This guidance aims to provide practical advice for political parties, party list candidates and individual candidates who want to stand at Senedd elections, as well as anyone who wants to be an election agent.

Standing for election can be complicated, but we hope that our guidance will make it as straightforward as possible.

We have included relevant factual material as well as links to sources of further information. Each section includes a number of forms and resources, which can be directly accessed via links in the text.  

You can find out more in how to use our guidance.  

Election timetable

We will publish a specific timetable for the Senedd election which will be made available on our website.

Data protection

Please note that data protection legislation applies to the processing of all personal data. Please contact the Information Commissioner's Office (Opens in new window) for further information about how the current data protection legislation affects you.

Terms and expressions we use

We use must when we refer to a specific requirement. We use should for items we consider to be minimum good practice, but which are not legal or regulatory requirements.

We use you to cover the Nominating officer, party list and individual candidates and agents in this guidance. Individual candidates are candidates who are not included on a party list. Where our guidance only applies to a particular role, this will be specifically stated.  

When we talk about donations, we use you to refer to the person who is responsible at the time for dealing with donations.

Our guidance is separated out into sections, each of which deals with a different part of the process you will be involved with as Nominating Officer, a political party, party list candidate, individual candidate, or agent for the Senedd elections.

To help you navigate this guidance we have produced a Q & A document:

Our guidance sets out the stages that political parties, candidates and their agents need to go through when standing at the Senedd elections. The areas covered are: 

If you have any questions, please contact us using one of the methods below:  

Email: [email protected]  

Tel: 0333 103 1929  

Before starting the process of standing for election, potential candidates need to be confident that they meet all of the requirements. They also need to be aware of the rules that apply to candidates relating to spending and donations.

This guidance sets out details of:

• When do you officially become a candidate?  
• Who is responsible for candidate spending and donations?
• Qualifications and disqualifications for standing for election
• Appointing your election agent and other agents

Financial Assistance Scheme for Disabled Candidates

Welsh Ministers have a duty to provide for a scheme of financial assistance to help disabled candidates in Welsh elections overcome barriers to their participation in those elections that are connected with their disability. As a result of this duty legislation has been introduced to establish a financial assistance scheme operated by Disability Wales to support disabled candidates overcome the barriers to their participation in elections in Wales. Information on the scheme can be found on their website www.disabilitywales.org.

There are 96 Members of the Senedd (MSs) – 16 constituencies with 6 MSs representing each constituency.  

Members of the Senedd are elected under a closed proportional list system. Under this system, voters will choose either a political party or an individual candidate.

Seats will be allocated based on the number of votes each party or individual candidate receives, using a method called the D’Hondt formula. 

Returning Officers

At a Senedd election the Returning Officer (RO) is responsible for all aspects of the administration of the election, including the nomination of candidates for the election, conduct of the poll, the count and the declaration of result.  

The Returning Officer is the Returning Officer responsible for local government elections in that area, who is normally a senior officer of the local authority and independent of the authority in respect of their electoral functions.  

In the case of a constituency that includes more than one local authority, the RO will be designated by Welsh Ministers.1  

Contacting the Returning Officer

We have produced a list of the names and contact details of Returning Officers.

This document is not currently available as we are updating it. It will be made available as soon as possible.

Returning Officers will offer briefings ahead of the election and we strongly encourage you to attend, even if you have been an agent or stood for election before. 

The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO)

The ERO is responsible for maintaining the register of electors and absent voters’ lists for their local authority area. The ERO is normally a senior officer of the local authority and also the Returning Officer for local elections. You can find the contact details for your ERO on our website.

The Electoral Commission

We are an independent statutory body established in November 2000 by the Political Parties, Elections and Referendums Act 2000. We are currently headed by ten Commissioners, including a Chair. We report directly to the UK Parliament through a committee chaired by the Speaker of the House of Commons.

We are responsible for registering political parties and non-party campaigners, the monitoring and publication of significant donations to registered political parties and the regulation of party and non-party campaigner spending at certain elections.  

We also have a role in promoting voter awareness. We are required to report on the administration of certain electoral events, to keep electoral matters under review and, if requested, must review and report on any electoral matter. We also accredit observers to be present at election proceedings.

We do not run elections but have responsibility for providing advice and assistance on electoral matters to all those involved in elections, including Returning Officers, Electoral Registration Officers, political parties and candidates.

Electoral Management Board for Wales

The Electoral Management Board for Wales (EMB) is responsible for the co-ordination of electoral administration for Senedd elections. The EMB is also responsible for hosting and operating the Welsh elections information platform to which election addresses can be submitted. For more information see the EMB website.

The earliest date you can officially become a candidate is the date of dissolution of the Senedd. You will officially become a candidate on this day if on or before this date you or others have already declared you as a candidate.1   

If, after this date, you or others declare that you will be a candidate at the election, you will become a candidate on the date such a declaration is made, or on the date that your nomination papers are submitted, whichever is earlier.2

You can start campaigning before you officially become a candidate. More information is set out in our guidance on campaigning.

For party list candidates, spending to promote your candidacy will be regarded as party campaign spending and will count towards the party’s spending limit. Donations towards your candidacy are also regarded as donations to the party.1

If the party has appointed a campaigns officer, it is their responsibility to authorise, record and report spending to us after the election. For parties without a campaigns officer, this responsibility sits with the treasurer.2  The party’s treasurer is responsible for handling and reporting party donations.

However, you are responsible for managing and reporting your own personal expenses, which are any reasonable travel and living expenses you may incur during the regulated period. These expenses will only count towards the party spending limit if the party reimburses you for the personal expenses.3

You may also have to report certain donations if you are a holder of elective office. Detailed guidance on this can be found in Spending and donations for party list candidates.

The election agent has the main responsibility for complying with the laws on candidate spending and donations. The laws cover how much you can spend, who you can accept donations from, and what must be reported after the election. 

You can appoint someone as your election agent or be your own agent.1  A deputy election agent, known as a sub-agent, can also be appointed to support the agent.2

After the election, both the candidate and the agent, if you have appointed one, must sign declarations to say that their spending and donation return is complete and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief.

This means that you as the candidate also need to be fully aware of the law. 

Spending

The law applies to spending on activities to promote your candidacy, or to criticise other candidates, during a particular period in the run-up to the election. This period is called the ‘regulated period’. 

Candidate spending includes any spending incurred, whether on goods, services, property or facilities, for the purposes of the candidate’s election during the regulated period.

By ‘incur’ we mean make a legal commitment to spend money, such as confirming an order.

This includes:

• items or services bought before the regulated period begins, but used during it
• the value items or services given to you free of charge or at a non-commercial discount of more than 10% - known as ‘notional spending’

There are rules covering:

• who can authorise spending and pay for items and services
• how much you can spend
• which activities count towards your spending limit
• deadlines for receiving and paying invoices
• what records you must keep
• how and when you report your spending

Candidate spending is often known as ‘expenses’. Sometimes, people think this means that spending can be reclaimed from the Senedd, or from us, the Electoral Commission. This is not the case. You are not entitled to recover any spending from public funds.

You can find out more about reporting candidate spending after the election in Spending for individual candidates.

Donations

Individual candidates can only accept donations of money, items or services towards their campaign spending from certain mainly UK-based sources and must report them to the Returning Officer after the election.

If an election agent is appointed, donations must be passed to them as quickly as possible. The agent must then check whether the donation can be accepted.

If no agent has been appointed, the candidate is responsible for handling and checking donations.  

You can find out more about reporting donations after the election in Donations for individual candidates.

In order to stand as a candidate you must ensure that you meet the necessary qualifications and be sure that you are not disqualified. This section sets out the qualifications and disqualifications for standing for election.

It is your responsibility to ensure that you are qualified to stand and are not subject to any disqualifications. Neither the Returning Officer nor the Electoral Commission can confirm this to you. If you are in doubt about your eligibility you should seek legal advice.

You cannot stand in more than one constituency.1  

To be able to stand as a party list or an individual candidate at the Senedd election you must:1

• be at least 18 years old
• be registered as a local government elector in Wales  
• be a British citizen, a qualifying Commonwealth citizen, a qualifying foreign citizen, a citizen of the Republic of Ireland or a citizen of the European Union who is resident in the United Kingdom.  

A qualifying Commonwealth citizen is a Commonwealth citizen who either:2

• does not need leave to enter or remain in the United Kingdom, or
• has indefinite leave to remain in the United Kingdom.

A qualifying foreign citizen is a person who is not:3  

• a Commonwealth citizen, or
• a citizen of the European Union, or
• a citizen of the Republic of Ireland and  

who has or does not require leave to remain or is treated as having leave to enter or remain in the UK.

Apart from meeting the qualifications for standing for election, you must also not be disqualified.

The full range of disqualifications is complex and if you are in any doubt about whether you are disqualified, you must do everything you can to check that you are not disqualified before submitting your nomination papers.

You must be sure that you are not disqualified as you will be asked to sign the consent to nomination to confirm that you are not disqualified.1

It is a criminal offence to make a false statement on your nomination papers as to your qualification for being elected,2 so if you are in any doubt you should contact your employer, consult the legislation or, if necessary, take your own independent legal advice.

