Annual Canvass

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By law, the Electoral Registration Officer is required to undertake an Annual Canvass of all households in the borough every year. This is to check that the information on the electoral register is as accurate and up to date as possible.

If requested, it is a legal requirement for residents to confirm details relating to their property.

The Register of Electors is often used to confirm an individual's address, especially if they are applying for credit such as a mortgage, personal loan or even a mobile phone. If you are not registered, you will lose your right to vote at the time of an election.

Look out for your Household Canvass Form

Household Forms are sent out in Barnet between August and November. The information received is used to update the Register of Electors that is published in December. 

The aim of the form is to ensure that the electoral register is up to date and to identify any residents who are not registered so that they can be encouraged to do so. 

The Household Form allows residents to inform the Barnet Electoral Services office about:

  • electors who no longer live in the property
  • new residents at the address
  • people who will become 18 the following year
  • any corrections or changes needed to a resident’s details (further evidence may be requested to make these amendments)

A Household Form will be sent to every property in the borough with the details of residents currently registered to vote at the property. Please read the form carefully to see if a response is required from the household.

  • For some properties, if all the details on the form are correct, no response is required. However, some properties must respond even if all details are correct (details will be clearly explained on the form, so please check this carefully).
  • If the details are not correct for your household and you need to make changes (i.e. add a new resident, remove a resident or any other changes) you must respond. The quickest and easiest way to do this is online. Details about how you do this securely will be provided on the form.

If the Household Form has the previous occupier’s details listed, please cross out the name(s) of anyone that no longer lives at your property. Once you inform us people have moved out, we can start the process of removing them.

Please add the name of any person who should be registered at your property. The quickest way to amend your details is by going online.

If the property is empty, we still require a response to the household form. If no one is listed on the form, or someone’s details are on the form but the property is now empty, you can respond online or by sending the form back.

If the house is occupied by students, they can still register to vote. Students can register both at their home address and university address. Students are entitled to vote at local government elections at home and in Barnet, however, they are only able to vote once at a national election. Students can therefore choose where to vote, either in Barnet or at their home address for UK Parliamentary Elections. Please add the names of any students who wish to register in Barnet either online or by sending the form back.

You don't need to return the Household Form if you have responded online. 

Invitation To Register

Following completion of the Household Form, anyone that needs to register must still go online to complete an individual application at: www.gov.uk/register-to-vote

If new people, eligible to be registered, are added to the Household Form, and they do not register to vote online, we will send them an Invitation To Register (ITR) paper form.  

Individual registration requires you to provide your date of birth and National Insurance number. 

If you have recently registered but your name doesn't appear on the Household Form, please still respond and add your name to the form.

Who can register to vote in Barnet

To register to vote, you must be aged 16 or over (but you can’t vote until you’re 18 years old), and one of the following:

  • a UK or Irish citizen
  • a qualifying Commonwealth citizen living in the UK
  • a qualifying EU citizen living in the UK
  • living in the London Borough of Barnet.

If you still need advice, please contact Electoral Services: