Constitutional petition verification number

Each local authority is required to publish a verification number which is the figure representing 5% of the number of local government electors in the area of the District. This is the minimum number of signatures needed to trigger a referendum for an Elected Mayor.

The verification number is published each year during February. The number is for use between 1st April and 31st March following publication.

However, in any year there is a short period of time when there is one of two figures that can be used. This is between publication of the number and 31st March that same year. During that time the alternative number that can be used is the one that was published the previous year. Councils must use the lower of these two numbers as the verification number for any petition submitted during that period.

• Year commencing 1 April 2023 and ending 31 March 2024, the published verification number is 3565