The Returning Officer (RO) will not be able to confirm whether or not you are disqualified.

There are certain people who are disqualified from being a member of the Senedd or a candidate at a Senedd election.

You cannot be a candidate if at the time of your nomination and on polling day:

• You hold a post that disqualifies you from becoming a Member of the Senedd. More information is set out in our guidance disqualifying offices.
• You are the subject of bankruptcy restrictions. More information is set out in our guidance on bankruptcy.3
• You are a convicted prisoner serving a sentence of more than one year’s detention (or an indefinite sentence) anywhere in the UK, the Republic of Ireland, the Channel Islands or the Isle of Man, or elsewhere in the European Union or are unlawfully at large.4
• You have been disqualified under the Representation of the People Act 1983 (which covers corrupt or illegal electoral practices and offences relating to donations or after being reported guilty of an corrupt or illegal practice under Senedd Cymru Order 2025). The disqualification for an illegal practice begins from the date a person has been reported guilty by an election court and lasts for three years. The disqualification for corrupt practice begins from the date a person has been reported guilty by an election court and lasts for five years.
• You have been convicted of an intimidatory criminal offence motivated by hostility towards a candidate, future candidate or campaigner or holder of a relevant elective office. The effect of a disqualification order is that the person will be disqualified from standing for, being elected to, and holding any relevant elective office for five years.5
• You are subject to the notification requirements of or under Part 2 of the Sexual Offences Act 2003 and the ordinary period allowed for making an appeal or application in respect of the order or notification has passed. A person who is in the process of making an appeal or application in relation to the disqualification is not disqualified at any time before the end of the day on which the appeal or application is disposed of, abandoned or fails by reason of non-prosecution.6

The RO is entitled to hold a nomination paper from a disqualified individual candidate invalid and to treat a disqualified party list candidate as having ceased to stand.
 

There are certain office-holders who are disqualified from becoming a Member of the Senedd and from standing as a candidate at Senedd elections.1 These include:

• members of the regular armed forces
• those who hold the office of Auditor General for Wales
• those who hold the office of Childrens Commissioner for Wales, Deputy Childrens Commissioner for Wales
• civil servants
• those who hold the office of First Civil Service Commissioner and Civil Service Commissioners
• those who hold the office of Commissioner for the Commission for Equality and Human Rights
• those who hold the office of Commissioner for Older People for Wales and Deputy Commissioner for Older People for Wales
• the Commissioner for Public Appointments
• the Comptroller and Auditor General
• Members, assistant Commissioners and chief executive of the Local Democracy and Boundary Commission for Wales
• The Electoral Commissioners and members of staff of the Commission
• Electoral Registration Officer for any area in Wales
• Future Generations Commissioner for Wales
• The Chief Inspector of Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education and Training in Wales
• Members of the Independent Remuneration Board of the Senedd  
• anyone who holds a judicial office
• members of a police force  
• members of a legislature of any country or territory outside the UK
• those who hold the office of Public Services Ombudsman for Wales
• those who hold the office of lord-lieutenant, lieutenant or high sheriff of any area in Wales  
• the Parliamentary Commissioner for Administration
• Returning Officer for any Senedd constituency
• The Welsh Language Commissioner, Deputy Welsh Language Commissioner and members of the Advisory Panel to the Welsh Language Commissioner
• the Senedd Commissioner for Standards
• Members of staff of the Senedd Commission.

Candidates who are directly employed by Members of the Senedd and not by the Senedd Commission are not disqualified from standing for election. However, employment relationships can be complex and we advise anyone who is unsure about whether they are disqualified to speak to the Senedd’s HR department to confirm their employment arrangements and/or seek their own legal advice.

MPs standing at the Senedd election2

Members of the House of Commons cannot be members of the Senedd. While they can stand as candidates at the Senedd election, if successful, an MP would have to resign their seat in the House of Commons within eight calendar days of being elected to the Senedd.3

Other office holders standing at the Senedd election

Certain office holders cannot be Members of the Senedd. These office holders are listed in The Senedd Cymru (Disqualification) Order 2025.  These offices include:

Members of the Scottish Parliament or the Northern Ireland Assembly

Members of the Scottish Parliament or the Northern Ireland Assembly can stand as candidates at a Senedd election, but, if successful, they would have to resign their post before taking the oath of allegiance (or making the corresponding affirmation).

Members of the House of Lords  

Members of the House of Lords can stand as candidates at a Senedd election, but if successful, they would have to already have leave of absence from the House of Lords, or have made an application for leave of absence which has not been withdrawn or refused.

Members of the council of a county or county borough or community council in Wales

Members of the council of a county or county borough or community council can stand as candidates at a Senedd election, but, if successful, they would have to resign their post before taking the oath of allegiance (or make the corresponding affirmation).4

Certain other offices holders who are listed in the Senedd Cymru (Disqualification) Order 2025 may stand as candidates at a Senedd election, but, if successful, would have to resign their office before taking the oath or allegiance (or make the corresponding affirmation).

This list is not comprehensive and detailed lists of disqualifications are set out in the Government of Wales Act 2006 (as amended) and the Senedd Cymru (Disqualification) Order 2025.

Bankruptcy in itself is not a disqualification. If you have been adjudged bankrupt by a court in England, Wales or Northern Ireland, you are not disqualified on that basis. However, you are disqualified if you are currently subject to any of the following:1

• an interim bankruptcy restrictions order
• a bankruptcy restrictions order  
• an interim debt relief restrictions order  
• a debt relief restrictions order  
• your estate has been sequestrated by a court in Scotland and you have not been discharged.

If the order was made in Northern Ireland you should take you own legal advice since the law is complex in this area.

You are disqualified under the Government of Wales Act 2006 if you have been convicted of an offence and have been sentenced or ordered to be imprisoned or detained indefinitely or for more than a year and are detained anywhere in the UK, the Channel Islands the Isle of Man or elsewhere in the European Union, or are unlawfully at large when you would otherwise be detained.

You are also disqualified under the Government of Wales Act 2006, if you have been convicted or reported guilty of a corrupt or illegal electoral practice or of an offence relating to donations. The disqualification for an illegal practice begins from the date a person has been reported guilty by an election court or convicted and lasts for three years. The disqualification for a corrupt practice begins from the date a person has been reported guilty by an election court or convicted and lasts for five years.

You have been convicted of an intimidatory criminal offence motivated by hostility towards a candidate, future candidate or campaigner or holder of a relevant elective office.1

The election agent is the person responsible for the proper management of your election campaign and, in particular, for its financial management.  

Each political party submitting a party list and every individual candidate must have an election agent.1

If an election agent is not appointed, a person will be appointed by default. For more information see our guidance Appointing an election agent.

You can also appoint other agents to observe the following electoral processes, which both you and your election agent are also entitled to observe.  

• the opening of postal votes
• the poll
• the count 

There are no particular qualifications needed to be an election agent and you can be your own agent if you wish.

However, the following people are not allowed to be election agents:1

• the Returning Officer (RO), or a member of their staff (including any clerks appointed specifically for the election)
• a deputy or clerk of the RO, or a member of their staff
• an officer of a local authority whose services have been placed at the disposal of the RO  
• a partner or clerk of any of the above

If you are standing on behalf of a party, they may also have specific rules about who you can appoint as an election agent. 

Party list candidates

A party that has submitted a list of candidates for election must have an election agent to act for all the candidates on the party list.1

A candidate included on a party list may be named as election agent for that party.2

Because of the responsibilities attached to the role of an election agent, the party should consider carefully who is appointed and make sure that they understand their obligations.  

The Nominating Officer, or someone on behalf of the Nominating Officer, must declare in writing the name and address of your election agent to the Returning Officer (RO) by 4pm 18 working days before the poll.3

The declaration should be made by the party agent (or the person making the declaration on behalf of the party). If it is made by someone else, the agent must provide a signed declaration of acceptance of the appointment.  

It is helpful to also provide a contact telephone number and email address for your election agent so that they can be easily contacted by the RO.

The RO may provide a declaration form, or you could use the election agent declaration form produced by the Commission.  

If the RO is not notified of the name and address of the election agent appointed by the party, the candidate whose name appears first on the list of candidates shall be deemed to have been named on behalf of the party for all candidates.4

If a party list candidate is appointed as the election agent and they have requested on their home address form that their home address must not be made public the home address will not be published on the notice of election agents.5

Instead, the constituency or country they provided on their home address form will be printed on the notice of election agent.6

If a party list candidate is named as the election agent and the statement of persons nominated shows a commonly used name, the notice of election agent must show their commonly used name instead as stated on their nomination paper.7

Office of election agent for a party list

The agent must have an office address to which any legal notices can be delivered and therefore must be a physical address – PO boxes or similar mailboxes cannot be used.8

The office address must be declared at the same time as the RO is notified of  appointment of the election agent.9   

The agent’s office address must be in either:10

• the Senedd constituency in which the election is held or an adjoining constituency  
• a county or county borough which is partly comprised in or adjoins the Senedd constituency

The agent’s office address will often be their home address, but it could be the local party office or an office set up for the election.  

