Registering as a political party committee
Party committees must register within 10 days of exceeding any of the following thresholds in a calendar year. After registering, the committee will need to file regular reports of its activity.
State or national organization thresholds
- Spends more than $1,000 in contributions or other expenditures; or
- Raises more than $1,000 in contributions.
Local organization thresholds
- Raises more than $5,000 in contributions;
- Spends more than $5,000 on exempt party activities;
- Makes more than $1,000 in contributions; or
- Spends more than $1,000 in other expenditures.
Permissible funds
Note that party organizations must finance all activity in connection with federal elections with funds that comply with federal contribution limits and prohibitions.
How to register
Register by filing a Statement of Organization (Form 1) with the FEC. The Statement of Organization collects some basic information, including the party committee's full name, address and treasurer.
If information disclosed on the Statement of Organization ever changes, the committee must report that change within 10 days. Do this by filing an amended Statement of Organization. If the party committee isn’t an electronic filer, update the Statement of Organization by letter.
The Statement of Organization is available in the following formats:
Read step-by-step Form 1 instructions.
