Guidance for Candidates and Agents at local government elections in England

There are time limits by which the election agent must receive and pay all invoices for candidate spending.

Receiving invoices from suppliers

You must obtain all your invoices for candidate spending from suppliers within 21 calendar days of the declaration of the election result.1 If this falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline will move to the next working day.2

For the 2027 local elections, the last day for receiving invoices from your suppliers is set out in this table:

Paying invoices

You must pay all your invoices from suppliers within 28 calendar days of the declaration of the election result.3 If this falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline will move to the next working day.

For the 2027 local elections, the last day for paying invoices is set out in this table:

Late and unpaid invoices

If you receive an invoice for your candidate spending late, or you have not paid an invoice within the deadline for paying invoices, you must not pay it unless there is a court order allowing you to do so.4 You should make your suppliers aware of this.

Obtaining a court order to pay invoices is called leave to pay and may be obtained by you or the supplier applying to the relevant court in advance of payment. It is an offence to make a payment for these claims without obtaining leave to pay.5

Late invoices and unpaid invoices are known in the law as unpaid and disputed claims. You must include these in your return.

If you have paid an invoice following a court order, you must report this in writing to the Returning Officer within seven working days of payment. You must also send the Returning Officer a copy of the court order.6 You should also forward a copy to the Electoral Commission.