Representation of the People Act 1983

[F24 Entitlement to be registered as parliamentary or local government elector.E+W+N.I.

(1)A person is entitled to be registered in the register of parliamentary electors for any constituency or part of a constituency if on the relevant date he—

(a)is resident in the constituency or that part of it;

(b)is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);

(c)is either a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; and

(d)is of voting age.

F3(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)A person is entitled to be registered in the register of local government electors for any electoral area if on the relevant date he—

(a)is resident in that area;

(b)is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);

(c)is a qualifying Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of [F4Ireland or—

(i)in relation to a local government election in England, a qualifying EU citizen or an EU citizen with retained rights, or

(ii)in relation to a local government election in Wales, a relevant citizen of the Union or a qualifying foreign citizen; and]

(d)is of voting age F5....

F6(3A). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(4)The preceding provisions have effect—

(a)subject to—

(i)any enactment imposing a disqualification for registration as a parliamentary, or (as the case may be) local government, elector; and

(ii)compliance with any prescribed requirements; and

(b)(as respects registration as a parliamentary elector) without prejudice to [F7section 1B(1)] of the Representation of the People Act 1985 M1 (registration of British citizens overseas).

(5)A person otherwise qualified is (despite subsection (1)(d) or (3)(d), as the case may be) entitled to be registered in a register of parliamentary electors or local government electors if he will attain voting age before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the 1st December next following the relevant date, but—

(a)his entry in the register shall give the date on which he will attain that age; and

(b)until the date given in the entry he shall not by virtue of the entry be treated as an elector for any purposes other than those of an election the date of the poll for which is the date so given or any later date.

[F8(5A)If a person entitled to be registered by virtue of subsection (5) above has an anonymous entry in the register, the references in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection to his entry in the register are to be read as references to his entry in the record of anonymous entries prepared in pursuance of paragraph 8A of Schedule 2 below.]

F9(5B). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(6)In this section—

  • “qualifying Commonwealth citizen” means a Commonwealth citizen who either—

    (a)

    is not a person who requires leave under the M2Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or

    (b)

    is such a person but for the time being has (or is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) any description of such leave;

  • “the relevant date”, in relation to a person, means—

    (a)

    the date on which an application for registration is made (or, by virtue of section 10A(2) below, is treated as having been made) by him;

    (b)

    in the case of a person applying for registration in pursuance of a declaration of local connection or a service declaration, the date on which the declaration was made.]

Textual Amendments

F2S. 4 and preceding cross-heading substituted for s. 4 (29.1.2001 for specified purposes and 16.2.2001 otherwise) by 2000 c. 2, s. 1(2); S.I. 2001/116, art. 2(1)(2) (with art. 2(4))

F4Words in s. 4(3)(c) substituted (E.W.N.I.) (7.5.2024) by Elections Act 2022 (c. 37), s. 67(4)(b), Sch. 8 para. 1(2); S.I. 2023/1145, reg. 5(b) (with Sch. para. 1(3))

F5Words in s. 4(3)(d) omitted (E.W.) (20.3.2021) by virtue of Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), ss. 2(3)(a)(ii), 175(3)(b) (with s. 3)

F6S. 4(3A) omitted (E.W.) (20.3.2021) by virtue of Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), ss. 2(3)(b), 175(3)(b) (with s. 3)

F7Words in s. 4(4)(b) substituted (16.1.2024) by Elections Act 2022 (c. 37), s. 67(1), Sch. 7 para. 2 (with Sch. 7 para. 13); S.I. 2023/1405, reg. 2

F8S. 4(5A) inserted (E.W.S.) (1.1.2007) by Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22), ss. 10, 77, Sch. 1 para. 3; S.I. 2006/3412, art. 3, Sch. 1 paras. 1, 12(a) (subject to transitional provisions and savings in art. 6, Sch. 2) (amendment extended to N.I. (15.9.2014) by The Anonymous Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/1116), arts. 1(1), 2(2))

F9S. 4(5B) omitted (E.W.) (20.3.2021) by virtue of Local Government and Elections (Wales) Act 2021 (asc 1), ss. 2(3)(c), 175(3)(b) (with s. 3)

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

Marginal Citations

[F104 Entitlement to be registered as parliamentary or local government elector.S

(1)A person is entitled to be registered in the register of parliamentary electors for any constituency or part of a constituency if on the relevant date he—

(a)is resident in the constituency or that part of it;

(b)is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);

(c)is either a qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland; and

(d)is of voting age.