If a party list candidate is declared as the election agent for the party list and their home address is also their office address and they have requested via their home address form that their home address must not be made public then a correspondence address must also be provided to the RO.11 The correspondence address must be in England or Wales. The correspondence address will be published on the notice of election agents instead of the office address.12

Where the candidate named first on the party list is deemed to be the election agent because the RO has not been notified of an agent appointment, the office address will be deemed to be the address provided on the candidate’s consent to nomination.13

All candidates must provide an address on their consent to nomination to be used as an office address in the event they become an election agent by default.14

Individual candidate

You must have an election agent.15

Because of the responsibilities attached to the role of an election agent you should consider carefully who you are going to appoint and make sure that they understand their obligations.  

You can be your own agent if you wish.

You, or someone on your behalf, must declare in writing the name, and office address of your election agent to the RO by 4pm 18 working days before the poll.16

The declaration should be signed by you (or the person making the declaration on your behalf) and by the agent to show their acceptance of the appointment.

It is helpful to also provide a contact telephone number and email address for your election agent so that they can be easily contacted by the RO.

The RO may provide a declaration form, or you could use the election agent declaration form produced by the Commission.

If the RO is not notified of the name and address of your election agent by the latest time for delivery of notice of withdrawal of candidature, you will automatically be named as your own agent.17

If you act as your own election agent and you have requested on your home address form that your home address must not be made public, the home address will not be published on the notice of election agents.18

Instead, the constituency or country you provided on your home address form will be printed on the notice of election agent.19

If an individual candidate is named as the election agent and the statement of persons nominated shows a commonly used name, the notice of election agent must show their commonly used name as stated on their nomination paper.20

Office of election agent for an individual candidate

The agent must have an office address to which any legal notices can be delivered and therefore must be a physical address – PO boxes or similar mailboxes cannot be used.21

The office address must be declared at the same time as the appointment of the election agent to the RO.22

The agent’s office address must be:23

• in the Senedd constituency in which the election is held or an adjoining constituency  
• in a county or county borough which is partly comprised in or adjoins the Senedd constituency .

The agent’s office address will often be their home address, but it could be an office set up for the election.

If an individual candidate has appointed themselves as their own election agent, and their home address is also their office address and they have requested via their home address form that their home address must not be made public, then a correspondence address must be provided to the RO instead of an office address.24 The correspondence address must be in England or Wales. The correspondence address will be published on the notice of election agents instead of the office address.25

Where an individual candidate deemed to be their own election agent because the RO has not been notified of an agent appointment, the office address will be deemed to be the address provided on the candidate’s consent to nomination.26 All candidates must provide an address on their consent to nomination to be used as an office address in the event they become an election agent agent by default.27

Party list candidates

An election agent’s appointment can be revoked at any time, including after polling day, and a notification of the new appointment can be made in the same manner as outlined in appointing an election agent.1

If an election agent’s appointment is revoked another election agent must be appointed immediately.2

Once an agent has accepted their appointment, they cannot resign and must fulfil the duties required of them unless you revoke their appointment.

Individual candidates

You may revoke the appointment of your election agent at any time, including after polling day, and a notification of the new appointment can be made in the same manner as in appointing an election agent.3

If you revoke your election agent's appointment another election agent must be appointed immediately.4

If you are acting as your own agent you can revoke your own appointment and appoint someone else as your agent.

Once an agent has accepted their appointment, they cannot resign and must fulfil the duties required of them unless you revoke their appointment.

An election agent may appoint sub-agents to act on their behalf in any part of the constituency in which you are standing, as long as those parts do not overlap.1 The agent can determine the parts into which they wish to sub-divide the constituency. 

An election agent for a party list of candidates who appoints a sub-agent for any part of a constituency area must appoint the same person as sub-agent for that part of the constituency in respect of all candidates.2

A sub-agent may do anything that the election agent is entitled to do within the area to which they are appointed.

The election agent should ensure that any sub-agent is aware of the election and spending rules, as anything done by a sub-agent will be treated as if it had been done by the election agent. For further information see our guidance on election spending for individual candidates and party list candidates.  

A sub-agent must have an office to which any legal notices can be delivered and therefore must be a physical address – PO boxes or similar mailboxes cannot be used.3 The office of the sub-agent must be in the area within which they are appointed to act.4

The election agent must notify the Returning Officer (RO) in writing of the name and address of each sub-agent and the area within which they have been appointed to act by 2 working days before the poll.5 The RO will provide a form you can use. Alternatively, you can use the form included for this purpose in our nomination pack.

The election agent can revoke the appointment of a sub-agent at any time and appoint someone else in their place. If another sub-agent is appointed, the election agent must declare in writing the name, address, and area of appointment to the RO.6

The following section provides guidance on spending for individual candidates at Senedd elections.

This guidance covers:

• how much you can spend in the lead up to the election
• which activities count as candidate spending
• what records you must keep
• how to account for different types of spending

See Who is responsible for individual candidate spending and donations? for more information about the responsibilities of the agent and candidate.

We call the time when the spending laws apply the ‘regulated period’.

The regulated period for the Senedd election in 2026 begins on 7 January 2026 and will end on polling day, 7 May 2026.1

The spending limit for individual candidates during the regulated period at a Senedd election is £52,500.1

There are rules to make sure that spending can be controlled and accurately recorded and reported.

It is your responsibility to fully and accurately report candidate spending. You should ensure you understand the law and that all spending is properly authorised, recorded and reported.

Who can incur candidate spending?

During the regulated period, only the following people are allowed to incur election spending for individual candidates:

• the agent
• the candidate, and
• anyone authorised by the candidate or agent1

By ‘incur’ we mean making a legal commitment to spend the money. You incur election spending when you enter a transaction with a supplier and become liable to pay for the item, goods or service they have provided to you. For example, you hire a printing company to print leaflets, or you sign a contract to rent an office.

Payments are often incurred and paid at the same time. For example, if you buy something online or in a shop. However, there are separate controls around who can legally commit to owe money for candidate spending and who can pay for election spending under the law.

If you authorise someone to incur candidate spending, you must do so in writing and be clear how much they can spend and on what.2

Who can pay for candidate spending?

Controls on who can make payments apply once you are officially a candidate. Individual candidates can appoint an election agent, or act as their own election agent. Appointing an election agent affects who can make payments.

Before you appoint an agent

The candidate can only pay for items (except for personal expenses) that have been incurred, and for which payment is due, before an agent is appointed.3 The candidate can only pay up to a total of £900 on personal expenses for travel and accommodation. Any additional personal expenses must be paid by the agent.4

After you appoint an agent

Once you appoint an agent, payments for most candidate spending must be made by or through the agent.5 In addition to personal expenses, there are three exceptions:

• the agent can give written authorisation for someone to pay for minor expenses such as stationery or postage. The authorisation must include the amount of the payment.6
• people can spend up to £1,000 on campaigning for or against one or more individual candidates in a constituency. The agent can give written authorisation for someone to incur and pay for spending on behalf of the candidate so that it does not count towards this £1,000 limit (see Authorising others to incur spending).7
• the candidate can make payments for invoices they have obtained a court order to pay, as the legal deadline for making the payment has passed

If any payments are made by anyone other than the candidate, agent or sub-agent – for example by a person authorised in writing to incur spending (and it is not reimbursed by the agent) then this will be a donation to the candidate if it is over £500.8 See Donations for individual candidates for more on donations.

You should make sure that your volunteers and campaigners are aware of the law and know who can and cannot incur or pay costs.

The spending controls are summarised in the following table:

You should ensure that a system is in place to keep records of all your candidate spending so that you can report it after the election. Election agents are responsible for reporting spending after the election.

What you need to record

For each item of spending, you should record the following information to include in your spending return after the election:

• what the spending was for – for example, leaflets or advertising
• the name and address of the supplier
• the amount or value
• the date that you spent the money

You must keep invoices or receipts for any payments of £20 or over.1

If you have paid VAT on an item, you must include this when reporting the costs of the item in your return. You must still include VAT even if it can be reclaimed as a business expense. 

Invoices for payments made to companies based overseas may not always include VAT. If you have paid VAT, you should include this as part of the cost of the item when reporting, even if VAT is not included on the invoice.

It may be helpful for the agent to also keep copies of each example of campaign material (such as letters or leaflets) used in case there is a need to refer back to it.

You must also record details of spending where:

• you make use of items that have been provided to you 
• you authorise spending to be incurred by someone else

See sections on notional spending and local campaigning for more details.

For information on the information required in the spending return, please see Completing your return.

Candidate spending is spending on activities that you use to promote your candidacy, or to criticise other candidates, during the regulated period.1 This includes:

• spending incurred by the candidate or agent 
• items or services bought before the regulated period that you use during the regulated period2
• notional spending, where something is provided for you and made use during the regulated period
• local campaigning, where you have authorised someone other than the candidate or agent to incur spending

To be candidate spending it must:

• be an activity on the list of types of election spending
• promote the candidate3

What is spending to promote your candidacy?

