Combined Authority and Combined County Authority Returning Officer guidance for Combined Authority Mayoral elections

You should remind any person delivering the nomination papers that it is a criminal offence to provide a false statement on nomination papers.1 If the nomination form includes a commonly used name, you should highlight that the offence also applies if a candidate has given a commonly used name that they do not actually commonly use.2 You may warn candidates that the penalty for a false statement is an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment of up to a year.3

You should not give advice on questions of candidates’ eligibility or disqualification but should direct them to our guidance for candidates and agents at combined authority mayoral elections in the first instance. You should advise them to seek their own legal advice should they have any further concerns.