This page explains the basic steps you need to follow as you begin your campaign for elective office in San Francisco.
Intention Statements
Before a candidate solicits or accepts campaign contributions (including loans) or uses any personal funds for campaign purposes (excluding filing fees), the candidate must file a Candidate Intention Statement (Form 501) with the San Francisco Ethics Commission and a Declaration of Intent to Solicit and Accept Contributions, which is available from and should be filed with the San Francisco Department of Elections.
A candidate may run for only one City elective office in a given election.
Electronic Filing of Campaign Statements
All San Francisco committees, including candidate committees, must file their campaign statements electronically with the Ethics Commission. A committee is required to continue filing electronic campaign statements, regardless of the committee’s level of financial activity, until the committee files a statement of termination.
Committees must use the approved .CAL format to file electronic statements. To comply with the electronic filing requirement, committees may use the Commission’s free NetFile system or a private software vendor. Information about how to register to use NetFile is available on the Commission’s E-File Disclosure Statements webpage. For a list of qualified third-party software vendors, please see the Secretary of State’s website.
Statement of Organization
If a candidate raises $2,000 or more in a calendar year, they have qualified as a committee and must file a Statement of Organization (Form 410) within 10 days of receiving contributions totaling $2,000 or more. You must file this form with the California Secretary of State and provide a copy to the San Francisco Ethics Commission. All other campaign finance disclosures will be filed with the San Francisco Ethics Commission, as discussed in the Reporting Requirements page.
This statement may be filed at any time before meeting the $2,000 qualification threshold as an “Initial-Not Yet Qualified” Statement. If an Initial-Not Yet Qualified Form 410 was filed, an amended Form 410 identifying the date the committee qualified must be filed within 10 days of receiving contributions totaling $2,000.
After the Form 410 is filed, the Secretary of State will issue a unique identification number (FPPC ID number) that the candidate must use on all subsequent filings. All questions about the FPPC ID number should be directed to the Secretary of State’s Political Reform Division.
Note: If a candidate does not plan to raise $2,000, the candidate may elect to file a Form 470, which is discussed in the Reporting Requirements page, rather than a Form 410 and subsequent Form 460s. Candidates with controlled committees may not use the Form 470.
Training for Candidates and Committee Treasurers
Every committee must have a treasurer. A candidate may serve as the treasurer of their own candidate committee. The committee may not accept contributions or make expenditures before a treasurer is appointed or while the treasurer’s post is vacant, even if there is an assistant treasurer. FPPC Manual 2 discusses in detail the responsibilities of a candidate and treasurer.
Every candidate and their treasurer must complete a training program developed by the Ethics Commission at least 30 days prior to the election at which the candidate’s name will appear on the ballot. An assistant treasurer who signs campaign statements is also required to complete this training. The Commission welcomes and encourages fundraisers, campaign consultants and other representatives to attend a training session as well. After completing the training requirement, candidates, treasurers, and assistant treasurers must submit a Certification of Training Form (Form SFEC-107) to the Ethics Commission.
A candidate or treasurer may satisfy the training requirement by attending a live training held by the Ethics Commission or by viewing the Ethics Commission’s training online. The dates of live training sessions are posted on the Commission’s website.
Establishing a Campaign Bank Account
The treasurer of each candidate committee must establish a campaign contribution trust account at an office of a bank located in the City and County of San Francisco.
All expenditures for the City elective office must be made from this account. Candidates may not use funds from the account for personal use and may not be reimbursed from the account for campaign-related expenditures. See FPPC’s Campaign Disclosure Manual 2 for detailed information on reimbursement of campaign expenditures made by individuals other than the candidate.
Establishing Internal and External Recordkeeping Methods
An accurate and organized record must be kept of all campaign receipts and expenditures. All individuals who handle receipts and make expenditures must be aware of and practice the recordkeeping procedures required by the Political Reform Act (“PRA”) and FPPC regulations as outlined in FPPC Campaign Disclosure Manuals.