If an activity is aimed at voters in your constituency to promote or secure your election, then it is spending to promote your candidacy. This spending must be reported.

Where you use an item of spending purely for the purposes of your campaign, you should report all the costs in your return.

In some cases, not all the spending on an item will be used to promote your candidacy. For example, where:

• only some of the items or services used to promote you are used during the regulated period
• you are sharing items or services with another candidate

In these cases, only a proportion of the costs will be reportable.

Please see Splitting reportable and non-reportable spending for guidance and detailed examples of splitting these costs.

Spending on any of the following activities will count as candidate spending if the activity is used to promote the candidate during the regulated period:

• advertising of any kind.1 For example, posters, newspaper adverts, websites, or videos
• unsolicited material sent to voters.2 For example, letters, leaflets, or emails you send that aren’t in response to specific queries, including the costs of producing the election address you are entitled to send free of charge
• transport costs.3 For example, hire cars or public transport for your campaigners
• public meetings.4 For example, reimbursing expenses of attendees, hiring premises and paying for goods, services or facilities for a public meeting
• staff costs.5 For example, an agent’s salary, or staff seconded to you by their employer. You do not need to include time spent on your campaign by volunteers
• accommodation.6 For example, your campaign office
• administrative costs.7 For example, telephone bills, stationery, photocopying and the use of databases

All costs associated with an activity will count as candidate spending. For example, if you are producing leaflets or advertising, you must include the design and distribution costs.

This spending must be reported in your spending return after the election. More detailed information on each category is included on the following pages.

General costs

Examples include the costs of:

• services provided by any agency, individual or organisation
• premises or facilities
• equipment
• image rights or licensing fees
• paper or other materials

used in connection with advertising of any kind. This includes costs associated with producing and promoting adverts.

General costs

Examples include the costs of:

• services provided by any agency, individual or organisation
• premises or facilities
• equipment
• image rights or licensing fees
• paper or other materials

used in connection with unsolicited material to voters. This includes the costs of producing and distributing the material by any means.

Transport of the agent, volunteers and campaigners

Examples include the costs of transporting volunteers or other campaigners to, from or around the electoral area, where they are campaigning on behalf of the candidate.

These transport costs can include: 

• buying or reimbursing tickets for any transport
• hiring vehicles 
• purchasing fuel or charging an electric vehicle
• parking costs

It includes the cost of providing transport for the agent where this is paid by or reimbursed by the candidate or another third party.

Transport of the candidate

‘Personal expenses’ include the reasonable travelling expenses of the candidate in relation to the election.1

Where a transport cost is a personal expense for the candidate, this does not count towards their spending limit. It must be recorded as a personal expense in the spending return. See Personal expenses for more information.

Transport to an event

It includes the cost of transporting attendees to an event promoting the candidate where that cost is reimbursed or paid for by the candidate or another third party.

Transport that is promoting the candidate

It also includes the costs of using, or hiring, any vehicle or form of transport that displays material promoting the candidate, including:

• design and application of the design to the vehicle or form of transport 
• driving or moving a vehicle around a specific electoral area 
• parking fees

Costs that are excluded

The following costs are not reportable:

• where transport costs are paid for by the individual who used it and not reimbursed2
• where transport is provided by another individual, the means of transport was acquired by that individual for their own personal use and the candidate is not charged for the use of it3

Services, premises, facilities or equipment

Examples include the cost of:

• services provided by any agency, individual or organisation
• premises or facilities
• equipment

used in connection with public meetings of any kind. This includes costs associated with in-person and virtual public meetings, such as hiring a venue or live streaming a virtual public meeting.

Other costs

Other costs may include:

• the cost of promoting or advertising the public meeting by any means
• providing goods, services or facilities at the event, such as seating or food

These costs may be paid by or reimbursed by the candidate or a third party.

Costs that are excluded

You do not need to include events held mainly for purposes other than your campaign, where your attendance is incidental – for example, an annual social event at which you say a few words.

You should make an honest assessment on the facts of whether the meeting is genuinely being held for other purposes.

You may also be invited to attend hustings events run by local organisations or community groups. We have published separate hustings guidance which explains when the spending rules may apply to these events.

Services of an election agent or other staff

This includes the cost of the election agent or any other person working for the candidate’s election. You must include all staff costs, such as the staff member’s gross salary, any additional allowances, and your national insurance and pension contributions as their employer. This also includes any renumeration, including allowances, you provide to receive their services.

Staff monitoring social media and other press activities

It includes the cost of staff engaged in the management and monitoring of social media channels or platforms and the obtaining of data to allow targeted campaigning. This includes hiring staff to analyse and sort the data and the cost of staff to monitor and post or respond to any kind of social media or other account.

It includes the cost of staff engaged in the management of press activities of any kind, including staff who are liaising with, managing or monitoring any kind of media activity by any means in connection with the candidate’s election.

Volunteer time

You should not include the cost for services of an agent or any other person who is a volunteer.

You should not include the costs of people’s travel, food and accommodation costs while they campaign on your behalf, if they meet the costs themselves. 

However, any expenses you meet for them, or reimburse them for, such as transport or accommodation, do count as your spending.

Sometimes you may not be sure if someone working for your campaign is a volunteer or if you should count their time towards your spending limit. For example, they may offer similar services professionally to the ones they are performing for you. 

For example, they will be a volunteer if:

• their employer is not paying them for the time they spend on your campaign
• they are using their annual leave
• where they are self-employed, you won’t benefit from any professional insurances they hold

If they use specialist equipment or materials, it is likely that the use of these, provided for free will be notional spending.

Office space and equipment

Reportable costs include renting an office space, including business rates, for the candidate’s campaign, whether newly rented or under an existing rental agreement. This includes the cost of office space where it is being shared. 

If you are sharing office space, an amount that reasonably reflects the use by the candidate in campaigning must be included in your return. For more information on splitting costs, please see Splitting reportable and non-reportable spending.

This also includes costs associated with purchasing, using or hiring office equipment for your campaign. 

If you are provided with use of an office space or equipment for use in the campaign, this may be notional spending and in some cases a donation to the candidate. See notional spending for more guidance.

• payment of your election deposit1
• anything (except adverts) appearing in a newspaper, periodical or on a licensed broadcast channel2
• facilities you use because you are entitled to do so as a candidate, such as a public room for a meeting and postage costs for the free election address3
• volunteer time including time spent by your staff that you do not pay them for4
• use of someone’s main residence, provided free of charge5
• use of someone’s personal car or other means of transport, acquired principally for that person’s personal use and provided free of charge6
• use of someone’s computing or printing equipment acquired principally for that person’s personal use and provided free of charge7
• costs that are reasonably attributable to the candidate’s disability8
• financial assistance provided by the Access to Elected Office Fund Wales to support disabled candidates9  
• costs relating to translating from English to Welsh or vice versa10
• reasonable expenses attributable to the protection of persons or property, for example hiring security, using a PO Box to avoid publicising a home or office address on imprints, or purchasing antivirus software for protecting campaign computers11

When you use an item for the first time, you must include the cost. 

Items that are not used

You do not have to report spending on items that are not used (for example if leaflets are never distributed) and this does not count against the spending limit.

You should retain the unused material or evidence it was destroyed. 

If you use the leftover items at a later election, you must report the spending on those items at that later election.

Re-use of items

Where you have paid for an item, you must report the full cost at the time of first use, even if you intend to use it again at a future election.

If you do use it again at a subsequent election, you do not have to report the original payment again. There may be some associated costs which must be reported at that election, for example for storage or cleaning.

Personal expenses include the reasonable travel and living expenses of the candidate for the purposes of and in relation to the election.1 Personal expenses do not count towards the spending limit, but you must report them on your spending return.2

Personal expenses are reportable throughout the regulated period. Once officially a candidate, the candidate can only pay up to £900 in total of personal expenses. The agent must pay any sums above this amount.3  There is no limit to how much candidates can pay for personal expenses before they officially become a candidate.

Personal expenses can include:

• public transport or taxi fares
• purchasing fuel for a vehicle or charging an electric vehicle
• hiring a car if candidate does not already own a car, or if their car is not suitable for campaigning
• staying at a hotel

For some personal expenses, you will need to estimate the proportion of your costs that are attributable to the election. For example, if you own a car, some of the fuel or charging costs during the election period are likely to be for other purposes. You should make an honest and reasonable assessment of these costs. 

For domestic charging of electric vehicles, where there is no specific invoice for charging, you can estimate the cost by:

• comparing the capacity of the vehicle’s battery with your cost per unit of electricity, and reporting an estimate of how many full charges are attributable to the election, or
• comparing your vehicle’s mileage per unit of electricity to your cost per unit of electricity, and reporting an estimate of mileage attributable to the election

Candidates must provide a written statement of their personal expenses to their agent within 21 days of the result being declared.4

If personal expenses are provided to the candidate free of charge, or at a non-commercial discount of more than 10% and the difference in value between what the candidate pays is more than £50, it will also be reportable as notional spending. Please see notional spending for more details.

Sometimes you might use something in your campaign that you did not have to spend money on, because it was provided to you as a benefit in kind, for free or at a discount.

