About the CA Form 501 Report

The CA Form 501 Report, or the Candidate Intention Statement, is required for candidates running for state or local offices for each election, including reelection to the same office. Candidates for the county central committee that do not raise nor spend $2,000 or more in a calendar year are not required to file this report.

Form 501 is needed before any solicitation or receiving of any contributions or before any expenditures are made on behalf of your candidacy. Be advised that this form is considered as filed on the date it is postmarked or hand-delivered. 

Completing the 501

• Candidate Information: Basic information is required such as name, street address, office sought, agency name, party preference, and checking the appropriate box for your office’s jurisdiction. Agency names pull from the Filer Committee Jurisdiction Description
  unless the Candidate Jurisdiction is State. If you are needing the
  Multi-County box selected, ensure the Candidate Jurisdiction type is Other Local.
• Voluntary Expenditure Ceiling: This section applies to candidates for elective state offices. In this section, you must state whether you accept or reject the voluntary expenditure ceiling. Candidates accepting the voluntary expenditure limit will be designated in either the state voter information guide; only for statewide candidates. Senate and Assembly candidates who have accepted the expenditure limit will be designated in the county voter information guide. 
• Amendments: If between the date of filing the 501 and the deadline for filings for that election, you may amend your statement of acceptance or rejection of the voluntary expenditure no more than two times. If you reject the expenditure ceiling in the primary or special election but have not exceeded the ceiling during that election, you may amend the 501 to accept the expenditure ceiling for the general or special runoff. Receiving all of the benefits of accepting the expenditure ceiling. Amended 501’s must be filed within the 14 days following the election.

Paper Only Version of this report does not pull any signers to Section 4. After generating the report in ISP, you can either efile the report to the state/local agency or print off a copy to sign and paper file.