Representation of the People Act 1983

[F1 9 Registers of electors. U.K.

(1) Each registration officer shall maintain—

(a) a register of parliamentary electors for each constituency or part of a constituency in the area for which he acts; and

(b) a register of local government electors for the local government areas or parts of local government areas included in the area for which he acts.

(2) [F2 Subject to any other provision of this Act, each register] shall contain—

[F3 (a) the names of persons who appear to the registration officer to be entitled to be registered in it and in respect of whom a successful application for registration has been made;]

(b) (subject to any prescribed exceptions) the qualifying addresses of the persons registered in it; and

(c) in relation to each such person, that person’s electoral number.

(3) A person’s electoral number is such number (with or without any letters) as is for the time being allocated by the registration officer to that person as his electoral number for the purposes of the register in question.

(4) Electoral numbers shall be allocated by a registration officer in such a way as to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, that in each separate part of a register the numbers run consecutively.

(5) The registers of parliamentary electors and of local government electors shall so far as practicable be combined, the [F4 entries] of persons registered only as parliamentary electors or local government electors being marked to indicate that fact.

[F5 (5A) In relation to the registration of local government electors in Scotland, the entry in the combined registers of any person aged 16 or 17 who is registered only as a local government elector must give the date on which the person will attain the age of 18.]

[F6 (5A) In relation to the registration of local government electors in Wales—

(a) the entry in the combined registers of any person aged 16 or 17 who is registered only as a local government elector must give the date on which the person will attain the age of 18;

(b) the entry in the combined registers of any person who is registered only as a local government elector by virtue of section 4(3A) of this Act must give an indication of that fact.]

F7 (6) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

(7) Where under this section two or more registration officers maintain registers of parliamentary electors in respect of different parts of the same constituency, then in relation to that constituency any reference in this Act (whether express or implied) to the register of parliamentary electors for a constituency shall be read—

(a) as a reference to one of those registers, or

(b) in relation to one of those registration officers, as the register maintained by him,

as the context may require.

(8) In this Act—

(a) any reference, in relation to a registration officer, to “his” registers is a reference to the registers maintained by him under this section; and

(b) “qualifying address”, in relation to a person registered in a register of electors, is the address in respect of which he is entitled to be so registered.]

Textual Amendments

F1 S. 9 substituted (29.1.2001 for certain purposes and 16.2.2001 otherwise) by 2000 c. 2, s. 8(a), Sch. 1 para. 3; S.I. 2001/116, art. 2(1)(2) (with art. 2(4))

F2 Words in s. 9(2) substituted (10.6.2014 for E.W., 15.9.2014 for N.I., 19.9.2014 for S.) by Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6), s. 27(1), Sch. 4 para. 5(a) (with Sch. 5); S.I. 2014/414, art. 5(m); S.I. 2014/2439, art. 2(l)

F3 S. 9(2)(a) substituted (10.6.2014 for E.W., 15.9.2014 for N.I., 19.9.2014 for S.) by Electoral Registration and Administration Act 2013 (c. 6), s. 27(1), Sch. 4 para. 5(b) (with Sch. 5); S.I. 2014/414, art. 5(m); S.I. 2014/2439, art. 2(l)

F4 Word in s. 9(5) substituted (E.W.S.) (1.1.2007) by Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22), ss. 10, 77, Sch. 1 para. 4(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))

F5 S. 9(5A) inserted (S.) (25.7.2015) by Scottish Elections (Reduction of Voting Age) Act 2015 (asp 7), ss. 12, 21

F6 S. 9(5A) inserted (E.W.) (1.6.2020) by Senedd and Elections (Wales) Act 2020 (anaw 1), ss. 23, 42(3)(a)

F7 S. 9(6) omitted (13.5.2014) by virtue of Northern Ireland (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act 2014 (c. 13), ss. 18(1)(b), 28(4) (previously repealed (E.W.S.) (11.9.2006) by Electoral Administration Act 2006 (c. 22), ss. 9(2), 74(2), 77, Sch. 2; S.I. 2006/1972, art. 3, Sch. 1 paras. 1, 26(2))

Modifications etc. (not altering text)

C1 S. 9 extended (with modifications) (N.I.) by Elected Authorities (Northern Ireland) Act 1989 (c. 3, SIF 42) ss. 2, 13(6), Sch. 1 Pt. I (as amended (16.2.2001) by 2000 c. 2, s. 8, Sch. 3 para. 3(5); S.I. 2001/116, art. 2(1) (with art. 2(3)-(5)))

C2 S. 9 applied (with modifications) (E.W.) (16.2.2001) by S.I. 2001/341, reg. 13(4)(5), Sch. 4 Pt. I

S. 9 applied (with modifications) (N.I.) (16.2.2001) by S.I. 2001/1184, reg. 13(3)(4), Sch. 4 Pt. I

C3 S. 9 applied (with modifications) (N.I.) (1.7.2008) by The Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1741), reg. 14(3)(4), Sch. 4

C4 S. 9(2)(3)(4)(7)(8) applied (with modifications) (9.4.2001) by S.I. 2001/1184, reg. 9, Sch. Pt. I (as substituted (17.3.2009) by S.I. 2009/726, regs. 1(1), 2(3)(4), Sch.)

C5 S. 9(2) amendment by 2006 c. 22, Sch. 1 para. 4(2) extended to N.I. (15.9.2014) by The Anonymous Registration (Northern Ireland) Order 2014 (S.I. 2014/1116), arts. 1(1), 2(2)

C6 S. 9(2)(b) excluded (E.W.) (16.2.2001) by S.I. 2001/341, reg. 40(1)

S. 9(2)(b) excluded (S.) (16.2.2001) by S.I. 2001/497, reg. 40(1)

C7 S. 9(2)(b) excluded (N.I) (1.7.2008) by The Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008 (S.I. 2008/1741), reg. 49(1)

C8 S. 9(2)(3)(4)(7)(8) applied (with modifications) (9.4.2001) by S.I. 2001/1184, reg. 9, Sch. Pt. I