the country from another Electoral Office.

Under no circumstances should you forward the form to the previous occupants (they will be getting their own), as the form is for that specific property and as the new householder it is up to you to complete this.

You should simply amend the form details and remove the previous owners from the form.

You're moving abroad

As a general rule of thumb, you can still vote in Parliamentary Elections for up to 15 years after leaving the UK, providing that you register as an "overseas elector" but it's best to contact the Electoral Services Office for exact advice, as it depends on whether you are already registered and when you are planning to leave.

Members of your household are living or moving away from home

Perhaps your daughter is going to uni or your son has joined the armed forces and you're not sure what to do.

Many students remain registered at their parents' house whilst they are away studying to save them having to register at their student accommodation.

Many also apply for a postal vote and have their ballot paper sent to their college/university address, or appoint someone back home to vote on their behalf (proxy voting) at their usual polling station.

If a member of your household has joined the armed forces they can either remain on the register at your property as an "ordinary elector", or else they can register in their own right as a "service voter".

Service declarations have to be renewed every five years, but there is a danger that any special voting arrangements which were set up at the beginning of this period may have become outdated - especially if the service voter has not let us know of his/her new posting elsewhere.