Why campaign finance compliance matters from day one
Campaign finance law isn't an afterthought – it applies from the moment you begin raising or spending money, and in many jurisdictions, from the moment you decide to run. A candidate who accepts a contribution before registering their committee, or who misses a reporting deadline, has already created a compliance problem. The good news is that the requirements for a local race are usually manageable. The bad news is that "I didn't know" is rarely an accepted defense.
The basic framework is the same across most jurisdictions: you register a committee (usually called a candidate committee or campaign committee), open a dedicated bank account in that committee's name, and file periodic reports disclosing who gave you money and what you spent it on. The frequency of reporting, the thresholds that trigger reporting requirements, and the rules around contribution limits and permitted sources all vary by state and sometimes by locality.
For a first-time candidate, the most important things to understand are: what triggers your reporting obligation, what the deadlines are, and what you are and aren't allowed to accept as a contribution. Everything else builds from there.
Campaign finance law varies by state and locality. The framework described on this page is general. Before you raise or spend any money, look up the specific rules that apply to your race. Your state or local elections authority likely publishes guidance. Review it, and contact them directly if you have questions about any specifics.
Registering your campaign committee
In most jurisdictions, a candidate must register a campaign committee before accepting contributions or making expenditures. Some states have a minimum threshold – you may not be required to register until you've raised or spent above a certain dollar amount – but the safest approach for most candidates is to register as soon as you decide to run and before any money changes hands.
Registration typically involves filing a form with your state or local election authority that includes: your name and address, the name of your campaign committee, the name and address of your campaign treasurer, and the address of your campaign bank account (or a statement that you intend to open one). Some jurisdictions require a filing fee.
Choosing a treasurer
Most jurisdictions require that you designate a campaign treasurer – a person who is legally responsible for the committee's financial records and filings. This can be the candidate themselves in most states, but many campaigns appoint a trusted volunteer, friend, or family member with basic bookkeeping skills. The treasurer's name is public record. Their job is to track every contribution and expenditure, make sure records are accurate, and file reports on time.
The treasurer doesn't need to be a financial professional, but they do need to be reliable, organized, and detail-oriented. A missed report or a filing error falls on the treasurer as well as the candidate. Choose someone who takes the responsibility seriously and has the capacity to meet deadlines.
If you have the budget for it and are running in a district with strict or complex reporting requirements, hiring a professional campaign treasurer (in many areas, there are accounting and law firms that specialize in this work) can be a wise investment.
Opening a dedicated bank account
Campaign funds must be kept in a dedicated bank account separate from the candidate's personal finances. Commingling campaign money with personal money is a compliance violation in virtually every jurisdiction and can create serious problems even if no money is misused. Open the account as soon as you register – and don't spend any campaign money until the account exists.
Most banks can open a campaign or political committee account with the committee registration documents and the treasurer's identification. Some banks are more familiar with campaign accounts than others; it's worth calling ahead to confirm they handle political committees before making an appointment.
Contributions: what you can accept and from whom
Not every source of money is a permissible campaign contribution, and not every amount is acceptable. Before soliciting contributions, understand the rules that apply to your race.
Contribution limits
Many states and localities cap the amount any individual can contribute to a candidate committee in a single election cycle. The limit varies widely – it may be a few hundred dollars for a local race or several thousand for a statewide one. Some jurisdictions have no limits on individual contributions to local candidates. Know your limit before you ask anyone for money.
Contribution limits are typically per-election, meaning a donor who maxes out in the primary can give again in the general. If your jurisdiction uses a different cycle definition, check with your election authority.
Prohibited sources
Most jurisdictions prohibit contributions from certain sources. Common prohibitions include contributions from corporations, labor unions, government contractors, or foreign nationals. Some states prohibit cash contributions above a certain threshold. The specific prohibitions vary – review the rules for your jurisdiction before accepting any contribution you're unsure about.
When in doubt, don't accept the contribution until you've confirmed it's permissible. A contribution from a prohibited source that you've already deposited is harder to deal with than one you declined upfront.
In-kind contributions
A contribution doesn't have to be cash to count. If a supporter provides goods or services to your campaign at below-market cost – printing services, use of office space, a catered event, graphic design – the difference between what they charged and the fair market value is an in-kind contribution subject to the same limits and reporting requirements as cash. Volunteers giving their time generally do not constitute an in-kind contribution, but volunteers using their personal resources (vehicle mileage, supplies purchased for the campaign) may.
