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In England, all voters heading to the polls will need to show a photo ID before they are allowed to cast their vote.

This is not the case for the Welsh and Scottish Parliament elections.

The forms of ID that will be accepted by polling stations include:

• British, European Economic Area, or Commonwealth passport
• UK driver's licence
• Blue badge
• Older or disabled person's UK-funded buss pass
• Pass proof of age card
• Veterans' card

There are also many other forms of ID acceptable at polling stations in England, you can find the full list here, external.

You can use our postcode lookup tool to see if there are any elections happening in your area - and, if so, who is on the ballot.

Everyone voting in England will need to show ID to be able to vote. However, this is not the case in Scotland or Wales.

Acceptable forms of ID include passports and driving licences, and you can find a full list of what is accepted here, external.

Registration for postal and proxy votes closed last month, but if you realise at the last minute that you cannot cast a ballot in person, you can apply for an emergency proxy, external until 17:00 BST.

Jack Grey
Live reporter

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The Senedd, or Welsh Parliament, is the national parliament of Wales and like the Scottish Parliament passes laws on matters that have been devolved by the UK.

It was established in 1999, but was initially called the Welsh Assembly, as opposed to parliament, and its powers were fairly limited.

However, over the years more and more powers have been devolved, with the Senedd now having full law-making powers in areas including health, education, transport, rural affairs, and the environment.

Other areas such as defence, benefits, foreign affairs and major rail infrastructure still remain with Westminster.

This is the first election for the newly expanded Senedd, which will now be made up of 96 members of the Senedd (MSs) - up from 60.

It is also the first Senedd election under a new proportional voting system which will see Wales divided into 16 large constituencies - you can read more on that here.

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The Scottish Parliament passes laws that apply to those living in Scotland in areas that have been devolved from the UK Parliament.

These areas cover most aspects of day-to-day life in Scotland, including education, health and transport, and some aspects of tax.

Westminster still passes laws that apply to Scotland on reserved matters, which are typically those with international impacts like defence, foreign policy and immigration.

Established in 1999, the Scottish Parliament, in Holyrood, Edinburgh, is made up of 129 members of Scottish Parliament (MSPs).

All of these seats are up for grabs on today's election, in which each voter will cast two votes, one for a constituency MSP and another is for the regional ballot.

• You can read more about the Scottish Parliament and how the election works in our online explainer

BBC Wales News

The leaders of all six main political parties in Wales have cast their votes.

Plaid Cymru leader Rhun ap Iorwerth voted in Llangristiolus, Anglesey, while Welsh leader of Reform Dan Thomas voted in Aberbargoed, Caerphilly county.

Welsh Liberal Democrats leader Jane Dodds headed to her local polling station in Hay-on-Wye, Powys and Welsh Greens leader Anthony Slaughter was joined by Green Party leader Zach Polanski on his way to vote in Penarth, Vale of Glamorgan.

Welsh Labour leader Eluned Morgan voted in St Davids, Pembrokeshire while Welsh Conservative leader Darren Millar cast his vote in Kinmel Bay, Conwy.

Image source, Reuters

Image source, ITV

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Here's your third quiz question of the day.

You can have a go at questions one and two by clicking the links.

Across this morning, the leaders of the main parties in Westminster have been pictured out and about, as millions head to the polls to cast their votes.

We've spotted Prime Minister Keir Starmer and his wife, Victoria, Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and his wife, Emily, Tory leader Kemi Badenoch and her husband, Hamish, and Green Party leader Zack Polanski.

• As a reminder, this is not a general election - seats in Westminster remain uncontested. So, what's up for grabs?

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Reuters

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Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

Nabiha Ahmed
Live reporter

Our teams have been gathering some of the key questions voters have been searching for this morning before going to the polls.

If you're about to head out the door, here's a glossary of our guides to voting in person:

What are today's elections?

Local elections are taking place in parts of England, alongside national elections in Scotland and Wales. Here's a closer look at the contests.

We also have individual, in-depth guides to each of the England, Scotland and Wales votes.

Do I need ID to vote?

If you're voting in England, you'll need to bring photo ID with you. Here's a list of the kinds of ID you can take.

You do not need ID to vote in person in the Scottish Parliament or Senedd elections.

Do I need a polling card to vote?

If you think you know the answer, test your knowledge here. (No spoilers!)

We've also rounded up the polling day dos and don'ts here.

When will election results be announced?

Unlike in a general election, not all votes are being counted overnight. Here's a breakdown of when we can expect results to come through.

If you are planning to stay up, here's how the BBC will be covering the election through the night.

What's the polling day weather forecast?

