The easiest way to improve your credit score in just 2 minutes

We want to share a little secret with you that could boost your credit score. It will only take you two minutes and it’s completely free.

Are you ready? Okay – to improve your credit score, you need to sign up to the electoral register.

So voting gives me a better credit rating?

You don’t have to vote to improve your credit score – and how you vote doesn’t affect it either. Brexit or Bremain, right or left, red, yellow, green or blue, Blur or Oasis, it doesn’t matter.

What does matter is that your details are on the electoral register. And millions of us aren’t.

Why’s it important?

If you ever plan to vote in a UK election, you need to be on the electoral register. But, as we said, there’s another reason to be on it.

When you apply for credit, the lender uses the electoral register to check that details you’ve given them are right. They do this to reduce any risk of fraud – like someone attempting to borrow in your name.

How do I register?

You can register here for free by following the instructions. It only takes a couple of minutes.  You don’t even have to be a UK citizen to register.  EU nationals can vote (in some elections at least), Irish nationals and qualifying Commonwealth citizens all can too.

And you can also opt out of the open register. The open register is different to the electoral register – any individual or business can buy it. So, for example, a company might buy it to contact the people on it as part of a marketing campaign (spam alert!).

The open register isn’t used to credit check you – that’s the electoral register. So you can sign up to just the electoral register and not worry about being hounded with junk mail from people who’ve “heard you’ve been in an accident”. Just make sure you opt out of the open register to stay clear of the spammers.

I think I’m already registered?

If you’re already on the electoral register, that’s a mark in your favour on your credit history. But it’s still worth checking that all your details are up to date.

So, if you’ve moved house or got married and changed your name, check that the electoral register shows this. If it doesn’t, it could put the brakes on your applications for credit in the future.

And there you have it. A super-easy way to perk up your credit score. For more ways to give your score a boost, check this out.