Apply for free voter ID ahead of 24 April application deadline

If you don’t have valid photo identification, there are only a few days left to apply for a free certificate enabling you to vote in the two elections in May and prevent being turned away from the polling station.

The law requiring photo ID to be shown at the polling station was introduced last year for local election, meaning voters must show ID at both the local council election and the Greater Manchester mayoral election on 2 May.

Most voters will take a driving licence or passport to the polling station — although a much wider range of IDs are accepted – but you don’t need to have an in-date ID. If it’s out of date, but the photo on it still looks like you and it has the name on which you used to register to vote, it will be accepted.

However, if you don’t already have an accepted form of voter ID, such as a passport, driving licence or an older person’s or disabled person’s bus pass, the Voter Authority Certificate (VAC) is a free form of ID available.

The Electoral Commission – which says as many as 27% of people don’t know they can apply for the Voter Authority Certificate – is calling on anyone that needs free ID to apply now, before the deadline of 5pm on Wednesday 24 April.
 

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VACs only require applicants to give their name, address, and date of birth, to be accepted – but they also ask for a national insurance number to speed up the identification process. However, if you don’t know your NI number and can’t find it, you can still apply for a VAC.

“You will need to provide other forms of proof of identity, such as a birth certificate, bank statement and a utility bill. Your local council will contact you to arrange this,” the Electoral Commission says.

“If you don’t have any other accepted proof of identity, you can ask someone you know to confirm your identity. This is known as an attestation.”

Applications can be submitted online at gov.uk/apply-for-photo-id-voter-authority-certificate, or by completing a paper form and sending this to Rochdale Council’s electoral services team.

Voters will need to provide a photo, their full name, date of birth, the address at which they are registered to vote and their National Insurance number.

Applicants must be registered to vote before applying; the deadline to register for this year’s elections has passed.

More information:

Types of photo ID accepted at polling stations and how to apply for a Voter Authority Certificate or Anonymous Elector’s Document - www.rochdale.gov.uk/elections-voting/elections-act-2022-changes-voting-elections

Different ways you can vote - www.rochdale.gov.uk/elections-voting/voting-how-to-vote