Advice for young LGBTQ+ people | voter ID

If you’re a younger LGBTQ+ person, you may not have an accepted form of photo Voter ID. You may also struggle to have access to documents like birth certificates or passports which you need when applying for other forms of photo Voter ID, especially if family relationships are strained. 

It’s important to get your photo Voter ID well in advance of an election.

First, you should check whether you already have an accepted form of photo Voter ID. Read What photo ID can I use to vote? to see the list of photo IDs that are accepted at the polling station. 

Student ID and travel cards for younger people are not accepted forms of photo Voter ID under the Elections Act (2022). This means that you can’t use your:

If you need new photo Voter ID, there are options available to you. 

An easy way to get photo Voter ID is through the Free Voter Authority Certificate. It’s photo ID specifically made for elections and it's free. All you’ll need to provide is:  

If you don’t know your National Insurance number then you can still apply, but you may be asked to supply other supporting documents to prove who you are. Voter Authority Certificates are for election use only and can’t be used for other reasons, for example to prove your age.

Find more details about the Free Voter Authority Certificate and how to apply. 

My family has my photo ID / documents 

If you have a good relationship with your family, the first step should be to ask your family to return your passport, birth certificate, or other documentation. You should only do this if it’s safe to do so, do not put yourself under unnecessary stress or danger. If you are not in contact with your family, or it isn’t safe to contact them, then you might try asking someone else to get your documents for you. 

Your family has no legal right to withhold your photo ID, but you might not be able to get them without your family’s permission.

Photo ID you can get without your passport / birth certificate 

If you have no access to existing photo ID and documents like your birth certificate and don’t want to use a free Voter Authority Certificate to vote, then there is another option.   

All PASS (National Proof of Age Standards Scheme) cards are accepted forms of photo Voter ID.

Citizencard is one of these photo ID cards. You don’t need other documents to apply for one. Instead of providing your passport or birth certificate, they ask a responsible person to verify who you are. The person would be a professional who has access to documents that can confirm your identity. 

Certain rules apply. Your referee (the person who verifies who you are) must work somehwere their own details can be verified: for instance if they are published online. They can’t be your guardian, foster carer, spouse, civil partner, fiancé or boyfriend/girlfriend. You also can’t live with your referee. 

There are two different kinds of referee you can use: 

Route 1: referees need to see and check an original document confirming your identity. 

If they know you personally, they can use documents like:

• Disclosure and Barring Service certificate (DBS)
• European National ID Card (must bear a recent likeness to you)
• Global or European Health Insurance Card
• Gender Recognition Certificate 

If they don’t know you personally, they can use a more limited range of documents.

Route 2:  referees may be more useful for people who haven’t had many, or any forms of photo ID that leave a paper trail. These referees can verify your identity by official records held at their place of work. 

This means that you could potentially use the following people as referees:

Teacher / University / Tutor / Head of Year / Administrator / Careers Adviser at your School / College / Lecturer

Doctor/ Dentist / Nurse

Bank / Building Society staff member at your branch 

See the full list of referees and documents that Citizencard accepts.