# The Senedd Cymru (Representation of the People) Order 2025, Paragraph 11B: Power to request additional evidence in relation to absent voting applications where registration officer considers it necessary


(1) This paragraph applies where, upon receipt of an absent voting application, a registration officer considers additional evidence is necessary to verify the identity of the applicant.
(2) The registration officer may require the applicant to provide the registration officer with a copy, or where the registration officer considers it appropriate, the original, of one of the following documents—
(a) the applicant’s passport;
(b) the applicant’s identity card issued in the European Economic Area;
(c) the applicant’s biometric immigration document issued in the United Kingdom in accordance with regulations made under section 5 of the UK Borders Act 2007;
(d) the applicant’s electoral identity card issued in Northern Ireland;
(e) the applicant’s photocard driving licence granted in the United Kingdom or driving licence granted by a Crown Dependency, which bears a photograph of the applicant.
(3) If an applicant is not able to provide one of the documents in sub-paragraph (2), the registration officer may require the applicant to provide the registration officer with a copy, or where the registration officer considers it appropriate, the original, of—
(a) one of the following documents, which, except in relation to paragraph (vii), must have been issued in the United Kingdom or in a Crown Dependency—
(i) the applicant’s birth certificate;
(ii) the applicant’s marriage or civil partnership certificate;
(iii) the applicant’s adoption certificate;
(iv) the applicant’s firearms certificate granted under the Firearms Act 1968;
(v) the record of a decision on bail made in respect of the applicant in accordance with section 5(1) of the Bail Act 1976;
(vi) the applicant’s driving licence, which is not in the form of a photocard;
(vii) the applicant’s driving licence, granted other than in the United Kingdom or Crown Dependencies, which bears a photograph of the applicant and which must be valid for at least 12 months from the date the applicant entered the United Kingdom, and
(b) two other documents, each of which may be either from sub-paragraph (3)(a) or from sub-paragraph (4)(a) to (e).
(4) If the applicant is not able to provide documents in accordance with sub-paragraph (3), the registration officer may require that the applicant provides the registration officer with a copy, or where the registration officer considers it appropriate, the original, of four documents, each of which may be any of the following kinds of evidence and which must bear the applicant’s full name—
(a) a financial statement, including but not limited to—
(i) a mortgage statement;
(ii) a bank or building society statement or a letter from a bank or building society confirming that the applicant has opened an account with that bank or building society;
(iii) a credit card statement;
(iv) a pension statement;
(b) a council tax demand letter or statement;
(c) a utility bill;
(d) a Form P45 or Form P60 issued to the applicant by their employer or former employer;
(e) a statement of benefits or entitlement to benefits, such as a statement of child benefit, within the meaning of section 141 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992, or a letter confirming that the applicant is entitled to housing benefit, within the meaning of section 130 of that Act.
(5) If an applicant is unable to provide the documentary evidence required under sub-paragraphs (2) to (4), the registration officer may require that the applicant provides an attestation which must—
(a) confirm that the applicant is the person named in the application,
(b) state that the person signing the attestation is aware of the penalty for providing false information to a registration officer,
(c) be in writing and signed by a person—
(i) whom the registration officer is satisfied is of good standing in the community,
(ii) who is registered as an elector in a local authority area in England or Wales,
(iii) who is not the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild of the applicant, and
(iv) who has not already signed a relevant identity attestation for any other applicants since, whichever is the later of—
(aa) the date on which the revised register in which that person’s name appears was last published under section 13(1) of the 1983 Act, or
(bb) the date on which a notice specifying that person’s entry in the register was issued under section 13A(2), 13AB(2), 13B or 13BC of that Act, and if there has been more than one such notice, the date on which the last one was issued;
(d) state the full name, date of birth, address, electoral number and occupation of the person signing the attestation, and
(e) state the date on which it is made.
(6) Any document provided in accordance with this paragraph may be transmitted by an applicant to a registration officer by electronic means.
(7) In sub-paragraph (5)(c)(iv), a “relevant identity attestation” is an attestation provided in accordance with—
(a) sub-paragraph (5);
(b) regulations 26B(6) or (6ZA) or 56C(5A) or (6) of the 2001 Regulations;
(c) regulation 26B(6) or (6ZA) or 56C(5A) or (6) of the Representation of the People (Scotland) Regulations 2001;
(d) regulation 11B(5) of the Representation of the People (Absent Voting at Local Government Elections) (Scotland) Regulations 2007;
(e) regulation 25A(3) of the Representation of the People (Northern Ireland) Regulations 2008;
(f) paragraph 16C(5) of Schedule 2 to the Police and Crime Commissioner Elections Order 2012;
(g) paragraph 9B(5) of Schedule 3 of the Scottish Parliament (Elections etc.) Order 2015;
(h) regulation 72B(5A) or (6) of the Recall of MPs Act 2015 (Recall Petition) Regulations 2016;
(i) regulation 7(6) of the Voter Identification Regulations 2022.
(8) Sub-paragraphs (2) to (5) do not apply where the applicant is registered, or has applied to be registered, in pursuance of any of the following declarations—
(a) a service declaration on the grounds that the applicant is a Crown servant or the spouse or civil partner of a Crown servant;
(b) a service declaration on the grounds that the applicant is a member of the forces;
(c) a service declaration on the grounds that the applicant is the spouse or civil partner of a member of the forces.
(9) If sub-paragraph (8)(a) or (c) applies to an application, the registration officer may require that the applicant provides the registration offer with a copy, or where the registration officer considers it appropriate, the original, of one of the following documents, which has been certified by a Crown servant or British Council employee or an officer of the forces, who is not the applicant’s spouse or civil partner—
(a) the applicant’s passport;
(b) the applicant’s identity card issued in the European Economic Area.
(10) If sub-paragraph (8)(b) applies to an application, the registration officer may require that the applicant provides an attestation which must—
(a) confirm that the applicant is the person named in the application,
(b) be in writing and signed by an officer of the forces who is not the spouse, civil partner, parent, grandparent, brother, sister, child or grandchild of the applicant,
(c) state the full name, address and rank of the person signing the attestation and the service, whether naval, military or air forces, in which they serve, and
(d) state the date on which it is made.
(11) A document or attestation provided under this paragraph may be transmitted by an applicant by electronic means.
(12) In this paragraph—
“Crown Dependency” means the Bailiwick of Jersey, the Bailiwick of Guernsey or the Isle of Man;
“member of the forces” has the same meaning as in section 59(1) of the 1983 Act;
“officer of the forces” means a member of the forces who is an officer;
“service declaration” has the same meaning as in section 202(1) of the 1983 Act.
(13) This paragraph does not apply in relation to an application under article 7(2)—
(a) which is received by the registration officer after 5.00 p.m. on the sixth day before the day of the poll at the election for which it is made, and
(b) where paragraph 11(3) or (3A) applies.

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Source: https://www.legislation.gov.uk/wsi/2025/864/schedule/1/paragraph/11B (the official version)
Page: https://openlegislation.uk/senedd-cymru-representation-of-the-people-order-2025/schedule-1/paragraph-11B
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Source: legislation.gov.uk, The National Archives.