SUPPLEMENTAL FILING INFORMATION
FOR PACs & PARTY COMMITTEES
PLEASE NOTE: The Commission provides reminders of upcoming filing dates as a courtesy to help committees comply with the filing deadlines set forth in the Act and Commission regulations. Committee treasurers must comply with all applicable filing deadlines established by law, and the lack of prior notice does not constitute an excuse for failing to comply with any filing deadline.
WHO MUST FILE
All Party Committees and PACs (Nonconnected Committees and Separate Segregated Funds) must file either semiannual or monthly reports in 2007.
Before a committee can stop filing with the FEC, it must file a termination report with the Commission.
Committees must continue to file reports until the Commission notifies them in writing that their termination report has been accepted.
METHODS OF FILING REPORTS
Electronic Filing
Reports filed electronically must be received and validated by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing deadline. For additional information, call the FEC's Electronic Filing office at (800) 424-9530 or (202) 694-1642.
Under the Commission’s mandatory electronic filing regulations, political committees that receive contributions or make expenditures, including independent expenditures, in excess of $50,000 in a calendar year, or that have reason to expect to do so, must file all reports with the FEC electronically. Other committees may voluntarily file electronically; however, any entity that files electronically, whether required to do so or not, must comply with the electronic filing rules.
Registered & Certified Mail
Quarterly and Monthly Reports sent by Registered or Certified Mail must be postmarked on or before the mailing deadline to be considered timely filed. A committee sending its reports by Certified Mail should keep its certified mailing receipt with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) postmark as proof of filing because the USPS does not keep complete records of items sent by Certified Mail. A committee sending its report by Registered Mail should keep its proof of mailing. Please note that a Certificate of Mailing from the USPS is not sufficient to prove that a report is timely filed using Registered, Certified or Overnight Mail.
Overnight Mail
Reports filed via overnight mail will be considered timely filed if the report is received by the delivery service on or before the mailing deadline. “Overnight mail” includes Priority or Express Mail having a delivery confirmation, or an overnight delivery service with which the report is scheduled for next business day delivery and is recorded in the service’s on-line tracking system.
Other Means of Filing
Quarterly and Monthly Reports
sent by any other means--including first class mail and courier--must be received by the Commission (or for committees supporting only Senate committees, the Secretary of the Senate) before the close of business on the last business day before the filing deadline.
COMPLIANCE
Treasurer Responsibility. Treasurers of political committees are responsible for both the
timeliness and the accuracy of all reports. They may be subject to
monetary penalties if reports are inaccurate or are not filed on time.
Administrative Fine Program. Under the Administrative Fine Program,
political committees and their treasurers who fail to file their reports
on time may be subject to civil money penalties up to $16,000 (or
more for repeat late- and non-filers).
Report Format. In addition, political committees that file illegible reports or
use non-FEC forms (except for FEC-approved, computer-generated forms)
will be required to refile their reports.
Electronic Filers Must File Electronically. Electronic filers who instead file on paper, or who submit an electronic
report (either by direct transmission or on 3.5" diskette) that does
not pass the validation program by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing deadline, will be considered non-filers and may
be subject to enforcement actions (including administrative fines).
CHANGE IN FILING FREQUENCY
Committees able to change their reporting schedule (for example, from
monthly to quarterly) who wish to do so must notify the Commission in
writing when filing a report under the committee's current schedule. All reports filed after a change in filing frequency must follow the new filing schedule. Electronic filers must file this request electronically. Committees may change their filing frequency no more than
once per calendar year.
48- AND 24-HOUR REPORTS OF INDEPENDENT EXPENDITURES
Any PAC or Party Committee that makes independent expenditures at any time during the calendar year--up to and including the 20th day before an election (including a special election)--are required to disclose this activity within
48 hours each time that the expenditures aggregate $10,000 or more. This reporting requirement is in addition to the requirement to file 24-hour reports of independent expenditures each time disbursements for independent expenditures aggregate or exceed $1,000 during the last 20 days--up to 24 hours--before an election (including a special election). PACs and Party Committees must report independent expenditures that do not trigger the 48- or 24-hour reporting thresholds on their regularly-scheduled disclosure reports. See 11
CFR 104.4.
These reports are not required when a Party Committee or
PAC makes a contribution directly to a candidate. Click here for a chart of 2007 special election 48- and 24-hour reporting periods for independent expenditures.
FOR INFORMATION, CALL: (800) 424-9530 or (202) 694-1100
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