Eligibility and Registering to Vote

In Scotland, to vote in Scottish Parliamentary and local government elections you must:

• be registered to vote in the constituency (Na h-Eileanan Siar)
• be of voting age – 16 years old on polling day
• not be subject to any legal incapacity
• all legally resident foreign nationals may register to vote
• convicted prisoners who are detained and serving a sentence of 12 months or less may register to vote

You can register to vote at any time, not just during an election from aged 14 or over. If you are under 16 years old you can’t vote until you reach the voting ages noted above, your name is held on the register as an ‘attainer’.

To qualify to be registered to vote in a UK Parliamentary election you must:

• be registered to vote in the constituency (Na h-Eileanan Siar)
• be of voting age – 18 years old on polling day
• be either a British, qualifying Commonwealth citizen or a citizen of the Republic of Ireland
• not be subject to any legal incapacity to vote – Peers in the House of Lords, being a prisoner serving a prison sentence or committing certain electoral crimes

Any British citizen living abroad who has previously lived in, or been registered to vote in the UK, will have the right to vote at UK Parliamentary elections. These voters will be registered at the constituency where they were last registered to vote, or where they lived if they were not registered to vote before.

There are also special categories for armed forces voters, crown servants, people resident in the UK with no permanent address. 

Please contact the electoral registration office below for more information.