Electoral Roll

The electoral roll is an important source of data for the United Kingdom, the only comprehensive source covering the whole of the UK.

The primary source for identity verification is usually credit account data. However before someone has any credit accounts the electoral roll is one of the few official sources that can be used to verify and identity in order to obtain a credit account initially. 

The electoral roll is a register for voting, each year around August each of the local councils will send a voting registration form. The form can be completed or details provided online or by telephone. The data must be accurate for the 15th October that year. The new register is published on 1st December. There is a process for updating your voting registration, which is handled by the individual contacting their local councils. Updates to the electoral roll, referred to as the rolling register occur only between January to August. 

The electoral roll is actually a publication almost 400 separate registers, a small handful of organisations will buy the electoral roll and collate it into a single register each year. Generally when people refer to searching the electoral roll they are referring to a search upon the collated version. 

There are two versions of the electoral roll, the edited electoral roll, also referred to as the open register and the full electoral roll. The edited electoral roll can be sold to third parties for commercial purposes, whist the full version is restricted.

The Representations of People Act 1983 governs the use of the Electoral roll data and permits that the full electoral register may be used only for:

• Elections
• Preventing and detecting crime
• Checking applications for loans or credit
• Jury summoning in England, Wales and Northern Ireland