UK & Ireland Record Collections: Electoral Register Records

Registers of electors in Parliamentary elections were first required to be compiled in 1832 and have been produced annually since then with the following exceptions:

• 1916 to 1917 No registers
• 1919 to 1926 Two registers per year
• 1940 to 1944 No registers
• 1945 to 1946 Two registers per year

The British Library holds a complete set from 1947 onwards and has a good collection of earlier registers. For registers prior to 1984, 48 hours notice is required by the library as many of the records are held off-site.

Click here for the British Library Collection: Electoral Registers

You will also find a good selection of Electoral Registers (particularly for the 1830’s) at Guildhall Library, Aldermanbury, London, EC2P 2EJ. The County Record Office or the major Reference Library for the area you’re interested in will probably have substantial holdings for their own area dating from the earliest years: the London Metropolitan Archives for example, holds an almost complete set of Electoral Registers for London and Middlesex.

The National Archives of Scotland holds a good collection of Electoral Registers for Scotland and the National Library of Wales holds many for Wales. Electoral Registers are best used for finding or confirming the residents at a known address. They are seldom suitable for tracing the whereabouts of individuals. For further information about the history of Electoral Registers, see RHA Cheffins, Parliamentary Constituencies and their Registers Since 1832 (British Library, 1998). For the whereabouts of surviving registers for particular areas, see: J Gibson and C Rogers, Electoral Registers since 1832 (FFHS, 1989).

London Electoral Registers
London Electoral Registers