What you need to know about the annual canvass
11.07.25
Jasmin
Jasmin is Knowledge Manager at Checkmyfile and has been part of the team for over 10 years. She previously led the customer care team for five years, adding invaluable front-line experience to her credit report knowledge.
The annual canvass is a process where the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for each council checks that the Electoral Register is accurate and complete. It’s designed to get the name and address of every person who should be on the Register of Electors.
They do this during a set timeframe (normally from July until November) before publishing the canvass on 1 December. So what happens?
July
Local authorities send out Household Enquiry Forms (either by letter or text message).
July – November
Households confirm their details and return it to their local authorities.
The local authorities collate the responses and add them to their databases.
December
The annual canvass is published on 1 December. The credit reference agencies then purchase the annual canvass data for their databases.
What does this mean for you?
If you’ve recently updated or confirmed your Electoral Roll details, and it’s during this period, it’s likely that your listing will have been included in the annual canvass. You’ll be able to tell whether this is the case by looking for the date when your local council confirms your listing is due to be published. If they confirm that your listing is due to be published on 1 December, normally all you need to do is wait.
It can sometimes take a month or so from 1 December before any updates to your Electoral Roll status are reflected in the credit reference agencies’ databases, but this will take place automatically.
Keeping your details accurate on the Electoral Roll is vital for your credit health, so it’s important to stay in the know and reconfirm your details each year.