Who can register to vote

The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone who's registered to vote. You need to be on it to be able to vote in elections and referendums.

You can register to vote when you are:

• aged 14 or older for Scottish Parliament and council elections
• aged 16 or older for UK Parliament elections

To register to vote in Scottish Parliament and local government elections you must also be one of the following:

• a British citizen living in Scotland
• an Irish citizen living in Scotland
• a foreign national of another country living in Scotland who has leave to enter or stay in the UK, or who does not need leave

See GOV.UK for information on who can register to vote in UK Parliament elections.

You only need to register to vote once - not for every election. You do need to register again if you change your:

• name
• address, or
• nationality

You can also apply to vote by post either for a single election or for a period of time. And if you are unable to vote in person you can ask someone to vote on your behalf and apply for a proxy vote.