Please refer to the important information on standing for election via these links:
- Guidance for candidates and agents at UK Parliamentary elections
- Guidance for candidates and agents at a Police and Crime Commissioner (PCC) election
- Guidance on publicity for elections May 2024
- Guidance on publicity during the election period - Local Government Association
- Guidance for candidates and agents at Cornwall Council elections
- Guidance for candidates at Parish and Town Council elections
- Guidance on becoming a councillor - Local Government Association
- Code of Conduct for Campaigners at elections
- Information on parish and town councils in Cornwall
- All about parish and town councils booklet
More publications for parish and town councils are on the National Association of Local Councils website.
Be a Councillor
To stand for election to be a councillor, you can be an independent candidate or you can be a member of a political party.
If you wish to stand on behalf of a political party, you will need that party to give you the necessary written authorisation. Please refer to the relevant candidate's guidance above for more information.
Information on the role of a councillor and how to stand for election is available on the Local Government Association website.
Please visit our Town and Parish Council Vacancies page for Information on how to become a Parish or Town Councillor.
Information packs for candidates
If you wish to be a candidate at an election, please contact us as soon as possible to request an information pack. Our contact details are at the bottom of this page.
The pack contains required forms and guidance on the election process.
The election timetable begins when the Notice of Election is published. Candidates must return their completed nomination papers by hand and by the legal deadline to the place stated in the Notice of Election.
Withdrawal of nominations
Withdrawal of nominations now closes at the same time as receipt of nominations.
If you are nominated in more than one division or ward for elections on the same day for the same council, you must withdraw from all areas but one before the withdrawal of nominations deadline.
If you do not withdraw from all but one, you will be deemed to have withdrawn from all areas and you will no longer be a candidate.
Election campaigning expense limits
Candidates must follow rules about what they spend during their election campaign. The above limits applied to the local elections in May 2021.
Different expenses rules apply for different types of election. The above guidance for candidates includes full details on candidate's spending.
For the latest expenses limit details for a current election, please contact our Electoral Services team. Our contact details are at the bottom of this page.
After the election, candidates must submit a return of their expenses incurred. If no expenses were incurred, candidates must submit forms saying "nil. This return is to check that expenditure is within the authorised limit.
Candidates are not entitled to any refund of such expenses from the Council.
Electoral boundaries
Parliamentary constituencies will change for the next UK Parliamentary general election to be held by the end of January 2025. (For any UK Parliamentary by-election that may take place beforehand, current constituencies would still apply).
Please go to our pages for the 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituencies for more information.
Electoral boundaries for Cornwall Council elections changed at the council elections in May 2021. The number of Cornwall Council divisions was reduced to 87. Some changes to parish/town council boundaries were also made due to facilitate these new divisions.
Some parish boundary changes will take effect at the elections of parish and town councillors in May 2025 following our Community Governance Review over recent years. More information is available on our Community Governance Review pages on this website.
If you are not sure which area you wish to stand in, please view our interactive map of electoral boundaries. Use the plus + and minus - buttons to left to zoom in and out. You can drag the map to the area of interest to display the relevant boundaries on the map.
Yo can also add or remove layers of different boundaries using the Layers option on the menu, then via the Government boundaries heading on the left.
