- Home
- Government
- Departments A-O
- Board of Elections
- Candidate
- Candidate Filing Information
Candidate Filing Information
Offices Filing at the State Level
All Notices of Candidacy for the following offices, together with the proper filing fee, must be in the possession of the State Board of Elections by the required date, to be accepted:
- Governor
- Lieutenant Governor
- All State executive officers
- US Senators
- US House of Representatives
- District Attorneys
Offices Filing at the County Level
All Notices of Candidacy for the following offices, together with the proper filing fee, must be in the possession of the County Board of Elections by the required date, to be accepted:
- State Senators
- State House of Representatives
- All County offices
Statement of Economic Interest
Effective January 1, 2008, GS 138A-22 (d) requires candidates for certain offices to file at the time (or within 10 days after filing) and place of their candidate filing, a Statement of Economic Interest. Offices whose candidates must comply:
Legislators - G.S. 138A-3(22):
- A member or presiding officer of the General Assembly, or a person elected or appointed a member or presiding officer of the General Assembly before taking office.
- For purposes of GS Chapter 138A, the Lieutenant Governor shall be considered a legislator when presiding over the Senate as President pursuant to Sec. 13 of Article II of the Constitution, and a public servant for all other purposes. G.S. 138A-4.
Judicial Officers - G.S. 138A-3(19):
- Justices or Judges of the General Court of Justice
- Supreme Court Justices
- Court of Appeals Judges
- Superior Court Judges
- District Court Judges
- District Attorneys
- Clerks of Court
- Any person elected or appointed to any of these positions prior to taking office
The Following Public Servants - G.S. 138A-3(30):
- Constitutional Officers of the State, and persons elected or appointed as constitutional officers of the State prior to taking office, (Officers whose offices are established by Article III of the North Carolina Constitution, also known as the "Council of State"):
- Governor
- Lt. Governor
- Secretary of State
- Auditor
- Treasurer
- Superintendent of Public Instruction
- Attorney General
- Commissioner of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Commissioner of Labor
- Commissioner of Insurance
File your Statement of Economic Interest ("SEI"). at the same Board of Elections office that you filed for office. A $250 fine can be levied by the State Ethics Commission for failure to file a complete SEI on time. It is a Class 1 misdemeanor to knowingly conceal or fail to disclose information required on the SEI and a Class H felony to disclose false information.
Questions concerning a candidate's obligation to file an SEI should be directed to the State Board of Elections, 919-733-7173. Questions concerning the completion of the SEI should be directed to the State Ethics Commission, 919-715-2071.
Note that if you have to file an SEI, you do not have to disclose felony convictions under GS 163-106.
The following section covers the administrative aspect of candidate filing, in which the candidate qualifies for his or her name to appear on a ballot. Campaign reporting obligations may begin before the candidate files a Notice of Candidacy.
No person shall be permitted to file as a candidate of any political party in a party primary when such person, at the time of filing his or her notice of candidacy, is registered on the registration record as an affiliate of a different political party from that party in whose primary he or she is now attempting to file as a candidate. No person registered as "unaffiliated" or without any party affiliation recorded shall be eligible to file as a candidate in a primary. No person who has changed his political party affiliation, as permitted in G.S. §163-82.17, shall be permitted to file as a candidate in the primary of the party to which he changed unless he has been affiliated with the political party in which he seeks to be a candidate for at least 90 days prior to the filing date for the office for which he desires to file his notice of candidacy. G.S. §163-106(b).
§ 163‑294.2. Notice of candidacy and filing fee in nonpartisan municipal elections.
- Only persons who are registered to vote in the municipality shall be permitted to file notice of candidacy for election to municipal office. The board of elections shall inspect the voter registration lists immediately upon receipt of the notice of candidacy and shall cancel the notice of candidacy of any candidate who is not eligible to vote in the election. The board shall give notice of cancellation to any candidate whose notice of candidacy has been cancelled under this subsection by mail or by having the notice served on him by the county sheriff.
- Candidates seeking municipal office shall file their notices of candidacy with the board of elections no earlier than noon on the first Friday in July and no later than noon on the third Friday in July preceding the election.
- Any person may withdraw his notice of candidacy at any time prior to the close of business the third business day prior to the filing deadline prescribed in subsection (c), and shall be entitled to the refund of his filing fee if he does so.
Fee Schedule
§163-107. Filing fees required of candidates in the Primary.
At the time of filing a notice of candidacy, each candidate shall pay to the board of elections with which they file under the provisions of G.S. 163-106 a 1% filing fee for the office he or she seeks for the salary specified for that office.
More information on Filing Fees
The salary of any office that is the basis for calculating the filing fee is the starting salary of the office, rather than the salary received by the incumbent, as of January 1 of the elections year.
Municipal Candidates
§ 163‑294.2.(e) The filing fee for the primary or election shall be fixed by the governing board not later than the day before candidates are permitted to begin filing notices of candidacy. There shall be a minimum filing fee of five dollars ($5). The governing board shall have the authority to set the filing fee at not less than five dollars ($5) nor more than one % (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought unless one % (1%) of the annual salary of the office sought is less than five dollars ($5), in which case the minimum filing fee of five dollars ($5) will be charged. The fee shall be paid to the board of elections at the time notice of candidacy is filed.
The current filing fee is $5 for each municipality except Robbins, which is $10.