The below information details the steps required for each specific type of candidate (statewide or state district candidates, county and municipal candidates, and local school election candidates) to register. This video also gives a helpful overview on how to register as a candidate.
Statewide or state district candidates (legislature, district court judge, and public service commission):
- 1. You are required to file a C-1 Statement of Candidate form in the user-friendly Candidate Electronic Reporting System (CERS).
- - Form C-1 must be filed within five days after receiving or spending money, appointing a campaign treasurer, or filing for office (whichever comes first).
- - Reference this Candidate Guide to Navigating CERS to create a CERS account and file your C-1 Statement of Candidate (See Part 1, pages 3-6).
- 2. You must file with the Secretary of State. Candidate filing begins on January 9, 2020 through March 9, 2020. For more information, see the Secretary of State's website.
- 3. You are also required to file a D-1 Business Disclosure Statement form within five days of filing for office. Reference this D-1 Business Disclosure Guide to file a D-1 Business Disclosure form.
County and Municipal Candidates:
- 1. You are required to file a Statement of Candidate C-1A form.
- - A C-1A form must be filed within five days after receiving or spending money, appointing a campaign treasurer, or filing for office, whichever occurs first.
- - File a C-1A form with the COPP's office by filing electronically in the user-friendly CERS system (Reference the Candidate Guide to Navigating CERS ).
- - Please note that form C-1A is only considered complete when the candidate lists a campaign treasurer and provides the name and address for the campaign depository (bank). Candidates for these offices will also want to speak with their county elections administrator to see if any local registration requirements apply.
- 2. You must file with your local election office.
Local School Election Candidates:
- If you are running for a local school election position,all candidates will need to register with their school district. Not all candidates (based on their school district) will need to register with the COPP. Reference this PDF (sorted by county) to see a list of schools whose candidates must register with the COPP by filing a C-1A form.
- - A C-1A form must be filed within five days after receiving or spending money, appointing a campaign treasurer, or filing for office, whichever occurs first.
- - File a C-1A form with the COPP's office by filing electronically in the user-friendly CERS system (Reference the Candidate Guide to Navigating CERS).
- - Please note that form C-1A is only considered complete when the candidate lists a campaign treasurer and provides the name and address for the campaign depository (bank). Candidates for these offices will also want to speak with their county elections administrator to see if any local registration requirements apply.
But I won't be receiving or spending any money on campaign activity. Do I still need to file a Statement of Candidate?
Yes. All candidates, regardless of intended financial activity, must file a Statement of Candidate online in CERS. Similarly, the treasurer and bank information are required information. Please note that the COPP only requires the name and address of the bank- account numbers, routing numbers, etc. are NOT REQUIRED!
Pro tip: if you do not intend on raising or expending money as part of your campaign, list yourself as the treasurer, and the name and address of your personal bank for the campaign depository information.
NOTE: As of October 2019, and in accordance with 13-37-225 and 226 MCA, all candidates must:
1) You are required to file a Statement of Candidate as an exploratory candidate. Every candidate has the option to file using the user-friendly CERS system (reference this Candidate Guide to Navigating CERS).
- 1- Statewide or state district candidates: Candidates for statewide or state district offices are required to file a C-1 Statement of Candidate using the CERS system.
- 2- County or municipal candidates: Candidates for municipal and county offices file a C-1A Candidate Statement form with the COPP's office by filing electronically in the user-friendly CERS system (Reference this Candidate Guide to Navigating CERS).
- 3- Local school election candidates: If you are running for a local school election position, all candidates will need to register with their school district. Not all candidates (based on their school district) will need to register with the COPP. Reference this PDF (sorted by county) to see a list of schools whose candidates must register with the COPP by filing a C-1A form.
2) How do I file as an exploratory candidate in the CERS system?
You must file a Statement of Candidate in CERS. Follow the steps in this Candidate Guide to Navigating CERS. When you get to Part 1, Step 3 (page 5), you must select a campaign type. Your options are 1) City 2) County, 3) School, 4) State District, or 5) Statewide. Once you’ve selected your campaign type, and after you begin entering in your information in the Candidate Information section, you can specify that you are running an Exploratory campaign under the drop-down options for “Office Sought” (see image below).

3) What campaign finance requirements must I comply with as an exploratory candidate?
- Campaign finance reporting: You are required to follow the same campaign finance laws and requirements as all other candidates (see details at this link). If a county, city, or school candidate’s campaign meets or exceeds $500.00 in combined expenditures (expenses) and contribution activity—meaning that the total sum of contributions (including personal contributions) received by the campaign plus expenditures made is $500.00 or more—that candidate is required to file periodic C-5 campaign finance reports with the COPP. County, city, and school candidates who do not meet or exceed the $500.00 threshold during the duration of their campaign are not required to file C-5 financial reports. All candidates for statewide or state district offices are required to file periodic campaign financial reports regardless of actual expenditure or contribution activity.
- Contribution limits: Based on the designated “class” of offices you are considering (Statewide, state district, county or municipal, or school), you may only accept the lowest amount based on the class you file for as an exploratory candidate. Reference this PDF to see contribution limits. For example, if you are considering a run either for secretary of state or for governor, you are an exploratory candidate for a statewide office. The applicable contribution limits for your candidacy would be $340 per individual per election, $340 per political action committee per election, and $8,850 from a political party per election; these limits are the lowest numbers for a statewide candidate.