Some examples of a benefit in kind could be:

• space in a hall for an event
• leaflets
• providing volunteers with food and transport

When you use something provided to you as a benefit in kind, the full value of what you used counts towards your spending limit and must be reported.1

This is called ‘notional spending’.

Benefits in kind transferred or provided for your use or benefit

Under the law there are two different terms used when assessing the value of these benefits in kind. 

Items or goods are transferred to the candidate when ownership is given to the candidate. For example, someone gives the paper to the candidate to print leaflets.

Where items or goods are transferred to the candidate free of charge or at a non-commercial discount of more than 10%, these must be valued at its ‘market value’.2 The market value means the price that would reasonably be expected to be paid for the item or goods if it was on sale in the open market.3

In contrast, items, goods or services are provided for the candidate’s use or benefit if it is made available for the candidate’s use, but there is no change in ownership. For example, an office space is provided for your use during the campaign.

This is where an item, goods or services are instead provided for the candidate's use or benefit free of charge or at a non-commercial discount of more than 10%, the provision of these must be valued at a ‘commercial rate’.4 There is no set definition for commercial rate under the law, however this may be the average rates for the item, goods or service offered by commercial providers.

In this guidance we use the term ‘commercial value’ as an umbrella term for both market value and commercial rate.

What counts as notional spending?

There are five tests that must all be met for an item to count as notional spending:

1. it is transferred to you or provided for your use or benefit
2. it is transferred or provided for free or at a non-commercial discount of more than 10%5
3. the difference in value between the commercial value of what is provided and what you pay is over £506
4. you make use of it in your campaign (or someone does on your behalf)7
5. it would have been candidate spending if you had incurred the spending.8 See What activities count as candidate spending? for information about the categories of candidate spending

The following pages provide more information and examples detailing these tests.

The item must be transferred or provided to the candidate for it to count as notional spending.1

Providing items, services or facilities to the candidate falls under the definition of a donation. This means that any notional spending will also be a donation to the candidate if it is over £500 and must also be reported in the donations section of the return. You can find out more about the rules on donations in Donations for individual candidates.

Commercial discounts are those available to other similar customers, such as discounts for bulk orders or seasonal reductions. Items, goods and services purchased with commercial discounts will not be treated as notional spending.

Non-commercial discounts are special discounts that you are given by suppliers. This includes any special rate which is not available on the open market. These are different to commercial discounts available to all customers, such as discounts for bulk orders or seasonal reductions.

If a benefit in kind is transferred or provided to the candidate, it only counts as notional spending if it is made use of by the candidate in their campaign, or by someone acting on their behalf.1

If a campaign activity in support of the candidate is carried out by someone else, it is not enough that the candidate has benefitted from the activity, has been told about it, or even has expressed their thanks to the person carrying it out.

A person only makes use of something on behalf of the candidate if that use has been directed, authorised, or encouraged by the candidate or agent.2

‘Making use of’ the benefit in kind requires that there is some active involvement on the part of the candidate (or someone on their behalf) to make use of the goods or services being provided.

‘Making use of’ can include:

• contributing personally – for example the candidate provides content for leaflets which a company then produces and delivers, thereby using the service provided by the company
• arranging for someone else to contribute on your behalf – for example asking local party volunteers to help deliver leaflets that are provided by their party

Notional spending begins with being provided with something of value. When the value is over £500, this is also a donation.1 You should work out the value of what has been provided as notional spending in the same way as you work out the value of a non-monetary donation.

Please see How do you value a donation? for further guidance on valuing notional spending and donations.

It is good practice to include any evidence you have of the value of notional spending when you submit your return.

Valuing seconded staff

If an employer seconds a member of staff to your campaign, you must record their gross salary and any additional allowances as notional spending.

You do not need to include the employer’s national insurance or pension contributions.2 You will need to include the value of any expenses, such as travel or food, that you or the employer reimburses.

There are five tests that must all be met for an item to count as notional spending:

1. it is transferred to you or provided for your use or benefit
2. it is transferred or provided for free or at a non-commercial discount of more than 10%1
3. the difference in value between the commercial value of what is provided and what you pay is over £502
4. you make use of it in your campaign (or someone does on your behalf)3
5. it would have been election spending if you had incurred the spending.4 See What activities count as candidate spending? for information about the categories of candidate spending

In some instances, people spend money to promote a candidate without providing or transferring something for the candidate’s use or benefit during the campaign. Likewise, people may spend money to criticise a candidate or encourage voters not to support them. We call this local campaigning.

Organisations or individuals, who are not standing as candidates at the elections, who campaign for or against one or more individual candidate in a constituency are known as ‘local non-party campaigners’. This includes where you are campaigning against a political party or party list candidate in favour of an individual candidate.1

If your campaign involves campaigning for or against individual candidates in a constituency, and parties, party list candidates or categories of candidates, the controls that apply in these scenarios can be complicated. In these cases, we recommend you contact us for tailored advice.

During the regulated period, local non-party campaigners can spend up to £1,000 on campaigning for or against one or more individual candidates in a constituency.2 This is known as the permitted sum.

A local non-party campaigner cannot spend more than this permitted sum without the candidate or agent’s written authorisation to incur the additional spending, which will count towards the candidate’s spending limit.3

Sometimes, you may need to split your costs between activities that count as candidate spending and those that don’t.

For example, between:

• items used both before and during the regulated period
• your candidate spending and non-regulated activities such as an office that you share with someone else

In all cases you should make an honest assessment, based on the facts, of the proportion of expenditure that can fairly be attributed to your candidate spending. You should only report the amount of spending used during the regulated period that is regarded as being used for purposes of your campaign.

In these cases, you should consider the best way of making an honest assessment on the information you have. For example, if you are sharing an office, the telephone bill may only provide a breakdown of the cost of calls over a certain value. You could therefore compare the bill with one that does not cover a regulated period.

It is your responsibility to report your candidate spending fully and accurately. You should ensure you understand the rules and that all spending is properly authorised, recorded, and reported.

After the election, you will have to sign a declaration to declare that it is complete and correct to the best of your knowledge and belief.1 It is an offence to knowingly make a false declaration.2   

If you are still not sure, call or email us for advice.

For each activity that you have established is candidate spending, you must remember to work out what type of spending it is, so you know how to report it:

• spending incurred by the candidate or agent
• notional spending
• local campaigning

If an item or service is provided to and made use of by or on behalf of the candidate, then the relevant proportion of the cost of targeting the candidate’s electoral area is likely to count as notional spending, if it meets the tests.

If the spending is not incurred by the candidate or agent and not provided to and made use of by or on behalf of the candidate, it will count as local campaigning for the candidate.

The following examples illustrate first determining whether the spending promotes the candidate, and then determining how it must be reported.

After the election, the election agent must meet deadlines for:

• receiving and paying invoices
• sending the candidate return to the Returning Officer

Both the agent and the candidate must submit declarations that the return is complete and accurate.1 If the candidate is acting as their own agent, they only need to submit a candidate declaration.

You must still submit the return and declarations even if you haven’t spent any money.2 This is called a ‘nil return’.

You can find these deadlines, and more information on reporting, in After the election.

The following section provides guidance on donations to individual candidates at Senedd elections.

This guidance covers:

• what counts as a donation
• who you can accept donations from
• the checks you need to make on different types of donors
• how to value different types of donations
• good practices for crowdfunding donations
• the information you need to record

A donation is money, goods, property or services which are given:

• towards your candidate spending
• without charge or on non-commercial terms 

and have a value of over £500.1  Anything with a value of £500 or less does not count as a donation.2

The donation controls for candidates apply once you are officially a candidate.3

Some examples of donations include:

• a gift of money or other property
• payment of an invoice for candidate spending that would otherwise be paid by you
• a loan that is not on commercial terms
• sponsorship of an event or publication
• free or specially discounted use of property or facilities, for example the free use of an office

Donations of £500 or less

Donations of £500 or less are outside the scope of electoral law and you do not need to record or report them.

However, it is an offence to attempt to evade the controls on donations. You must be alert to situations where it appears that a donor is attempting to evade permissibility restrictions.4  For example, if a number of donations of £499 are made from the same source in similar circumstances in an attempt to evade the permissibility rules.

If you think this may be happening, you should contact us for advice.

Donations can only be accepted from certain sources, which are mainly UK-based.1 Please see Who can you accept donations from? for details on which sources are permissible.

Before you accept any donation of more than £500 for the purpose of candidate spending, you must take all reasonable steps to:

• make sure you know the true identity of the donor
• check that the donation is from a permissible source2

If it is not completely clear who you should treat as the donor, you should check the facts to make sure.

How long do you have to check permissibility?

When you receive a donation, you have 30 days to conduct permissibility checks and return it if it is impermissible.3 If you keep a donation longer than 30 days, you are deemed to have accepted it.4

If you keep an impermissible donation after this time, you may commit a criminal offence and we may apply to court to have it forfeited to us for payment into the Consolidated Fund.5 If you’ve accepted an impermissible donation, you should tell us as soon as possible.