It's a mixed picture. Click here to find out if it's sunglasses or an umbrella you'll need to pack.

Image source, Getty Images

In the past, everyone in the UK had to be at least 18 to vote in any local or devolved parliament election, however, this is no longer the case.

Since 2016 in Scotland, and 2021 in Wales, 16 and 17-year-olds have been able to vote in local government, Senedd and Scottish Parliament elections.

In England, the minimum voting age for local and mayoral elections is 18.

In a general election, the voting age is 18 across the UK.

Once polls close at 22:00, our coverage will shift to the counts and results.

(Remember, though: most results won't be counted through the night, bar some councils in England).

Here's what to watch and when:

From 23:00, BBC Radio 4 and BBC Radio 5 Live will join forces for an overnight results programme, co-presented by Nick Robinson and Rachel Burden.

From 23:10 on BBC One, Laura Kuenssberg be hosting a special programme, alongside analysis from polling guru Sir John Curtice and number-crunching from Reeta Chakrabarti.

On Friday morning, Sophie Rayworth will take over on BBC One, with Clive Myrie in Cardiff for the Senedd elections and Kirsty Wark in Edinburgh for the Holyrood vote.

In our last post, we walked you through the six mayoral elections taking place in England today. But what will the successful candidates be responsible for?

All of these elected mayors will serve as the political leaders of their respective councils and appoint cabinets made up of elected councillors.

These councils, led by the elected mayors, control local services like housing, planning and waste collection.

You may be thinking that London already has a mayor, and you'd be right - the Mayor of London Sadiq Khan - however that's a separate role which isn't up for election today, which deals with city-wide matters like transport and policing.

Image source, Getty Images

Six mayoral elections are taking place today.

That includes five in London: Newham, Hackney and Lewisham - all of which have Labour mayors - Croydon, which has a Tory mayor, and Tower Hamlets, where there is an Aspire mayor.

The only mayoral election outside London will take place in Watford, where there is currently a Liberal Democrat mayor.

It's a big day in London - home to more than a third of the seats up for election in England today.

There are votes being held in all 32 boroughs and a total of 1,817 councillors will be elected.

And if you're eligible to vote in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham or Tower Hamlets, you'll get to vote for new mayors, too.

• For those in London, enter your postcode into our online tool to find out who you can vote for

All registered voters get sent a polling card in the post - but do you need to take it with you into a polling station?

Here's your second quiz question of the day (you can have a go at the first here).

Sharing photos of dogs at polling stations has become something an election day staple, and we'd be remiss not to bring you a selection of the best snaps.

These dogs were up bright and early to accompany their owners this morning.

Image source, Getty Images

Image source, PA Media

Image source, Getty Images

We've just walked you through the contests being held in England today, which includes votes for representatives across 136 local authorities.

About 40% of England's population lives in an area with a parish or town council.

Some parts of England are covered by county councils, which cover an entire county, and district councils, which cover a smaller area within the county.

View the graphic above for a closer a look at what each of them does.

Around 5,000 seats across 136 local councils are being contested in England today.

How many votes will you get?

Voters generally have one vote for each available seat in an election area, known as a ward or division. Some wards have more than one representative. Your ballot paper will tell you how many votes you have.

What's the voting system?

First-past-the-post, meaning the candidate or candidates with the most votes in each ward win and become councillors.

What's being contested?

Some areas will be electing every council seat, others just some of the total seats available, and some areas of England will have no local elections at all this year. So some councils may well change hands between different parties.

Overall, elections are being held across 32 London boroughs, 32 metropolitan councils, 48 district councils, 18 unitary authorities, six county councils, in addition to six mayoral contests in Croydon, Hackney, Lewisham, Newham, Tower Hamlets and Watford.

It's up to you. Unlike in a general election, not all votes are being counted overnight.

So, it really depends what you're following and when you want to know the outcome.

In England, 46 of the 136 local authorities holding elections plan to count and declare overnight.

But counting won't begin for the national elections in Scotland and Wales until Friday morning.

Whatever you choose, we'll be keeping across the counts through the night.

In the lead up to elections, we're often asked similar questions around the rules on polling day.

This year, we thought we'd try something a bit different and turn them back on you.

We'll be posting quiz questions throughout the day - here's the first:

In Scotland today, the seats for all 129 members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) are up for re-election.

There are 73 constituency MSPs, and 56 regional MSPs (seven per region) in Holyrood.

Each voter has two ballot papers and casts two votes, one to elect their constituency MSP and one to elect their area's regional MSPs. (Watch the video below to find out how they work.)

Usually the party with the most MSPs forms the Scottish government, and its leader becomes first minister.