Guidance for Candidates and Agents at Scottish Parliament elections

Personal expenses include the reasonable travel and living expenses (such as hotel costs) of the candidate.1 Personal expenses do not count towards the spending limit but you must report them on your spending return.2

Personal expenses may include car hire for the candidate if the candidate does not already own a car, or if their car is not suitable for campaigning. For example, if you are standing in a rural constituency, it may be reasonable to hire a four-wheel drive vehicle to access remote areas.

At Scottish Parliamentary elections, personal expenses also include expenses relating to the candidate’s disability.3 See next section for more details.

A candidate can pay up to a certain amount of personal expenses on reasonable travel and living expenses.4 The agent must pay any sums above this amount.

However, a candidate can make payments for any amount of expenses which are related to their disability.5

These limits apply during the short campaign. There is no limit on how much candidates can pay for personal expenses in the long campaign. 

Candidates must provide a written statement of their personal expenses throughout both the long and short campaigns, including expenses which are related to their disability, to their agent within 21 days of the result being declared.6 Dual candidates must provide this to their constituency agent.

For constituency, independent regional and dual candidates, their personal expenses must be reported in the spending return.

Party list candidates must submit a declaration to the Regional Returning Officer confirming their personal expenses within 35 days of the result being declared.7 This includes any disability expenses that they paid for – see next section.

Summary table