Even if you have made a permissibility check in connection with an earlier donation from the same source, you should consider whether to make a fresh check for each subsequent donation.

You should keep a record of all your permissibility checks to show that you have followed the law.

If the donation isn’t from a permissible donor, or for any reason you can’t be sure of the true identity of the source, please read how do you return a donation? for further guidance on the actions you must take.

If you are given a donation on behalf of someone else, the person giving you the donation must tell you:

• that the donation is on behalf of someone else
• the actual donor’s details1  

An example of this is where an event organiser is handing over the proceeds from a dinner held specifically to raise funds for your campaign.

If you have reason to believe that someone might have made a donation on behalf of someone else but has not told you, you must find out the facts so that you can make the right checks.

If you are uncertain who the actual donor is, you should record the donation and return it.

Please see How do you return a donation? for guidance on how to return a donation.

What makes a company permissible?

A company is permissible if it is:

• registered as a company at Companies House
• incorporated in the UK
• carrying on business in the UK1

You must be sure that the company meets all three criteria.

How do you check company registration? 

You should check the register at Companies House. You should look at the full register entry for the company.  

How do you check if the company is carrying on business in the UK?

You must be satisfied that the company is carrying on business in the UK. The business can be non-profit making.

Even if you have direct personal knowledge of the company, you should check the Companies House register to see if:

• the company is in liquidation, dormant, or about to be 
  struck off
• the company’s accounts and annual return are overdue

A company may still be carrying on business if it is in liquidation, dormant or late in filing documents, but you should make extra checks to satisfy yourself that this is the case.

For any company, you should consider looking at:

• the company’s website
• relevant trade, telephone directories or reputable websites
• the latest accounts filed at Companies House

If you are still not sure if the company is carrying on business in the UK, you should ask for written confirmation of its business activities from the company’s directors.

What information must you record?

You must record:

• the name as it is shown on the register
• the company’s registered office address
• the registered company number2

What makes a limited liability partnership permissible?

A limited liability partnership (LLP) is a permissible donor if it is:

• registered as an LLP at Companies House
• carrying on business in the UK1

How do you check permissibility?

You should check the register at Companies House. You should look at the full register entry for the company. 

How do you check if a limited liability partnership is carrying on business in the UK?

You must be satisfied that the LLP is carrying on business in the UK. The business can be non-profit making.

Even if you have direct personal knowledge of the LLP, you should check the Companies House register to see if:

• the LLP is in liquidation, dormant, or about to be struck off
• the LLP’s accounts and annual return are overdue

An LLP may still be carrying on business if it is in liquidation, dormant or late in filing documents, but you should make extra checks to satisfy yourself that this is the case.

For any LLP, you should consider looking at:

• the LLP’s website
• relevant trade, telephone directories or reputable websites
• the latest accounts filed at Companies House

If you are still not sure if the LLP is carrying on business in the UK, you should ask for written confirmation of its business activities from the LLP’s directors.

What information must you record?

You must record:

• the name as it is shown on the register
• the LLP’s registered office address2

You should also record the LLP’s registered number.

What makes an unincorporated association permissible?

An unincorporated association is permissible if:

• it has more than one member
• the main office is in the UK
• it is carrying on business or other activities in the UK1

You must be sure that the unincorporated association meets all three criteria.

How do you check permissibility?

There is no register containing all unincorporated associations. You will need to check the details of the unincorporated association in each case.

In general, an unincorporated association is an association of two or more individuals who have come together to carry out a shared purpose.

An unincorporated association has an identifiable membership which is bound together by identifiable rules or an agreement between the members. These rules set out how the unincorporated association is to be run and managed.

Sometimes the rules might be formalised, for example in a written constitution. However, they do not need to be formalised.

For example, members’ clubs are sometimes unincorporated associations.

If you are not sure that an association meets the criteria, you should consider whether the donation is actually from individuals within it (rather than the association) or if someone within the association is acting as an agent for others.

If you think this is the case, you must check the permissibility of all individuals who have contributed more than £500 and treat them as the donors.

You can find more information on carrying on business in the previous section how do you check if a company is carrying on business in the UK?

If an unincorporated association makes political donations amounting to more than £37,270 in a calendar year, you should make them aware that they have to report this to us. Please see our website for more information on unincorporated associations.

If you would like further advice on checking the permissibility of unincorporated associations in specific cases, please contact us.

What information must you record?

You must record:

• the name of the unincorporated association
• the unincorporated association’s main address2

Registered political parties

A party must be on the Great Britain register to be permissible.1 You can find the full list of Great Britain registered political parties on our register of political parties.

Trade unions

A trade union must be listed as a trade union by the Certification Officer or the Certification Officer for Northern Ireland to be permissible.2 You should check the official list of active trade unions on the Certification Officer’s website or on the Certification Officer for Northern Ireland’s website.

Building societies

A building society must be a building society within the meaning of the Building Societies Act 1986 to be permissible.3 You should check the list of building societies registered by the Financial Conduct Authority on the Mutuals Public Register.

Friendly societies, and industrial and provident societies

Friendly societies, and industrial and provident societies must be registered under the Friendly Societies Act 1974, the Co-operative and Community Benefit Societies Act 2014, or the Industrial and Provident Societies Act (Northern Ireland) 1969 to be permissible.4 You should check the Mutuals Public Register maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority.

What information must you record?

You will need to record:

• the name of the donor
• the address, as shown on the relevant register5

You usually ‘receive’ a donation on the day you take possession of it.

For example:

• if you are given free leaflets, you receive the donation when the leaflets are handed over to you
• if you are given a cheque, you receive the donation on the date that the cheque clears
• if a donation is transferred directly into your bank account, you receive the donation on the date that it is received into your account.

If the candidate has received a donation, both the donation and any supporting information regarding the identity and permissibility of the donor must be provided immediately to the election agent if one is appointed.1 Under the law, in these circumstances a donation is treated as if it were received by the agent on the day it was first received by the candidate.2

When do you accept a donation?

You accept a donation on the day you agree to keep the donation. For non-monetary donations, if you use the donation, you have thereby accepted it.

If you keep a donation after the 30-day period, you are also deemed to have accepted it.3

If you know who the donor is, you must return the equivalent sum to them within 30 days of receiving the donation.1

If the donation is from an unidentified source (for example, an anonymous £600 cash donation), you must return the equivalent sum within 30 days of receiving the donation to:

• the person who transferred the donation to you, or
• the financial institution used to transfer the donation2

If you cannot identify either, please contact us as you must send the equivalent sum to the Electoral Commission. We will pay it into the Consolidated Fund, which is managed by HM Treasury.3 Please contact us to arrange for the transfer of these funds.

If any interest has been gained on the donation before you return it, you can keep it. This is not treated as a donation, and it does not need to be reported.4

The value of a donation is the difference between the value of what you receive and the amount (if any) you pay for it.1 As with all types of donations, you must also ensure any donation you accept over £500 is from a permissible donor.2

If you receive something as a benefit in kind, free of charge or at a non-commercial discount of more than 10%, that you or someone else makes use of in your campaign (also known as notional spending), you must also report this as a donation if the value of what you have received is more than £500.3

The donation rules only apply to non-commercial discounts.4
You should read the section on notional spending before reading this section.

The guiding principle

The guiding principle is that, in all cases, you should make an honest and reasonable assessment of the value of the goods or services you are receiving.

If the exact or similar options of the item or services are available on the market, you should use the rates charged by other providers to guide you in making a valuation. For example, if the donor is a commercial provider, you should use the rates they charge other similar customers.

If there are no exact or similar options of the goods or services available on the market, you should base your assessment on the commercial value of a reasonable equivalent. If you are still not sure how to value a particular donation, please contact us for advice.

You should ensure you keep a record of assessments and valuations so that you can explain whether a donation has been made.

Donations you have accepted

If you accept a donation over £500, you must record:

• the required details for the type of donor (please see the relevant donor type page)1
• the amount (for a monetary donation) or nature and the value of the donation (for a non-monetary donation)2  
• the date on which you received the donation
• the date on which the donation was accepted3

Donations you have returned

If you receive a donation from an impermissible source, you must record these details:

• the amount (for a monetary donation) or nature and value of the donation (for a non-monetary donation)4
• the name and address of the donor (unless the donation was given anonymously)5
• if the donation was given anonymously, details of how the donation was made6
• the date you received the donation7
• the date you returned the donation8
• the action you took to return the donation (for example, the person or institution you returned it to)9

After the election

You will need to report these details in your spending and donations return. You can find more information about the return, and when you need to submit it, in Completing your return.

If you already hold a relevant elected office, you need to follow rules about donations and loans to you that relate to political activity before the regulated period.

Holders of elected office are:1

• a member of the Senedd
• a member of the UK Parliament
• a member of the Scottish Parliament
• a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly
• a combined authority mayor
• a member of any local authority in the UK, excluding parish or community councils
• a member of the Greater London Assembly 
• the Mayor of London or any other elected mayor
• a Police and Crime Commissioner

In the law these individuals are called 'regulated donees'. 