5) What do I need to do once I decide which specific office I will run for?
1- You will need to file an amended Statement of Candidate form that designates the specific office you are seeking.
2- Once you have completely filed an amended report, you will be eligible for the campaign contributions based on the specific office you are running for.
As of October 2019, and in accordance with 13-37-225 and 226 MCA, all candidates must:
The Access ID is a unique code generated by the CERS system (and emailed) after a candidate or committee files in CERS. The Access ID links the CERS profile with the ePass account.
Note: It’s important to know that ePass is a State of Montana application that is not unique to the COPP but is used as a portal to access a variety of statewide resources. While users must use ePass to log into their CERS profile, the two systems are different. Whereas CERS is administered directly by the COPP, ePass is not. If you have issues accessing your ePass account, contact the State of Montana help desk at (406) 449-3468.
Entering the Access ID in CERS will prompt you to re-file the Statement of Candidate/Committee, successful filing of which will tie your CERS profile to the ePass account you used to log into the system, and ensures that any data or information you have entered in CERS (registration, financial reports, etc.) is available each time you log in using that specific ePass account.
If you do not have the Access ID for a CERS profile, or you are trying to access CERS via an ePass account beyond the two already tied to the CERS profile, the COPP may be able to assist you. To do this, contact the COPP by emailing cppcompliance@mt.gov, and include the following information:
- 1. Your relationship to the campaign or committee, and
- 2. The reasons you need the ID reset.
Upon verification and documentation of your relationship to the campaign or the committee, the COPP will work with you to update your Access ID. Once you receive an updated Access ID, log into CERS via ePass and enter that Access ID as described above. Once the Access ID for a certain CERS profile is reset by the COPP, any ePass accounts that previously had access to that profile no longer will have access. Keep that in mind before a request to reset the Access ID is made, as other individuals who had access to the CERS profile before would no longer have access without using your newly created ePass account or entering the new Access ID themselves. Please note that the COPP reserves the right to deny an Access ID reset request depending on the circumstances, timing, or nature of the request.
WHO IS REQUIRED TO FILE C-5 REPORTS?
If a candidate’s campaign meets or exceeds $500.00 in combined expenditures (expenses) and contribution activity—meaning that the total sum of contributions (including personal contributions) received by the campaign plus expenditures made is $500.00 or more—the candidate is required to file periodic C-5 campaign finance reports with the COPP. Candidates who do not meet or exceed the $500.00 threshold during the duration of their campaign are not required to file C-5 financial reports.
Pursuant to Montana Code Annotated § 13-37-225, each candidate for statewide and state district offices shall account for all contributions received and expenditures made by or on behalf of the candidate by filing periodic reports. A report must be filed even if no money has been received or expended.
Each candidate for county, municipal, and class one school district trustee offices are required to file periodic reports if contributions received, including personal funds, exceed $500 or if expenditures exceed $500.
C-5 Reports must be regularly reported. See this Reporting Calendars page to know when you must file C-5 reports in CERS. Reference MCA 13-37 for all campaign finance information, including report filing timelines (13-37-226), time periods covered by reports (13-37-228), and disclosure requirements (13-37-229).
WHEN ARE C-5 REPORTS DUE?
Candidates are responsible for familiarizing themselves with the legal requirements in the Montana Code Annotated. Candidates can use the MCA to determine report dates using Montana Code Annotated §13-37-226(2)).
STATEWIDE and STATE DISTRICT CANDIDATES:
*2020 candidates have quarterly C-5 reports due. See report dates on the COPP's Reporting Calendars page.
*If you were a 2018 candidate and have a 2018 campaign account open, you have C-5 reports due. See the Reporting Calendars page for specific report dates and information on C-8 reports for constituent services accounts.
MUNICIPAL OR COUNTY CANDIDATES:
*Municipal or county candidates must file according to the city calendar.
*City candidates have C-5 reports due based on the COPP's Reporting Calendars page.
CANDIDATES FOR SCHOOL OFFICES:
* Candidates for school elected offices must file reports according to the school calendar. These calendars are available on the Reporting Calendars Page.
A candidate’s filing fee is a mandatory expense to report in a C-5 Form. This can be paid either out of the candidate’s account, reported as an in-kind candidate contribution (if the candidate does not want to be reimbursed for the expense) or as a candidate loan (if the candidate wants to be reimbursed for the expense). If the candidate has already registered as a candidate with the COPP and accepted contributions, they can use these contributions to pay for the filing fee.
Filing fees are not paid to the Office of Political Practices. If you are running for a statewide office or state district office, your filing fee will be handled by the Secretary of State (see more information here). If you are running for a county office, you will pay your filing fee to your county.
No fees are charged to file your Statement of Candidacy and any campaign finance reports with the COPP.
Statewide, State District, County, and School candidates follow the same reporting schedule. City candidates have a different report schedule.
As of October 2019, and in accordance with 13-37-225 and 226 MCA, all candidates must: