Annual household canvass

What the annual household canvass is

Every year between July and September, we send a canvass form to all residential properties by email or post to check who is eligible to register to vote.  

The correspondence will tell you who is registered to vote at your property and asks you to tell us if there are any changes. 

If you are required to respond and you fail to reply then we will send you a reminder.  

Canvassers visit properties where a form has not been returned.  

How to respond

Read the information in your email or letter carefully to check: 

• whether you need to respond 
• that all the information is correct 

You can reply during the canvass:

• online using the household update service 
• by calling the automated phone system on 0800 197 9871
• by post 

You will need to enter your unique two part security code. 

If you have responded online or by phone you do not need to return the form. 

What happens next

By completing the form you are not registering to vote, only informing us of the names of the people at the property who should be on the electoral register. 

If you add someone to your household canvass, they will be sent an invitation to register form so that they can register to vote. You can also register to vote at the GOV.UK page. 

If you delete anyone from the form, we will write to them to confirm they no longer live there.

Publication of the updated register

An updated register of electors is published on 1 December each year.