Residents across Nottingham have been receiving Household Enquiry Forms through the post from the City Council over the last few days as part of the process of registering to vote.
The Household Enquiry Forms (HEFs) have been sent to every household to show residents who is currently registered at their address and ask them to confirm or update the details by responding to the form.
Responding to the HEF is a legal requirement as the Electoral Registration Officer needs the information to be able to publish a complete and accurate Electoral Register on 1 December each year. Anyone not responding to the form could be fined up to £1,000.
People can respond to the form by using one of the following options:
- Visiting www.householdresponse.com/Nottingham
- Calling Electoral Services on 0115 8764111
- Returning the form by post
In addition to this, if there are no changes to make, responses can be made by:
- Calling 0800 197 9871 (automated service)
- Texting NOCHANGE followed by your security code to 80212
The individual security codes provided on each HEF need to be provided when responding online or by phone.
Sarah Wilson, Electoral Services Manager at the City Council said: “Responding is quick and easy and I’d advise people do it as soon as possible. The Electoral Registration Officer is required to send reminders or arrange a personal visit to households who do not respond. This process can be very costly, so we encourage citizens to respond early to help keep the cost down.”
“Once people have confirmed that the details on their HEF are correct then they don’t have to do anything further. If new names have been added to the form then these people will receive an additional form called an Invitation to Register (ITR) which they will need to complete by providing their date of birth and national insurance number.”
Completing the Invitation to Register will:
- allow you to be able to vote
- improve your credit rating
- make it easier to access council services
- help you avoid a fine of £80
Students living in Nottingham also need to respond to the Household Enquiry Form and Invitation to Register. As a student you can register at both your home and term time addresses but registering in Nottingham not only enables you to vote here but also ensures you have access to council services.