Reports due in 2019

This article describing filing requirements for 2019 is supplemented by the reporting tables linked on the FEC's dates and deadlines page.

Year-End reports covering 2018 activity

All committees must file a 2018 Year-End report due January 31, 2019, that covers activity through December 31, 2018.

Reports covering 2019 activity

To find out which reports your committee must file in 2019, check the filing frequency by filer webpage. Then check the links to tables for various categories of reporting dates. Please note that committees active in special elections in 2019 may have to file additional special election reports. All FEC reporting dates are also available on the Commission’s website.

Notification of filing deadlines

In addition to publishing this article and the online reporting tables, the Commission notifies committees of filing deadlines through reporting reminders called prior notices. Prior notices are distributed exclusively by email, so every committee should ensure that the email address on its Statement of Organization (Form 1) is current. Each committee may list up to two email addresses. To amend Form 1, electronic filers must submit Form 1 filled out in its entirety. Paper filers should include only the committee’s name, address, FEC identification number and the updated or changed portions of the form. Committees may also use our online webform to update their information.

Treasurer’s responsibilities

The Commission provides reminders of upcoming filing dates as a courtesy to help committees comply with the filing deadlines set forth in the Federal Election Campaign Act (the Act) and Commission regulations. Committee treasurers are responsible for filing committee reports on time. Not receiving a prior notice does not excuse committee treasurers for failing to comply with any filing deadline.

Filing electronically

Under the Commission’s mandatory electronic filing regulations, individuals and organizations required to file with the FEC that receive contributions or make expenditures, including independent expenditures, aggregating in excess of $50,000 in a calendar year — or have reason to expect to do so — must file all reports and statements electronically.

Reports filed electronically must be received and validated by the Commission by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing date. Electronic filers who file on paper or submit an electronic report that does not pass the Commission’s validation program by that time on the filing deadline will be considered nonfilers and may be subject to enforcement actions, including administrative fines.

The Commission’s electronic filing software, FECFile, is free and can be downloaded at https://www.fec.gov/help-candidates-and-committees/filing-reports/fecfile-software/. All reports filed after August 15, 2018, must be filed in version 8.3 of the electronic filing software. Reports filed in previous versions of the software will not be accepted. Filers may also use commercial or privately developed software as long as the software meets the Commission’s format specifications, which are available on the Commission’s website. Committees using commercial software should contact their vendors to ensure their software meets the latest specifications.

Timely filing for paper filers

Registered and certified mail

Reports sent by registered or certified mail are considered to be filed on the date of their postmark. Accordingly, reports sent by registered or certified mail must be postmarked on or before the filing deadline to be considered timely filed. A committee sending its reports by registered or certified mail should keep its mailing receipt with the U.S. Postal Service (USPS) postmark as proof of mailing, because the USPS does not keep complete records of items sent by certified or registered mail.

Overnight mail

Reports sent via overnight mail will be considered timely filed if the report is postmarked on or before the filing deadline. “Overnight mail” includes Priority Mail or Priority Express Mail having a delivery confirmation, or an overnight service with which the report is scheduled for next business day delivery and is recorded in the service’s online tracking system. Note that “Express Mail” as referred to in FEC regulations has been renamed “Priority Express Mail” by the USPS.

Reports filed via overnight delivery service will be considered timely filed if the report is received by the delivery service on or before the mailing/filing deadline.

A committee sending its reports by Priority Mail or Priority Express Mail, or by an overnight delivery service, should keep its proof of mailing or other means of transmittal of its reports.

Other means of filing

Reports sent by other means — including first class mail and courier — must be received by the FEC before close of business on the filing deadline. (If the deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, such filers should plan accordingly and file reports by the close of business on the last business day before the filing deadline.)

Address for paper filers

Postal deliveries to the FEC:
Federal Election Commission
1050 First Street, NE
Washington, DC 20463

Reports shipped via delivery services:
e.g., FedEx, UPS or DHL
Same as postal deliveries but use the ZIP code 20002

Forms may be downloaded from the FEC's website.

Authorized committees of candidates

House and Senate candidates

Each authorized committee of an individual running for the House or Senate must file quarterly reports if the individual meets the definition of candidate under the Act and Commission regulations. Generally, an individual becomes a candidate for federal office, thus triggering registration and reporting obligations, when his or her campaign exceeds $5,000 in either contributions received or expenditures made. If the campaign has not exceeded the $5,000 threshold, it is not required to file reports.

Principal campaign committees of candidates who ran in past election cycles or are running in future election cycles must also file quarterly reports in 2019. A committee that wishes to stop filing reports with the FEC 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.

Presidential candidates

All presidential committees must file on either a monthly or a quarterly schedule in 2019.

State, district and local party committees

State, district and local party committees that engage in reportable “federal election activity” must file on a monthly schedule. Committees that do not engage in reportable “federal election activity” may file on a quarterly or monthly schedule. Party committees that opt for a quarterly filing schedule file semi-annual reports in 2019.

National party committees

National committees of political parties must file on a monthly schedule in 2019.

Political action committees

Political committees (PACs), including separate segregated funds, committees with non-contribution accounts (also sometimes called “Hybrid” PACs), independent expenditure-only committees (Super PACs) and other nonconnected committees that filed on a quarterly basis during 2018 file on a semi-annual basis in 2019. PACs that filed on a monthly schedule in 2018 continue to file on a monthly schedule in 2019.

Changing filing frequency

Presidential campaigns, PACs, and party committees that are not required to file monthly may change their filing schedule once a year, but must first notify the Commission in writing (or electronically, if electronic filers).

Additional information

For more information on 2019 reporting dates:

• Call and request the reporting tables from the FEC at 1-800-424-9530 (menu option 6) or 202-694-1100; or
• Visit the FEC’s dates and deadlines page to view the reporting tables online.

Resources

• 2019 reporting dates
• FEC electronic filing