Voter ID

For the first time, residents in West Berkshire will need to show photographic ID to vote at this year's local elections on Thursday 4 May.

Since elections were last held in May 2019, the UK Government has introduced a requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station at some elections. This new requirement will apply for the first time in England at the May local elections.

Acceptable forms of ID include:

Passport
Driving licence (including provisional license)
Blue badge
Certain concessionary travel cards
Identity card with PASS mark (Proof of Age Standards Scheme)
Biometric Immigration document
Defence identity card
Certain national identity cards

Voters will be able to use expired ID if they are still recognisable from the photo.

Voter Authority Certificates

Anyone who does not have one of the acceptable form of ID will be able to apply for free ID online - known as a Voter Authority Certificate. Applications can be made online at electoralcommission.org.uk/voterID or by completing a paper form and sending it to West Berkshire Council's electoral services team. The deadline for applying for a Voter Authority Certificate is 5pm on Tuesday 25 April, 2023.

If you need any help with applying for the free ID or want to request an application form, contact the electoral services team by calling 01635 519464 or emailing vote@westberks.gov.uk.

Anyone who wants to have their say in the elections this May must also be registered to vote. It only takes five minutes to register online on the GOV.UK website. Voters wishing to apply to their council for free ID should first make sure they are registered to vote. The dealine for registering to vote is 11.59pm on Monday 17 April, 2023.

You can find out more about registering to vote, and voting by post or proxy on our website: Registering to Vote

More Information

You can find out more about this on our Frequently Asked Questions page and by visiting The Electoral Commission - Voter ID page.

If you can't find what you're looking for you can contact our Elections team on 01635 519464 or emailing vote@westberks.gov.uk.