9-00068 Federal Election Commission (Revised 02/09) Page 1

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FEC FORM 2 AND RELATED SCHEDULES

Who Must File FEC Form 2

Each individual who is a candidate for federal office must file FEC 

FORM 2 or, if not filing electronically, 

a letter containing the same information within 15 days of becoming a 

candidate. An individual becomes a 

candidate for federal office whenever 

any of the following events occur:

•The individual has received contributions aggregating in excess of $5,000 

or made expenditures aggregating in 

excess of $5,000;

•The individual has given his or her 

consent to another person to receive 

contributions or make expenditures 

on behalf of that individual and such 

person has received contributions 

aggregating in excess of $5,000 or 

made expenditures aggregating in 

excess of $5,000;

•The aggregate of contributions received in 1 and 2 above combined 

exceeds $5,000 or the aggregate of 

expenditures made in 1 and 2 above 

combined exceeds $5,000.

Funds received and payments 

made for the purpose of determining 

whether an individual should become 

a candidate are not considered “contributions” or “expenditures” which 

may trigger candidacy. Only funds 

permissible under the Act may be 

used for such activities. See 11 CFR 

100.72(b) and 100.131 for further 

information.

Note: Political committees must file 

reports in an electronic format under 

11 CFR 104.18 if they have either 

received contributions or made expenditures in excess of $50,000 during a 

calendar year, or if they have reason to 

expect that they will exceed either of 

those thresholds during the calendar 

year. If the committee has reached this 

level of activity, you must file this form 

in an electronic format.

An authorized committee of a candidate is considered to have reason to 

expect it will exceed the electronic filing threshold for the next two calendar 

years after the calendar year in which 

it exceeds $50,000 in contributions or 

expenditures.

A new authorized committee with 

no previous contributions or expenditures is considered to have reason 

to expect it will exceed the electronic 

filing threshold if it exceeds $12,500 in 

contributions or expenditures during 

the first calendar quarter of the calendar year, or $25,000 in contributions 

or expenditures in the first half of the 

calendar year.

Contact the FEC for more information on filing electronically.

When to File

FEC FORM 2 must be filed within 

15 days after an individual becomes 

a candidate (i.e., exceeds the $5,000 

threshold as stated in 1, 2, and 3, 

above).

Where to File

(See also instructions for Line 7, 

below.)

House, Senate and Presidential/

Vice-Presidential Candidates. Candidates file with the Federal Election 

Commission, 1050 First Street, N.E., 

Washington, D.C. 20463. Reports 

shipped via FedEx, UPS or DHL 

should use the ZIP code 20002.

State Filing. House and Senate 

candidates must file a copy of this 

form with the state in which the office 

is sought, with the exception of candidates in states that have qualified for 

the Commission’s state filing waiver 

program. Presidential candidates must 

file a copy of this form in states where 

they have made expenditures, with the 

exception of those states that have 

qualified for the Commission’s state 

filing waiver program. A list of qualified states is available from the Federal 

Election Commission.

Candidate Duties and 

Responsibilities

The candidate is personally responsible for the timely and complete filing 

of this Statement and for the accuracy 

of any information contained in it.

Any candidate who receives a contribution, obtains a loan or makes a 

disbursement in connection with his 

or her campaign is considered to have 

received the contribution, obtained 

the loan or made the disbursement 

as an agent of his or her authorized 

committee(s).

When an individual becomes a 

candidate, all funds received, loans 

obtained or disbursements made prior 

to becoming a candidate in connection 

with his or her campaign are considered to have been received, obtained, 

or made as an agent of his or her 

authorized committee(s) and must 

be reported in the first report filed by 

the candidate’s principal campaign 

committee.

Line-by-Line Instructions

LINE 1. Print or type complete name 

and mailing address of the candidate.

LINE 2. Candidates who have never 

run before, who are running in a different district, or who are seeking a 

different federal office should leave 

this blank. When their Statement has 

been received, they will be assigned 

an identification number. Candidates 

who are seeking reelection, and candidates who have terminated a previous 

candidacy but are now running again 

for the same seat, should use their 

original identification number.

LINE 3. Check “New” if you are filing 

Form 2 for the first time. Otherwise, 

check “Amended.”

LINES 4 – 6. Provide the requested 

information.

LINE 7. Each candidate for federal 

office (other than a nominee for the 

office of Vice President) must designate in writing a political committee to 

serve as his or her principal campaign 

committee. The name of the principal 

campaign committee must include the 

name of the candidate. The principal 

campaign committee must file a StateFEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION

Instructions for Statement of Candidacy (FEC FORM 2)
Page 2 Federal Election Commission (Revised 02/09) 9-00068

INSTRUCTIONS FOR FEC FORM 2 AND RELATED SCHEDULES

ment of Organization (FEC FORM 

1) within 10 days of designation by 

the candidate and must file reports 

of receipts and disbursements. See 

instructions for FEC Form 1 for fur-

ther details. On Line 7, the candidate 

must indicate the year of the election 

and the full name and street address 

of the candidate’s principal campaign 

committee. If the candidate is running 

in a Special Election, the candidate 

must note that the designation is for 

a Special Election under the “Year of 

Election.” If the candidate also runs 

in the “regular” November general 

election or in the primary for the No-

vember general election, the candidate 

must file an additional FEC Form 2 

and indicate the year of the election 

on the appropriate line. Any such 

candidate may designate the same 

principal campaign committee for the 

special election and regular primary 

and general elections.

LINE 8. A candidate may designate 

additional political committees to 

accept contributions or make expen-

ditures on behalf of the candidate, 

this includes joint fundraising repre-

sentatives. The name of any commit-

tee authorized by a candidate must 

include the name of the candidate. 

For Line 8, the candidate must fill in 

the name and street address of any 

authorized committee(s). If neces-

sary, additional sheets or FEC Form 

2’s may be attached. The FEC Form 

2 for the authorized committee must 

be filed with the principal campaign 

committee. All authorized commit-

tees must file a Statement of Orga-

nization (FEC FORM 1) within 10 

days of designation by the candidate. 

This Statement must be filed with the 

candidate’s principal campaign com-

mittee. See instructions for FEC Form 

1 for further details. The principal 

campaign committee must file a copy 

of the Statement of Organization for 

the authorized committee with the 

appropriate office listed above, under 

“Where to File.”

The candidate must sign and date 

the Statement of Candidacy