The candidate and treasurer remain legally responsible for the accuracy of the records.
Committees must keep all records, including original source documentation, for a period of four years from the date the campaign statement relating to the records was filed.
Committees may be audited by the Ethics Commission, the FPPC or the Franchise Tax Board. For details of the types of records required to be maintained, see FPPC Campaign Disclosure Manual 2 and the Ethics Commission’s Records Required for Audit.
Committees are required to provide records to the Ethics Commission within ten business days of a request by the Ethics Commission.
Disclosing Financial Interests
Each candidate must file a Statement of Economic Interests (Form 700) with the Department of Elections disclosing investments, interests in real property, and income received during the immediately preceding 12 months. This statement must be filed by the deadline for filing nomination papers. The filing of a Statement of Economic Interests may not be required if the candidate has filed a Form 700 within the past 60 days with the Department of Elections.
Contact the Department of Elections for information about how to file this statement.
Deciding Whether to Comply with Voluntary Spending Limits
The Voluntary Expenditure Ceiling is an optional spending limit. Candidates for Assessor, City Attorney, District Attorney, Public Defender, Sheriff, Treasurer, the Board of Education of the San Francisco Unified School District, or the Governing Board of the San Francisco Community College District may choose to follow the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling for their desired office.
Candidates for the Board of Supervisors or Mayor may not accept a voluntary expenditure ceiling – instead, such candidates may be subject to an individual expenditure ceiling if the Ethics Commission certifies them to receive public funds. Additional information related to the public financing program is provided on the Commission’s Public Financing Program webpage.
The voluntary expenditure limits are as follows:
| Office | General |
| City Attorney, Treasurer, District Attorney, Sheriff, Assessor and Public Defender | $243,000 |
| Board of Education and Community College District | $104,000 |
A candidate who wishes to accept the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling must file an Acceptance of Voluntary Expenditure Ceiling Statement (Form SFEC-128) with the Ethics Commission indicating that they accept the applicable expenditure ceiling by the deadline for filing nomination papers. Once filed, this statement may not be withdrawn. The Ethics Commission posts a list of candidates who have accepted the voluntary expenditure ceiling.
Any candidate who files a statement accepting the spending limit and makes campaign expenditures that exceed the limit at a time when the limit has not been lifted will be subject to penalties.
Any candidate committee that receives contributions, makes expenditures, incurs expenses, or has funds in its campaign trust account that exceed 100 percent of the applicable expenditure ceiling must, within 24 hours of exceeding 100 percent of the applicable expenditure ceiling, file Form SFEC-134(b) with the Ethics Commission.
This requirement applies only if at least one candidate for the City elective office has filed a statement with the Ethics Commission to accept the applicable voluntary expenditure limit.
Within 24 hours after receiving such notice, the Ethics Commission will lift the voluntary expenditure ceiling if:
- A candidate seeking election to the same City elective office, who has declined to accept the voluntary expenditure ceilings, receives contributions or makes qualified campaign expenditures in excess of 100 percent of the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling; or
- A person or persons make expenditures or payments, or incur expenses for the purpose of making independent expenditures, electioneering communications or member communications that total more than 100 percent of the applicable voluntary expenditure ceiling, and those expenditures or communications clearly identify a candidate seeking election to the same City elective office; or
- A candidate seeking election to the same City elective office, who has accepted the voluntary expenditure ceiling, makes qualified campaign expenditures in excess of 100 percent of the voluntary expenditure ceiling.
If the Commission lifts the limit, the Commission will inform every candidate for that office that the voluntary expenditure ceiling has been lifted.
Additional Notification Requirements for Candidates for Board of Supervisors and Mayor
All candidates for the Board of Supervisors must electronically file a Statement of Participation or Non-Participation in Public Financing Program. In order to qualify for public funding, a candidate must submit an application and meet eligibility requirements.
The Public Financing Program also requires participating candidates for these offices to file threshold notices. The eligibility and filing requirements for this program are available on our Public Financing Program webpages.