Sports Personality of the Year 2016: How to vote online

You can cast your vote on the night for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016 by phone or for free online.

Voting will open during the show, with phone numbers shown on screen during the broadcast and made available online.

Online votes are capped at one per registered account.

• Meet the contenders

How can I vote online?

In order to vote online for BBC Sports Personality of the Year 2016, you must sign in to a BBC account. If you already have an account you can do that here.

If you do not have an account, you will need to register before you can vote. Details on how to do this can be found here.

Registering only takes a few minutes, and the same BBC account can be used across the BBC's interactive platforms to write comments, personalise your BBC Sport app and iPlayer experience, or even vote on Strictly Come Dancing.

If you're clicking the links to sign in or register and you are remaining on this page then you are already signed in to a BBC account and you are ready to vote when it opens during the live programme here.

I have my BBC account. Now what?

Once you have a BBC account, you are ready to go. You are advised to log in to your account before the vote opens.

During the live show on 18 December, the presenters will let you know when the vote has opened. You will then be able to cast your vote online.

Simply go to the Sports Personality website when the vote is open and click on the Vote Now page.

The winner of the combined phone and online vote will be announced during the show.

If you are having trouble voting by phone or online please see our voting FAQs.