Best Practices for Filing FEC Amendments
When filing an amendment, your amendment numbers should be in order. If this is your first amendment, the amendment number should be 1; any subsequent amendments should follow in sequential order. While it is not required, we recommend numbering amendments starting at 1 and proceeding in numerical order so as not to cause confusion or errors in the future.
You will also need your original FEC Filing ID. This can be obtained from the FEC website for your committee. Search for your committee by name or Filing ID in the search box at the top right-hand corner. Once you’ve located your committee’s page, scroll down to Filings and locate the report you are trying to amend. This will contain the original FEC Filing ID, and will inform you of whether you’ve already filed an amendment as well as what number the amendment number should be.
Please double-check the dates you enter in ISP to ensure they match the date range of the original report filed. If your amendment needs a date different than the original, you’ll need a backdoor password.
If the original report was filed by paper and the amendment will be filed electronically, the amended report should be filed as an original and the FEC will be able to link the two.
Amending a Report to Make it a Termination Report
When trying to amend a prior report to be a Termination, generate the report with the Amended box checked, and the Report Period set to Termination.
Unfortunately, the FEC does not allow both the Amended and Termination boxes to be checked on the form. It’s more important that the report be marked as a Termination rather than an Amendment. In order to file an amended Termination report, you will have to get a backdoor password from your FEC analyst.
When the report is generated with the Termination box checked, the Amended box will not be checked on the cover page. This is expected and normal. Given current technological restraints, this the best way that we can follow current FEC guidelines and expectations.
Amending a Previously Filed Termination Report
To file an amended Termination Report, file the report as an amended report, using the reporting period: Termination (do not check the Termination box, in this case). As previously mentioned, the FEC’s filing system does not allow for the filing of a report with both Termination and Amendment boxes checked.
After the amendment has been filed, the FEC recommends filing a Form 99, period: Misc. Report to the FEC explaining that the most recently filed report was an amended termination report and that the committee has been offically terminated.
Special note about Form 99: it’s best to check with your committee’s analyst for direction on exactly what should be included in the Form 99, as the level of specificty may vary based on analyst preferences.
