Updating your household details
This year, our annual canvass will run from July to December 2023. We carry out the canvass to make sure we have the most up to date information before updating the annual revision to the electoral register, which will be published on 1 December 2023.
Every year, we must contact every property in the borough to find out if there are any changes to the household, to remove details of the people who no longer live there or add new people. We are required by law to conduct the canvass on an annual basis.
This year, households will be sent one of the following two letters:
- A confirmation letter known as a Canvass Communication A (CCA) which will be sent to households where our records matched against government and local data. Recipients of this letter only need to respond if they need to make any changes to the details printed on the letter. CCAs will be deilvered in mid-September.
Or
- A letter known as a Canvass Communication B (CCB) which will be sent to households where some details could not be matched against government and local data. Recipients of this letter MUST respond regardless of whether there are any changes to be made. CCBs will be delivered in mid-July.
Some households will also be sent these communications via email. Read more information about the email.
Recipients of CCBs who do not respond will be sent a further communication known as a Canvass Form. Canvass Forms will be delivered in August. Recipients of this form MUST respond regardless of whether there are any changes to be made.
Households that don’t respond to their CCB or Canvass Form will receive a personal visit from an electoral registration canvasser. Canvassers will be making visits between late August and mid-November 2023. Members of the Electoral Services team will also be phoning some non-responding households to check the details for this year's canvass.
How to respond
There are two security codes printed on your letter. You will need to have these to hand when you respond online, by phone or text.
If there are no changes:
- visit the official H&F Council response website and enter part 1 and part 2 of your security code, as well as your postcode
- if the pre-printed details are correct, you can call our automated response line on 0808 284 1433
- text both parts of the security code, separated by a space, to 07786 209 433
- by post at: Electoral Services, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Town Hall, King Street, London, W6 9JU
If there are changes you can tell us:
- by visiting the official H&F Council response website and entering part 1 and part 2 of your security code, as well as your postcode
- by post at: Electoral Services, London Borough of Hammersmith and Fulham, Town Hall, King Street, London, W6 9JU
- by email to: electoral.servicesadmin@lbhf.gov.uk
What happens next?
If you confirm that there are no changes we will not need to contact you again as part of the 2023 canvass.
If you tell us new people have moved in we will arrange to send them an individual registration form so they can register to vote. They can also register online by using the GOV.UK website.
If you tell us someone has moved away we will review their registration.
For more information about electoral registration, visit the Electoral Commission website.
Frequently asked questions
If you have any questions about the annual registration canvass, you may find the answer in our frequently asked questions that follow.
- Someone in my household is not registered to vote, what should I do?
Please include the name of the person in your response so we can send them a registration form. They can register online immediately at the GOV.UK register to vote website.
- There is no one who needs to register because the property is empty, or the people living there are not eligible to register to vote. What should I do?
If there is no one to register at the property please respond to let us know.
- I have received an 'Invitation to Register' letter. What should I do?
If you have been sent a letter inviting you to register, you can register your details online at GOV.UK or you can complete the form and post it back to us.
- I need to remove someone who no longer lives here, how do I do this?
Please follow the instructions on the letter to let us know that the person no longer lives there.
- The people named on the form have moved – what should I do?
This letter is only for your property, so do not forward it on. You can either make corrections online, or via one of the other response channels.
- What does 'included on the open register' mean?
There are two versions of the electoral register – the ‘full register’ and the ‘open register’.
We are obliged by law to produce the full electoral register for election purposes, the prevention and detection of crime and checking identity when you apply for credit.
We are also obliged by law to provide an open register that can be bought by anyone to use for any purpose. The open register must leave out the names of anyone who asks for their details to be excluded from it.
- I am registered for council tax, why am I not on the electoral register?
Council tax and the electoral register are two separate registers.
Council tax may show the names of the owners and not necessarily the residents of the properties. Not everyone who pays council tax is eligible to register to vote.
- Can I register at two addresses?
Normally people are registered at their permanent home address.
Students may register at both their term-time and non term-time address. If you are living somewhere temporarily but have a permanent address elsewhere, you should register at the permanent address.
You can register at two addresses if you actually live at two addresses. For example, people who work in London during the week and return elsewhere at weekends will be able to register at both addresses. Homes for recreational purposes are unlikely to qualify.
- I am about to move – what do I do with this form?
If you have a confirmed move date you should go online to delete your names.
If you are not sure when you are moving, it would be better to renew your registration now to make sure that you are registered, and contact us or your new borough once you have moved.
- Why is my name not pre-printed on the letter although I have been living here for years?
It means that you are not currently registered. The electoral register is separate from other records. Paying council tax does not register you to vote. You must respond to the letter so we know who is currently living at your address.
Any occupants not listed should visit the GOV.UK register to vote website to update their details as soon as possible for voting and credit purposes.
- I have leave to remain in the UK but I am not a British Citizen. Can I register to vote?
Electoral registration is linked to citizenship. British, Irish, EU and qualifying Commonwealth citizens are eligible to register to vote. Visit the Electoral Commission website to check which countries are eligible.
If you are not a citizen of any of these countries, you cannot register to vote in England.
- I have dual nationality – am I entitled to register?
If one of your nationalities is British, Irish or a qualifying Commonwealth nationality you have full registration and voting rights.
If one of your nationalities is on the list of EU and Commonwealth countries, you can also register. If neither of your nationalities is on those lists, you cannot register to vote in England.
- I’ve been sent an email asking me to complete a canvass response online. Is this genuine?
Hammersmith & Fulham Electoral Services are emailing some households in the borough to ask them to complete their annual canvass form online, please follow this link for more information.