The electoral registration officer produces and keeps two versions of the Electoral Register - the full register and the edited register.
The full register
The full register lists everyone who is entitled to vote. You can check it by contacting electoral services.
Only certain people and organisation's can have copies of the full register, and they can only use it for specified purposes. These include electoral purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking your identity when you have applied for credit.
The law says who can have a copy of the full register and what they can use it for. Full details are given in the Representation of the People (England and Wales) (Amendment) Regulations 2006. It is a criminal offence for them to pass it on to anyone else or to use it for any other purpose.
The edited register
The edited register is separate form the voting register but is compiled from the details supplied by the voter registration form.
It is sold to commercial companies and used for marketing purposes – what you may consider to be ‘junk’ mail.
If you do NOT want your details used in this way, you can tick against your name in the column headed ‘Edited Register’ on the voter registration form or by following the instructions on the freephone or internet services. You may change your choice at any time.
Date Updated: 29/06/10