What photo ID will you need to vote in the elections?

The Electoral Commission has called on the government to let voters cast their ballot without ID if another registered voter can vouch for their identity.

The Electoral Commission reported 1,318 alleged electoral fraud cases to the police between 2020 and 2024; eight led to convictions and police issued three cautions.

According to the Electoral Commission, there has been no evidence of large-scale electoral fraud in the past five years.

ID is not required to vote in person in Scottish Parliament and Senedd Cymru elections, nor for council elections in Scotland and Wales.

Voters in England and Northern Ireland also have to provide ID to vote in person in all other elections; Northern Ireland has required voter ID since 2002.

All voters need photo ID to vote in person in general elections and parliamentary by-elections wherever they live in the UK.

Polling station staff record how many voters are turned away, as well as the number who return with valid ID.

If you think your ID has been wrongly rejected, notify the presiding officer at the polling station; if this does not resolve the issue, raise concerns with your council's returning officer.

If you go to the polling station without the correct ID, you will be asked to come back with valid documentation.

Alternatively, anyone registered to vote without the correct ID - or who no longer looks like their photo - can apply for a free document known as a Voter Authority Certificate. The deadline to apply for a certificate to use on 7 May has passed.

For future elections, you can exchange a paper driving licence for a photocard, or apply for a photocard travel pass if you are aged 60 or over, disabled or registered blind or partially sighted.

Voters in England whose ID is lost or stolen can apply for an emergency proxy vote up until 17:00 on polling day; both they and their proxy must be registered to vote, and the proxy must have correct ID.

The government said voters will also be able to prove their ID with a UK-issued bank card showing their name at the next general election, which must be held by 2029 but could be earlier.

If you wear a face covering, you will be asked to remove it briefly so staff can verify that ID matches you.

Voters can use out-of-date photo ID as long as they look the same.

The article lists passports, driving licences, older or Disabled Person's bus passes, Oyster 60+ cards, Armed Forces Veteran Cards, among more than 20 accepted forms of ID.

The article notes that voters in Scotland and Wales will not need to show ID to vote in the Scottish Parliament or Senedd elections held on the same day.

The article states that everyone voting in person in England's local elections on 7 May 2026 must show valid photo ID.

The Electoral Commission said 0.4% of those who tried to vote at the May 2025 local elections were turned away due to the voter ID requirements; of those initially turned away, 71% returned to vote later.

When the photo ID rules were expanded to cover the rest of the UK in May 2023, the government said it would stop votes being stolen.