The Political Reform Act of 1974 requires all candidates for state and local elective office, all state and local elected officeholders, proponents of state and local ballot measures who control a ballot measure committee, and committees supporting or opposing state and local candidates, and all measure and petition circulation committees to file campaign disclosure statements disclosing contributions received and expenditures made.

Campaign Disclosure Forms - Campaign disclosure forms and information manuals are available at the County-Clerk-Elections Division or the Secretary of State’s office. Before accepting any contributions or making expenditures toward a campaign, it is vital that you contact the elections official to obtain the correct forms required by law for reporting campaign contributions and expenditures. Failure to file campaign disclosure statements could lead to fines and/or civil or criminal penalties.

Form 501 / 502 - Form 501 is the Candidate Intention Form. Form 502 is the Campaign Bank Account. Only candidates and officeholders are required to file this form. To determine if you are required to file either one of these forms, refer to the following criteria: 

Form 501 must be filed before soliciting or receiving contributions from others or making expenditures from personal funds on behalf of your candidacy. Form 502 must be filed within 10 days of opening a campaign bank account at a financial institution in California.

Form 410 – The Form 410 is the Statement of Organization and Termination. It must be filed by all candidates, officeholders, recipient committees, ballot measure committees, general purpose committees and political action committees who will be supporting or opposing candidates, officeholders and/or ballot measures and will be receiving contributions or making expenditures totaling $1,000 or more. This form must be filed within 10 days of reaching this $1,000 threshold. At the time of filing this form, the Secretary of State will issue an identification number that must be included on all campaign disclosure forms.

Form 470 - Candidates who anticipate spending less than $1,000 during the entire calendar year, exclusive of the costs of the filing fee and/or candidate statement (if paid from personal funds), and will not receive contributions totaling more than $1,000, may reduce their filing obligations by filing a Form 470 (Candidate and Officeholder Campaign Statement - Short Form). No further campaign disclosure statement need be filed for this election unless the candidate expends more than $1,000 or begins accepting contributions.

Form 460 – Form 460 is the Recipient Committee Campaign Disclosure Form. It is to be used by all candidates, officeholders and their controlled committees, any ballot measure committee or primarily formed candidate/officeholder committees. This is the form that the committee discloses all contributions, loans, expenditures, etc., during the different reporting periods.

Late Contribution and/or Late Independent Expenditure Reports - Any candidate or committee that receives a late contribution or makes a late independent expenditure of an aggregated total of $1,000 or more from a single source within the 16 days prior to the election must file Form 496 or Form 497. This report may be filed in person, by fax, telegram, mailgram or guaranteed overnight mail through the U.S. Postal Service by must be filed within 24 hours of receiving the contribution or making the expenditure.

Campaign Expenditures from a Candidate's Personal Funds - All money intended for use in the campaign, including personal funds, must be deposited into a campaign bank account. All campaign expenditures for the specific office must be made from the specified bank account. The funds in the account may not be used in connection with any other office sought.

Additional Information – For additional detailed information relating to California reporting requirements of the Political Reform Act of 1974, as amended, see Government Code §§81000 through §§91015 or contact the Fair Political Practices Commission at (916) 322-5662.