The UK Government has introduced a requirement for voters to show photo ID when voting at a polling station. This is the biggest change to in-person voting in 150 years. This new requirement will apply for the first time at the local elections taking place in England on Thursday 4 May 2023.

The requirement will apply to UK Parliament general elections from October 2023. It will not apply at Scottish Parliament, Welsh Senedd, or council elections taking place in Scotland or Wales.

You can check if you have an accepted form of photo ID on GOV.UK. If you don’t, you can apply for a free voter ID document, known as a Voter Authority Certificate (VAC), which you’ll need to do by 5pm on Tuesday 25 April on GOV.UK

Service personnel can access an announcement highlighting the Voter Registration DIN which has the full details for the May 2023 elections via defnet.