Photo ID you’ll need

You’ll need to show photo ID when voting in person in some UK elections or referendums.

You’ll need it to vote in:

• UK parliamentary elections, including general elections and by-elections
• recall of MP petitions in England, Scotland and Wales
• local elections in England (including councils, mayors, the Greater London Authority and parishes)
• Police and Crime Commissioner elections in England and Wales
• neighbourhood planning referendums in England
• local authority referendums in England (including Council Tax increase referendums)

There are different rules if you vote in Northern Ireland.

Check if you have accepted photo ID

You’ll need one of the following types of photo ID to vote:

• a UK or Northern Ireland photocard driving licence (full or provisional)
• a driving licence issued by an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein, the Isle of Man or any of the Channel Islands
• a UK passport
• a passport issued by an EU country, Norway, Iceland, Liechtenstein or a Commonwealth country
• a PASS card (National Proof of Age Standards Scheme)
• a Blue Badge
• a biometric residence permit (BRP)
• a Defence Identity Card (MOD form 90)
• a national identity card issued by the EU, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein
• a Northern Ireland Electoral Identity Card
• a Voter Authority Certificate
• an Anonymous Elector’s Document

You can also use one of the following travel passes as photo ID when you vote:

• an older person’s bus pass
• a disabled person’s bus pass
• an Oyster 60+ card
• a Freedom Pass
• a Scottish National Entitlement Card (NEC)
• a 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
• a Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card
• a Northern Ireland concessionary travel pass

The photo on your ID must look like you. You can still use your ID even if it has expired.

If you’re voting as someone’s proxy

You’ll need to take your own ID when you go to vote on someone else’s behalf. You do not need to take theirs.

If you’ve changed your name

The name on your ID must match your name on the electoral register. If it does not, you’ll need to either:

• register to vote again with your new details
• take a document with you to vote that proves you’ve changed your name (for example, a marriage certificate)

Small differences do not matter. For example, if your ID says ‘Jim Smith’ instead of ‘James Smith’.