Register to vote as a Crown Servant or British Council employee - paper form
If you're based overseas as a Crown Servant (in the diplomatic service or overseas civil service) or an employee of the British Council, you can register to vote in the UK.
Applies to England, Scotland and Wales
Documents
Details
Deadline for registering to vote in the local elections in England
Register by 11:59pm on 11 April 2025 to vote in the local elections being held in England on 1 May 2025.
You can register before you leave or if you’re already abroad.
What you need to know
Use this form to register to vote if you’re posted abroad as:
- a Crown servant (for example diplomatic or overseas civil service)
- a British Council employee
- the spouse or civil partner of a Crown servant or British Council employee
You’ll need:
- your National Insurance number or any other identity document, for example a passport
- your payroll or staff ID number (usually found on your payslip)
Your registration lasts for 12 months. You’ll get a reminder when it’s time to renew. If you do not renew your registration, you’ll be removed from the register and will need to register to vote again.
How to use the form
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Complete and print out the electoral registration form.
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Make sure you sign the declaration.
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Return your completed form and the relevant evidence to your electoral registration office.
If you don’t have access to a printer you can contact your electoral registration office and ask them to post a form to you. You’ll then need to return the completed form to your electoral registration office.
Apply for a postal or proxy vote
If you want to vote by post in the local elections in England on 1 May 2025, you must apply by 5pm on 14 April 2025.
If you want to have a proxy vote in the local elections in England on 1 May 2025, you must apply by 5pm on 23 April 2025.
After you’ve registered, you can either:
Please note that there are different methods for applying for proxy and postal votes in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
If you live overseas and you choose to apply for a postal vote, you should apply as soon as possible. It can take a long time for your postal vote ballot pack to reach you and get back to the UK.
Children of crown servants or British Council employees
Different rules apply depending on where you’re from in the UK.
If you’re from England or Northern Ireland
If you’re aged 16 or over, you can either:
- register to vote in the UK if you have a permanent home address in the UK and want to be registered at that address
- register as an overseas voter if you live outside the UK
If you’re from Scotland or Wales
You can register to vote if both of the following apply:
- you’re between 14 and 17 years old
- you’re based overseas and living with a parent or guardian who is a crown servant or British Council employee
You need to register to vote using a paper form as a child of a crown servant or British Council employee.
When you’re 18 or over, you’ll need to either:
Your registration lasts for 12 months. You’ll get a reminder when it’s time to renew.
Other ways to register
You can use the online service to register to vote.
If you’re in the armed forces
There’s a different way to register to vote if you’re in the armed forces, either online or using a paper form.
Updates to this page
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Register to vote as a Crown Servant or British Council employee by post - all forms updated
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You can no longer register to vote for the elections taking place on 5 May 2022. You can still register for future elections.
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You can no longer register to vote for elections taking place in England, Wales and Northern Ireland on 5 May. You can still register to vote for the local government elections in Scotland.
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To vote in the 5 May 2022 elections, you must register by 11:59pm on 14 April 2022 (for elections in England, Wales and Northern Ireland) or 11:59pm on 18 April 2022 (for elections in Scotland).
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To vote in the 6 May 2021 elections you need to register by 19 April 2021.
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Form 'Register to vote as a Crown Servant or British Council employee (resident in Scotland)' updated.
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attachments updated
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Previous PDFs have been replaced with new PDFs containing updated wording relating to the new General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) laws.
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First published.