Regulated donees can only accept a donation from or enter a loan of more than £500 made in connection with their political activities if it is from or with a permissible source.2 You must check permissibility before entering a loan and you have 30 days from receipt of a donation to conduct permissibility checks and return it if it is impermissible.3 We refer to donations and loans collectively as benefits.

You must report benefits (donations and loans) whenever the total amount of permissible donations accepted or loans entered into from the same source exceeds £2,230.4 This may be a single donation or loan of more than £2,230, or multiple benefits which add up to more than £2,230. You must report this within 30 days of the reporting threshold being met.5 You must only include donations over £500 when adding together benefits from the same source.

You must also report all impermissible donations received and loans entered with a value over £500 within 30 days of the date you returned or forfeited it.6 You do not need to add together impermissible benefits.

You must also report certain changes to permissible loans you have already reported to us.7

If you are elected, you will also be covered by these rules after you are elected.

You can find our guidance on these rules on our website.

Crowdfunding is the use of a web-based platform to collect donations. The platform is generally managed by a third-party provider and each individual fundraising campaign has a page on the site. 

Campaigns usually run for a set period of time. The fundraiser will often choose a deadline for reaching a fundraising goal. At the end of that time, the funds raised, minus a fee paid to the provider, are passed to the fundraiser.

There are different ways that crowdfunding platforms can pass funds to fundraisers. Some platforms may let you withdraw funds while your campaign is still running. Other platforms will only transfer funds to you once your campaign has ended. 

If you are collecting donations by crowdfunding, you must comply with the law on donations. The donation controls for candidates apply once you are officially a candidate.

Before you create a crowdfunding page, you should check the features of the crowdfunding platform. You should make sure that you will have the tools and information you need to follow the law on donations.

You should collect sufficient information from every donor to ensure that you can:

• Properly check that each donation over £500 is from a permissible source
• Identify whether multiple donations have come from the same source
• Accurately record the donations you have received in your spending and donations return

You should choose a crowdfunding platform that allows you to return donations which are not permissible.

Private crowdfunding donations and anonymous donations

In this guidance, we will refer to both private crowdfunding donations and anonymous donations. These terms are defined in the table below:

You should check that, as the fundraiser, you will be given access to the information you need on your donors. 

You must not accept donations made anonymously, or if you are unable to identify who the donor is.

You may accept private crowdfunding donations, provided you have the details required to check their permissibility. 

However, you may wish to consider whether you want to allow private crowdfunding donations for your campaign.

Accessing the funds raised

There are different ways that crowdfunding platforms can pass funds to fundraisers. Some platforms may let you withdraw funds while your campaign is still running, while others will only transfer funds to you once your campaign has ended. 

The length of time it takes to receive funds after the deadline may also vary depending on which crowdfunding platform you are using.  

It is important for you to understand when you can access funds. Once funds are received, you must carry out permissibility checks on relevant donations and keep records for your spending and donations return. We recommend planning your crowdfunding campaign so that you will receive your donations with enough time to complete the required checks ahead of the deadline for submitting your return.

You should make sure that your crowdfunding page provides information about who the money is being donated to and what the money is being donated for. For example, you should make clear whether the funds are being raised to meet your candidate spending, will be used for your campaign to be selected as a candidate, or for a party election campaign. This is important because there are different recording and reporting thresholds for candidate and party donations.

You should make sure that the page contains information to explain that permissibility checks will be undertaken in compliance with the law. You should be clear about the reasons why you are collecting any information.

Your crowdfunding page should also explain that donation and donor information for all donations over £500, including private donations, may be reported to Returning Officers. Returning Officers make returns prepared by candidates available for public inspection after elections. You can find a definition of the term ‘private crowdfunding donation’, in Choosing a crowdfunding platform.

We recommend you are clear and explain that if a donor cannot be identified, or if they are an impermissible donor, then the donation will have to be returned. If you do not receive enough information about a donor, you may need to contact them to ask for further details.

We recommend that you include an imprint on your crowdfunding page. You can find more information on digital imprints, in Imprints.

If you are planning to create a crowdfunding campaign and you are unsure about which requirements apply, or how to plan your campaign to meet requirements, you can reach out to us for advice.

You must only accept donations over £500 from a permissible source.1 You can find more information about permissible sources and how to check the permissibility of different types of donor, in Who can you accept a donation from?

Money donated via a crowdfunding webpage that is £500 or less is not a donation in electoral law and is not reportable.2

You must not accept a donation with a value of over £500 if you cannot identify who the actual donor is, or if the donation is anonymous.3 An anonymous donation is where no donor information is provided to the person or organisation that has received the donation.

When accepting donations, you must be aware of situations where it appears a donor is attempting to evade the law on permissibility, for example if someone makes multiple donations of £500 or less. It is an offence to attempt to evade the controls on donations.4 If you are concerned this may be happening, please contact us for advice. 

Checking permissibility

Once a donation is received, you have 30 days to carry out permissibility checks and decide whether to accept or return it.5 The date of receipt is the date you receive the funds from the crowdfunding site. This may be different to the date that the donation was made. When you receive the funds will depend on whether the crowdfunding platform lets you make withdrawals during your campaign, or once it has ended.  

You must comply with donation laws for any donation you receive during the regulated period. This includes donations which were made on your crowdfunding page before the regulated period began, but were transferred to you during the regulated period.

You should record information for all of the donations you check, as you will need to report these details in your return.

Checking private donations

A private crowdfunding donation is where the donor’s details are not visible on a public crowdfunding page, but this information is provided to the person who created the page. 

You may accept private crowdfunding donations, provided you have the details required to check the donor’s permissibility.

When you receive a private crowdfunding donation over £500, you should make sure that you have enough information on the donor to carry out permissibility checks. 

For example, if you receive a donation of £600 from an individual who has only provided a name and email address, you should contact the donor to request their home address. You will need this information to check whether the individual is on the UK electoral register, and therefore a permissible donor.

If you cannot check the donor is permissible from the information you have, you must return the donation.

Returning impermissible donations

If you cannot identify who the donor is, or if the donor is impermissible, then you must return the donation within 30 days of receipt.6 The crowdfunding platform you are using may allow you to return the donation directly to the donor. 

If you cannot return the donation to the donor, you should return it to the financial institution used to transfer the donation. This could be the crowdfunding platform you are using, or the bank which has transferred the donation on behalf of the platform.

If it is not possible to return the donation to the donor or the financial institution, please contact us as you must send the donation to the Electoral Commission. We will pay it into the Consolidated Fund which is managed by HM Treasury.7 Please contact us to arrange for the transfer of these funds. 

Before you complete and submit your spending and donations return, you should make sure that you have carried out permissibility checks on all donations over £500.

In your return, you must individually record all donations you have accepted above £500 and all impermissible donations you have returned.

Donations you have accepted

If you accept a donation over £500, you must record:

• the required details for the type of donor (please see the relevant donor type page)1
• the amount (for a monetary donation) or nature and the value of the donation (for a non-monetary donation)2
• the date you received the donation
• the date the donation was accepted3

Donations you have returned

If you receive a donation from an impermissible source, you must record these details:

• the amount (for a monetary donation) or nature and value of the donation (for a non-monetary donation)4  
• the name and address of the donor (unless the donation was given anonymously)5
• if the donation was given anonymously, details of how the donation was made6
• the date you received the donation7
• the date you returned the donation8
• the action you took to return the donation (for example, the person or institution you returned it to)9

You can find a definition of the term ‘anonymous donation’, in choosing a crowdfunding platform.

Crowdfunding platform fees

Crowdfunding platforms may charge fees for donation transactions, transfers of funds, and for using their platform. These fees count as an election expense, and you must report them in your return under the accommodation and administrative costs category.

These fees may be a percentage of the donations you receive. You must report the full value of donations received10 and report the fees separately as election spending. It is acceptable for these fees to be aggregated and reported as one line of spending in your return.

After the election

You will need to report these details in your return. You can find more information about the return, and when you need to submit it, in completing your return.

If you are unsure about which reporting requirements apply, you can contact us for advice.

A candidate decides to raise money on a crowdfunding website to spend on their campaign for election to the Senedd. The election will take place on 7 May. For this candidate, the regulated period begins on 7 April. 

The candidate creates a crowdfunding page with a deadline of 30 April.

The candidate chooses a crowdfunding platform that collects enough information from donors to ensure they can complete their recording and reporting obligations, and allows donations to be returned if they are impermissible.
The candidate includes the following information on their crowdfunding page:

• who the money is going to and what it will be used for – “I am raising money for my campaign to be elected as a Member of the Senedd” 
• advice that permissibility checks will be undertaken for donations made over £500
• advice that if a donor cannot be verified, or is an impermissible source, their donation will be returned
• advice that details of donations may be reported to Returning Officers as part of the candidate’s return, and may in turn be made available to the public by the Returning Officer
• a valid imprint

By the deadline, the candidate has raised £2,500. The funds, minus the platform’s fees, are transferred to the candidate five working days later. The donations include:

• Donation A: £550 made on 10 April, donor name and home address received
• Donation B: £600 made on 12 April, donor name and home address received
• Donation C: private donation of £750 made on 14 April, donor name and email address received
• Several contributions under £500 made over the crowdfunding period

The candidate receives the funds on 7 May and downloads information on the donors from the crowdfunding platform. Their 30-day window for permissibility checks starts on 7 May, because this is the date of receipt.