Track in-kind contributions carefully. They're easy to miss and commonly misreported.
If you contribute your own money to your campaign, it is generally treated as a self-contribution and must be reported. If you loan your campaign money, that loan must also be reported and the repayment terms must be documented. Rules around candidate self-financing vary by jurisdiction. Confirm the specific rules before putting personal funds into the campaign.
Expenditures: what you're spending and on what
Every dollar your campaign spends must be documented: what it was for, who it was paid to, how much, and when. Campaigns that fail to keep expenditure records in real time typically end up reconstructing them from memory and bank statements before a filing deadline – an error-prone and stressful process. Build the habit of recording expenditures as they happen.
Most campaign expenditures fall into a small number of categories:
| Category | What it covers |
|---|---|
| Voter contact | Printing costs for door hangers, mailers, and palm cards. Canvassing and phone banking software. Postage. |
| Digital | Website hosting and domain. Email platform. Social media advertising (if used). |
| Fundraising | Fundraising platform fees. Event costs (venue, food, invitations). Thank-you mailings. |
| Campaign materials | Yard signs. T-shirts and merchandise. Buttons and stickers. |
| Compliance | Campaign finance software or accountant. Legal fees if needed. |
| Candidate expenses | Transportation costs. Candidate's personal time costs if relevant. |
| Consulting services | Outside consultant help – typically campaign strategy. |
| Media | Radio or TV ads, depending on the scale of your race. |
The key rule: campaign funds must be spent on campaign purposes. Candidates cannot use campaign money for personal expenses – meals, clothing, rent, personal travel, or anything else that would exist regardless of the campaign. The line between a legitimate campaign expense and a personal one is sometimes unclear; when in doubt, pay from personal funds and don't seek reimbursement.
Filing campaign finance reports
Campaign finance reports are the mechanism through which your committee's financial activity becomes public record. They disclose your contributions (who gave, how much, when) and your expenditures (who you paid, for what, how much). Most jurisdictions require periodic reports throughout the campaign cycle and a final report after the election.
Reporting schedules and deadlines
Reporting deadlines are fixed and non-negotiable. A report that is one day late is a violation. Most jurisdictions publish a reporting calendar for each election year – get that calendar early, mark every deadline, and build your reporting workflow around it rather than scrambling before each deadline.
Common reporting periods for local races include: pre-primary and pre-election reports (covering activity up to a cutoff date close to the election), quarterly reports, a post-election report, and an annual report if the committee stays open between election cycles. Some jurisdictions require additional reports if a single contribution exceeds a threshold amount within a certain number of days before the election.
What goes in a report
A campaign finance report typically includes: itemized contributions above a threshold amount (usually showing donor name, address, employer, occupation, amount, and date), aggregate contributions below the threshold (shown as a total), itemized expenditures above a threshold (showing payee, purpose, amount, and date), and beginning and ending cash balances that reconcile with your bank account.
The specific thresholds and fields required vary by jurisdiction. Use your jurisdiction's official forms or approved campaign finance software, which will prompt you for the right information.
Amended reports
If you discover an error in a filed report – a misreported amount, a missing contribution, an incorrectly categorized expenditure – file an amended report as soon as possible. Proactively correcting errors is treated far more favorably than having them discovered by an auditor or opponent.
Raising money for your campaign
Compliance is the framework that governs how your campaign handles money. Fundraising – building a donor list, making the ask, running events, setting up online giving – is covered in its own guide.
For detailed guidance on how to raise money for your campaign, see the fundraising guide.
Next steps
Before you raise or spend any money:
- Look up your jurisdiction's campaign finance rules. Find the state or local election authority responsible for campaign finance in your race and read the requirements that apply to your office level.
- Register your campaign committee. File the required registration form before accepting any contributions or making any expenditures.
- Designate a treasurer. Choose someone reliable and give them access to the reporting calendar and the bank account.
- Open a dedicated bank account. Keep campaign funds entirely separate from personal finances from day one.
- Mark every reporting deadline. Get the official reporting calendar for your election cycle and build your compliance schedule around it.
- Set up a contribution and expenditure log. Record every transaction as it happens. Don't reconstruct from memory.