If you receive an error indicating that your FEC efiling was generated, but an error prevented the generation of the PDF version, there are several possible causes.
1. ISP uses tools provided by the FEC to create PDFs as part of the generation process. A larger database could find an error like this when the FEC’s webtools are under heavy use.
If your efile generates successfully, you can use Webprint (found here: https://efoservices.fec.gov/webprint/) to generate a PDF that you can review before submitting your electronic filing.
2. Errors with PDF generation can result when the report contains an FEC Committee ID number that is not in a valid format.
You can test to see if this is an issue using FEC WebCheck: https://efoservices.fec.gov/webcheck/
Provide your efile to the WebCheck interface, and it will return either a validation confirmation, or an error for any validation issues found.
If an error returns containing a line similar to: ‘An FEC ‘C9xxxxxxx’ ID must be used to file [your form number]’ this is indicating that the associated entity has a Committee ID number that is not in the correct format.
FEC Committee ID numbers should follow this format: C00xxxxxx (6 digits). If it has fewer than 5 digits, an extra leading 0 may be needed.
