Registering with the FEC or Your State

Registering your committee is the step that makes your campaign official in the eyes of regulators — and it runs on deadlines that start ticking whether you are watching or not. Here is how it works federally, how it differs for state and local races, and why the details you file will follow you everywhere.

Federal candidates: two filings, two clocks

Federal campaigns file two forms with the FEC, each on its own deadline:

1. Form 2, the Statement of Candidacy. Once your campaign raises or spends more than $5,000, you are legally a candidate and must file Form 2 within 15 days. This form also designates your principal campaign committee.
2. Form 1, the Statement of Organization. Your committee then files Form 1 within 10 days of being designated. It names your committee, your treasurer, and your bank.

Notice what starts the clock: crossing $5,000 in money raised or spent — not announcing, not filing for the ballot. Many campaigns cross it earlier than they expect, because the candidate's own spending counts. You can also register before hitting the threshold, and many campaigns do so to start cleanly. Both forms file electronically at fec.gov.

State and local races: check your state's rules

If you are running for state or local office, the FEC is not your regulator — your state election authority is, usually the Secretary of State or a state board of elections. Registration thresholds, forms, and deadlines vary enormously: some states require you to register before accepting a single contribution, others use dollar thresholds of their own, and local races sometimes add a county or municipal filing on top.

Find your state election authority's candidate guide early and read the deadlines before you raise money, not after. Your county clerk or election board can point you to the right office if you are unsure.

Your details must match everywhere — here is why

Whatever you file, treat your committee's legal name, address, treasurer name, and EIN as one exact string of facts, repeated identically across the IRS, your registration, your bank, and your PolitiFast onboarding.

This is not fussiness. Later, when your campaign wants to text voters, your committee goes through carrier verification — the carriers and Campaign Verify check your details against public registration records, and a committee name that reads one way on your FEC filing and slightly differently elsewhere can stall that approval for days or weeks. The campaigns that sail through verification are the ones whose paperwork agrees with itself. See Getting Approved to Text: Campaign Verify and Carrier Registration in the Texting category for what that process involves.

After you file

Your regulator issues a committee ID number. Record it with your EIN and bank details — it appears on every report you file from here on, and some jurisdictions require it in your ads or disclaimers. Registration also starts your reporting obligations, so put the reporting calendar in front of your treasurer the same week; Campaign Finance Compliance Basics covers what those reports require.

A note before you act

This guide is practical general guidance, not legal advice. Election law varies by state and changes often — confirm requirements with the FEC, your state election authority, or an election-law attorney.