Open Register Opt Out: How to Remove Your Name
The open register is the version of the electoral roll anyone can buy — it’s the upstream source that feeds 192.com, credit-reference marketing and most UK people-finders. Opting out cuts off supply, not just one listing.
What The Open (Edited) Electoral Register exposes
Step by step
- 1
Opt out through the register-to-vote service
The quickest route, and it works even if you are already registered and living in the UK — you are not registering again, just changing the open-register setting. Go to gov.uk/register-to-vote. Doing it this way saves you finding your council.
- 2
Or contact your electoral registration office directly
If you would rather deal with your council, gov.uk/contact-electoral-registration-office finds your local office from your postcode. In Northern Ireland it is the Electoral Office for Northern Ireland instead, and if you are registered as an overseas voter it is the office that confirmed your registration.
- 3
Quote the wording
“Please remove me from the open version of the electoral register.” Give your name and address as registered. You stay on the full register, so it doesn’t affect your vote or your credit file. If anyone in the household is registered separately, each person has to ask for themselves — the setting is per elector, not per address.
- 4
Understand the timing — and what it cannot undo
It is not retrospective. Copies already sold stay sold, and the buyers are under no obligation to delete what they lawfully bought. What it does is stop future supply from the next monthly update onward. That is why the order matters: opt out here first, then clear the directories, or you will be clearing listings that are about to be refilled.
- 5
Now clear what the register already fed
Switching off the supply does nothing to the copies already in circulation, so the listings that are already public still have to be dealt with one at a time. 192.com is the big one and the place most people find themselves; TraceSmart and Companies House run on the same fuel.
- 6
Re-check after you move house
The single most common way people end up back on the open register is moving. A new address means a new registration, and the open-register setting defaults back to opted-in unless you say otherwise on the form. Diary a check whenever you move, and again after any household registration.
If that doesn’t work
- If the online route will not accept you — commonly for overseas voters or anyone registered anonymously — write to your electoral registration office directly. The request does not have to be on a form.
- There is no charge for this, ever. If anything asks you to pay to be taken off the open register, it is not the open register.
What removing yourself from The Open (Edited) Electoral Register won't do
Most guides skip this part.
- It is not retrospective. Every copy sold before you opted out stays with whoever bought it, and they can lawfully keep using it. This stops the tap; it does not empty the bucket.
- It clears no listing by itself. 192.com, TraceSmart and the rest keep publishing what they already hold until each is asked separately, so the opt-out is step one of two and never the whole job.
- It does not touch data brokers who never used the register. Marketing and B2B databases built from competition entries, loyalty schemes and breach data are unaffected by anything you do here.
- It has to be redone when you move. A new registration defaults back to being on the open register unless you change the setting again, which is how most people quietly reappear.
Your data is on more than just The Open (Edited) Electoral Register
We track 275+ sites across the US and UK. Run a free exposure check to see everywhere you appear — then let us send the removal requests for you and keep monitoring.
Or read how we do it and what we refuse to send, and how UK coverage compares.
FAQ
Does opting out affect my vote or credit score?
No. You stay on the full register, which is what’s used for elections and credit checks. Only the open (sellable) copy is affected. This is the most common reason people leave themselves on it, and it is a misunderstanding.
Why does this matter more than removing one site?
The open register is a source. Removing 192.com without opting out here means your data reappears at the next refresh — you would be clearing a listing that is about to be refilled.
What is the difference between the full and open register?
The full register is used for elections, jury service and credit referencing, and access to it is restricted by law. The open — or edited — register is the same information sold to anyone who asks: marketers, directories and people-search sites. Opting out affects only the second one.
How long does it take?
The change lands at the next monthly register update, so between a few days and about five weeks depending on where you are in the cycle. There is nothing to chase and no reference number to keep.
Is it really free?
Yes. It is a statutory right and no council may charge for it. Any site charging a fee to take you off the open register is selling you something you can do yourself in five minutes.
Do I have to do this again?
Whenever you move house, and after any change to how your household is registered. A fresh registration puts you back on the open register by default unless you say otherwise on the form.
Other removal guides
Last updated 9 July 2026