# Can I search the electoral roll? — DocFind Last reviewed: September 28, 2026. HTML version: https://docfindapp.com/answers/search-the-electoral-roll **In the UK, not online. GOV.UK sends you to your electoral registration office, which tells you where the current register can be viewed — often a library. In India, the Election Commission runs a public search, built for finding a voter's own entry.** Here is what each official source says, including who does get a full copy, and what the rest of us cannot do. ## UK: two versions of the same register

GOV.UK explains that "There are 2 versions of the electoral register - the full version and the ‘open register’ (known as the ‘edited register’ in Northern Ireland)." Everyone's name and address goes on the full version, which "is used for elections and referendums", and nobody can opt out of it. The full version "can only be used for" a short list of purposes: electoral administration, campaigning, "preventing and detecting crime", "checking applications for loans or credit" and jury summoning. The open register is different: it is "available to anyone who wants to buy a copy", and you can opt out of it without affecting your vote. People registered anonymously appear on neither ([*Opt out of the 'open register' — GOV.UK*](https://www.gov.uk/electoral-register/opt-out-of-the-open-register), read 28 September 2026).

## UK: how to look at the current register

There is no public search box. GOV.UK's instruction is to contact your electoral registration office (in Northern Ireland, the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland): "They will tell you where you can view the current electoral register (it’s often available in libraries). The register will list everyone who’s registered to vote in the local area" ([*View the electoral register — GOV.UK*](https://www.gov.uk/electoral-register/view-electoral-register), read 28 September 2026). That page describes viewing, not searching: it says nothing about an online look-up of other people's entries, and nothing in it suggests one exists.

If the person you want to check is you, the route is shorter. GOV.UK says to contact your electoral registration office in England, Scotland or Wales, or use the Am I Registered service in Northern Ireland ([*The electoral register and the 'open register' — GOV.UK*](https://www.gov.uk/electoral-register), read 28 September 2026).

## UK: who has a copy, and what they may do with it

The Information Commissioner's Office fills in the other side. The full register goes to electoral staff and can also be held by "Political parties, MPs and public libraries"; "Credit reference agencies are allowed to buy the full version". The open register "can be sold to any person, organisation or company for a wide range of purposes", and its users include "direct marketing firms and also online directory firms". The limit on the full version is backed by law: "It is a crime for anyone who has a copy of the full register to pass information from this register onto others if they do not have a lawful reason to see it" ([*Electoral register — ICO*](https://ico.org.uk/for-the-public/your-data-and-elections/electoral-register/), read 28 September 2026). The ICO notes at the top of that page that its guidance is under review following the Data (Use and Access) Act.

In our reading, that is the likeliest explanation when a name and address turn up on a directory website: the open register is sold, the full one is not, and the open one is the version you can leave.

## UK: old registers, for family history

For history rather than current addresses, GOV.UK points to The National Archives, whose guide begins: "The National Archives does not hold any complete collections of electoral registers." It sends researchers to the British Library, which holds "a complete set of electoral registers from 1947 onwards", and to local reference libraries and archives for their own areas ([*Electoral registration — The National Archives*](https://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/help-with-your-research/research-guides/electoral-registration/), read 28 September 2026). The same guide also mentions paid commercial websites; we are not listing them here.

## India: the Voters' Service Portal

The Election Commission of India's search page, headed "Search in Electoral Roll", offers three ways in: Search by EPIC (the number on a voter ID card), Search by Details, and Search by Mobile. The EPIC form asks for the EPIC number, the state and a captcha, and the page can be switched into Hindi and a dozen other Indian languages ([*Voters' Service Portal — Election Commission of India*](https://electoralsearch.eci.gov.in/), read 28 September 2026). We read the form and did not run a search, so this page does not describe what a result shows.

## Other countries

Rules on who may see a voters' list differ widely, and this page covers only the two systems above. Start from your national election authority's own website, not a people-search service.

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