F11(2). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(3)A person is entitled to be registered in the register of local government electors for any electoral area if on the relevant date he—

(a)is resident in that area;

(b)is not subject to any legal incapacity to vote (age apart);

(c)is a qualifying Commonwealth citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or [F12—

(i)except in relation to a local government election in Scotland,] a relevant citizen of the Union;

[F13(ii)in relation to a local government election in Scotland, a qualifying foreign national,] and

(d)is of voting age.

(4)The preceding provisions have effect—

(a)subject to—

(i)any enactment imposing a disqualification for registration as a parliamentary, or (as the case may be) local government, elector; and

(ii)compliance with any prescribed requirements; and

(b)(as respects registration as a parliamentary elector) without prejudice to [F7section 1B(1)] of the Representation of the People Act 1985 M3 (registration of British citizens overseas).

(5)A person otherwise qualified is (despite subsection (1)(d) or (3)(d), as the case may be) entitled to be registered in a register of parliamentary electors or local government electors [F14, other than a register of local government electors in Scotland (see subsection (5B)),] if he will attain voting age before the end of the period of 12 months beginning with the 1st December next following the relevant date, but—

(a)his entry in the register shall give the date on which he will attain that age; and

(b)until the date given in the entry he shall not by virtue of the entry be treated as an elector for any purposes other than those of an election the date of the poll for which is the date so given or any later date.

[F15(5A)If a person entitled to be registered by virtue of subsection (5) above has an anonymous entry in the register, the references in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection to his entry in the register are to be read as references to his entry in the record of anonymous entries prepared in pursuance of paragraph 8A of Schedule 2 below.]

[F16(5B)A person otherwise qualified is (despite subsection (3)(d)) entitled to be registered in a register of local government electors in Scotland if the person is 14 years of age or over, but—

(a)the person's entry in the register must give the date on which the person will attain voting age, and

(b)until the date given in the entry the person shall not by virtue of the entry be treated as an elector for any purposes other than those of an election the date of the poll for which is the date so given or any later date.

(5C)If a person entitled to be registered by virtue of subsection (5B) has an anonymous entry in the register, the references in paragraphs (a) and (b) of that subsection to the person's entry in the register are to be read as references to the person's entry in the record of anonymous entries prepared in pursuance of paragraph 8A of schedule 2.]

(6)In this section—

  • “qualifying Commonwealth citizen” means a Commonwealth citizen who either—

    (a)

    is not a person who requires leave under the M4Immigration Act 1971 to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or

    (b)

    is such a person but for the time being has (or is, by virtue of any enactment, to be treated as having) any description of such leave;

  • “the relevant date”, in relation to a person, means—

    (a)

    the date on which an application for registration is made (or, by virtue of section 10A(2) below, is treated as having been made) by him;

    (b)

    in the case of a person applying for registration in pursuance of a declaration of local connection or a service declaration, the date on which the declaration was made.]

Textual Amendments

F7Words in s. 4(4)(b) substituted (16.1.2024) by Elections Act 2022 (c. 37), s. 67(1), Sch. 7 para. 2 (with Sch. 7 para. 13); S.I. 2023/1405, reg. 2

F10S. 4 and preceding cross-heading substituted for s. 4 (29.1.2001 for specified purposes and 16.2.2001 otherwise) by 2000 c. 2, s. 1(2); S.I. 2001/116, art. 2(1)(2) (with art. 2(4))

F14Words in s. 4(5) inserted (S.) (1.10.2020) by Scottish Elections (Reform) Act 2020 (asp 12), ss. 8(2), 35; S.S.I. 2020/278, reg. 2, sch.

F15S. 4(5A) inserted (E.W.S.) (1.1.2007) by Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22), ss. 10, 77, Sch. 1 para. 3; S.I. 2006/3412, art. 3, Sch. 1 paras. 1, 12(a) (subject to transitional provisions and savings in art. 6, Sch. 2) (amendment extended to N.I. (15.9.2014) by The Anonymous Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/1116), arts. 1(1), 2(2))

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

Marginal Citations