Voter Authority Certificate

A Voter Authority Certificate is a free document containing a photograph of the applicant, supplied by the ERO. It allows any elector who does not have another suitable form of photographic ID (or does not wish to use it) to vote in person at a polling station in an election at which photographic ID is required.

No. Electors who already hold a valid form of photographic ID will not need to apply for or use a Voter Authority Certificate, as they will be able to use their existing ID instead.

However, electors with one or more types of accepted photographic ID may still apply for a Voter Authority certificate. It could be that their existing ID does not contain an accurate likeness of the elector.

Other accepted forms of photographic ID in polling stations will include:

• A passport issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man, a British Overseas Territory, an EEA state or a Commonwealth country
• A driving licence issued by the UK, any of the Channel Islands, the Isle of Man or an EEA state
• A biometric immigration document
• An identity card bearing the Proof of Age Standards Scheme hologram (a PASS card)
• Ministry of Defence Form 90 (Defence Identity Card)
• A Blue Badge
• A national identity card issued by an EEA state
• An Older Person’s Bus Pass
• A Disabled Person’s Bus Pass
• An Oyster 60+ Card
• A Freedom Pass
• A Scottish National Entitlement Card issued in Scotland
• A 60 and Over Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales
• A Disabled Person’s Welsh Concessionary Travel Card issued in Wales
• A Senior SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• A Registered Blind SmartPass or Blind Person’s SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• A War Disablement SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• A 60+ SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• A Half Fare SmartPass issued in Northern Ireland
• An Electoral Identity Card issued in Northern Ireland.

Electors voting by post are not affected by the requirement for photographic ID. Electors who do not wish to show photographic ID can apply for a postal vote in the normal way.

The Voter Authority Certificate contains:

• the elector’s full name
• a photograph of the elector
• the date of issue of the certificate
• the appropriate identifier
• the words “issued by the Electoral Registration Officer appointed by Waverley Borough Council”
• the recommended renewal date
• one or more security features, such as a watermark, as recommended by the Home Secretary.

The appropriate identifier is made up of 20 numbers and letters and automatically generated by the ERO portal.

You can use expired photographic ID from the approved list of identification, as long as the photograph is still a good likeness of you.

Deadline for Thursday 2 May elections: 5pm on Wednesday 24 April 2024

You can apply for a Voter Authority Certificate:

• online via the application portal hosted on GOV.UK
• by providing the necessary information in writing: you can either download a paper application form, or if you don't have access to a printer, email electoralservices@waverley.gov.uk and request a form to be posted.
• in person at our offices: Please call 01483 523116 or email electoralservices@waverley.gov.uk to request an appointment.

If you contact us to request a paper form before you apply, we will check that you are either already a registered elector, or have made a recent application to register, before we can provide a paper application form.

If you are not registered, or have not yet applied to register, we will provide you with the means or opportunity to register so that you can then submit an application for a Voter Authority Certificate.

You will need to provide a suitable photograph as part of the application. If you are not able to do so by yourself, then you will need to arrange an appointment to visit our office for your photo to be taken.

Any application for a Voter Authority Certificate must contain:

• your full name
• the address at which you are registered to vote (or have applied to be registered at), or in the case of special category electors, your present, correspondence or BFPO number address
• your date of birth
• your National Insurance Number
• a statement as to whether you consider it necessary to collect the Voter Authority Certificate in person instead of it being delivered to the relevant delivery address, and the reason for collection
• a declaration that the contents of the application are true, either by signature or some mark that shows that you have made the declaration
• the date of the application.

Any application must also contain a suitable photograph of you, meeting the relevant size and resolution requirements.

Once your application has been successfully processed, the data is sent to a supplier appointed by the UK Government who will produce the document and then deliver it to you directly, first class by Royal Mail.

Your Voter Authority Certificate should be printed within one to two working days after your application has been successfully processed.

You can request to collect your Voter Authority Certificate in person from the ERO’s offices.

Ahead of a specific election, referendum, or recall petition, the deadline for application will be 5pm, six working days before either the date of the poll or the last day for signing the petition.

If you apply for a Voter Authority Certificate after this date, you will not be able to use your Voter Authority Certificate at that poll or recall petition.

If you have successfully applied for a Voter Authority Certificate but have not received it, you may request a reprint within a month of the application being made.

In certain circumstances, after the deadline for applications for a specific election or recall petition (5pm, six working days before polling day or the last day for signing the petition), but before 5pm on polling day or 5pm on the last day for signing a recall petition, you may apply for an emergency proxy on grounds relating to voter identification.

In order to be able to apply for an emergency proxy on these grounds, the acceptable photographic ID that you intended to use, including a Voter Authority Certificate, must have been lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged, and you must declare that you do not have access to another form of accepted photographic ID.

You can also apply for an emergency proxy in this way if the photographic ID of your existing appointed proxy has been lost, stolen, destroyed or damaged.