Donation A is accepted after permissibility checks are carried out.

The candidate carries out permissibility checks on Donation B and finds out that the donation was from an impermissible source. The candidate returns the donation to the donor through the crowdfunding platform.

The candidate receives only the name and email address of the donor for Donation C. This information is not enough to check permissibility. The candidate contacts the donor to request their home address, but doesn’t receive a response. The candidate must reject the donation and return it to the donor.

The candidate does not need to check the contributions under £500.

When the candidate completes their return, they record the donations over £500 which they accepted, and those which were returned. Contributions of £500 or under are not recorded. The candidate records the fees charged by the platform under the accommodation and administrative costs category in their spending return.

This guidance covers:

• personal expenses
• election address
• donations to candidates who are holders of elective office

Apart from personal expenses paid by the candidate, all spending on promoting your candidacy during the regulated period is party spending and must be reported by the party.

Personal expenses include the reasonable travel and living expenses of the candidate for the purposes of and in relation to the election.1

Personal expenses are reportable throughout the regulated period. Once you are officially a candidate, you can only pay up to £900 in total of personal expenses. Your party’s treasurer must pay any sums above this amount.2  There is no limit to how much candidates can pay for personal expenses before they officially become a candidate.

Personal expenses can include:

• public transport or taxi fares
• purchasing fuel for a vehicle or charging an electric vehicle
• hiring a car if you do not already own a car, or if it is not suitable for campaigning
• staying at a hotel

For some personal expenses, you will need to estimate the proportion of your costs that are attributable to the election. For example, if you own a car, some of the fuel or charging costs during the election period are likely to be for other purposes. You should make an honest and reasonable assessment of these costs. 

For domestic charging of electric vehicles, where there is no specific invoice for charging, you can estimate the cost by:

• comparing the capacity of the vehicle’s battery with your cost per unit of electricity, and reporting an estimate of how many full charges are attributable to the election, or
• comparing your vehicle’s mileage per unit of electricity to your cost per unit of electricity, and reporting an estimate of mileage attributable to the election

You must also declare the total amount of personal expenses you spent after the election. Please see declaration of personal expenses (Party list candidates) for more information.

Each party’s nominating officer is entitled to free postage to deliver two election addresses to voters in the constituency. The address must only contain matters relating to the election.1

The costs of producing these election addresses must be reported as party spending.2

If you are currently a Member of the Senedd or hold another elective office, you are also required to follow laws regarding donations and loans you receive in connection with your political activities as a holder of elective office.1 This could include donations towards the running of your office, governmental work and party-political activities.

If you are a Member of the Senedd, this will include donations and loans you received towards your re-election to the Senedd before you officially become a candidate. The earliest date you can officially become a candidate is the date the Senedd is dissolved. These rules apply in addition to your obligations to declare interests to the Register of Members’ Interests. 

If you are collecting donations, we recommend that you are clear about whether funds are being raised in your capacity as Member of the Senedd, or to meet your party's campaign spending. Donations made towards the party's campaign spending must be reported as party donations. Once the Senedd is dissolved, and you have officially become a candidate, donations and loans you receive towards your re-election must also be reported as donations and loans to your party. 

If you receive donations and loans to the party, you should provide the details to your party and follow your party’s procedures for donations and loans. The party treasurer is responsible for reporting party donations and loans to us. The permissibility and reporting requirements for holders of elective office are set out below.

Holders of elective office are:2

• a member of the Senedd 
• a member of the UK Parliament 
• a member of the Scottish Parliament 
• a member of the Northern Ireland Assembly 
• a combined authority mayor
• a member of any local authority in the UK, excluding parish or community councils 
• a member of the Greater London Assembly 
• the Mayor of London or any other elected mayor 
• a Police and Crime Commissioner 

Permissibility and reporting requirements for holders of elective office

Elective office holders can only accept a donation from or enter a loan of more than £500 made in connection with their political activities if it is from or with a permissible source.3 You must check permissibility before entering a loan and you have 30 days from receipt of a donation to conduct permissibility checks and return it if it is impermissible.4 We refer to donations and loans collectively as benefits.

You must report benefits to us whenever the total amount of permissible donations accepted or loans entered from the same source exceeds £2,230.5 This may be a single donation or loan of over £2,230, or multiple benefits which together add up to more than £2,230. You must report this within 30 days of the reporting threshold being met.6 You must only include donations and loans over £500 when adding together benefits from the same source.

You must also report all impermissible donations received and loans entered with a value over £500 within 30 days of the date you returned or forfeited it.7  You do not need to add together impermissible benefits.

You must also report changes to permissible loans you have already reported to us.8

The list of permissible sources and further guidance can be found on our website.

The following sections will provide guidance on your campaigning. This includes:

• When you can start campaigning and dos and don’ts for your campaign
• Using the electoral register and absent voter lists
• Your role in maintaining the integrity and the security of the election
• Electoral offences and reporting allegations of electoral fraud
   

You can start campaigning at any time. You do not have to wait until you are validly nominated to declare that you will run for election, ask people to support you or publish campaign material.

Election spending limits apply from 7 January and end on polling day, 7 May 2026.

For more information on election spending please see our guidance on spending and donations for individual candidates, and for party list candidates.

This section sets out activities that candidates and their supporters can carry out during their campaign, those they should carry out, and things that they must not do.

The Returning Officer (RO) will have covered the standards of behaviour expected from candidates and their supporters during the election campaign and on polling day as part of their briefing for candidates and agents. You should contact the RO if you were not able to attend the briefing for details.

More information about acceptable campaigning activities is set out in our Code of Conduct for Campaigners at Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru, Scottish council and Welsh local elections. 

• Encourage people who are not on the electoral register to apply to register. The deadline for registering to vote in time for the Senedd election is 12 working days before the poll. Individuals can register online at https://www.gov.uk/register-to-vote.
• Help voters with information about postal and proxy voting and encourage voters to apply. The deadline for applying for a postal vote for the elections is 5pm, 11 working days before the poll.1 The deadline for applying for a proxy vote for the elections is 5pm, 6 working days before the poll, although in some circumstances electors may apply for an emergency proxy up to 5pm on polling day.2 An elector can apply for an emergency proxy if, after 5pm, 6 working days before the poll, they have had a medical emergency or have been called away on business.3
  
  You can find out more about who can register and postal and proxy voting on our website. 

• Make sure any application forms you develop include all the required information, otherwise the applications will be rejected. In particular, you must make sure that the signature and date of birth fields on postal and proxy application forms are in the correct format. You should use our absent voting application forms as a guide and you should liaise with the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) who may be able to provide you with forms you can use.
• Inform voters to return their completed application forms to the ERO as soon as practicable. Campaigners should not collect completed paper applications from voters and should not ask voters to send completed applications to campaigners’ addresses. Make sure your supporters follow the Code of Conduct for Campaigners at Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru, Scottish council and Welsh local elections – this will help them to avoid situations where their honesty or integrity could be questioned.
• Make sure your supporters are courteous when dealing with other candidates and their supporters whilst campaigning as well as at electoral events such as the verification and count. 
• Be aware of the deadlines for appointing an election agent, and agents to attend postal vote opening sessions, polling stations and the count. Deadlines are set out in our guidance for postal voting, polling day and the verification and count. 
• Check our guidance on how postal vote openings, the voting process and the count will work so that you know what you can expect to happen.
• Comply with any additional security arrangements that Returning Officers may put in place at electoral events, such as the verification and count, for example requiring attendees to show ID or bag checks before being allowed entry and follow any instructions regarding the standards of behaviour expected.
• Check that your systems for recording spending and donations are working. For more information see our guidance on donations and election spending. 
   

• Knowingly make a false statement about the personal character of another candidate.1
• Pay canvassers. Canvassing means trying to persuade an elector to vote for or against a particular candidate or party.2

For more information on election offences and how to report these see our guidance on offences.
 
If either you or the election agent have made a mistake and have acted in contravention of the rules, you can apply for relief from the consequences of having made a mistake. For more information see our guidance on what to do if you have made a mistake. 

You must:

• Use imprints on all your printed campaign material and any electronic campaign material that is designed to be printed off locally.1 You should ensure the imprint is clear and visible. See our guidance on using imprints for more information.
• Comply with planning rules relating to advertising hoardings and large banners.2 You should ask the relevant local authority for advice.
• Make sure that outdoor posters are removed promptly after the election. You must do this within two weeks of the election.

You should:

• Include an imprint on all non-printed campaign material, including websites.
• Consider how to make your campaign accessible to all voters - for example disabled voters, or voters whose first language isn't English or Welsh. You may want to make contact with disability groups in your local area for advice.

You must not:

• Produce material that looks like the poll cards sent to voters.3
• Pay people to display your adverts (unless they display adverts as part of their normal business).4

An imprint must be added to all printed election material to show who is responsible for its production.1

You should ensure that your imprint is clear and visible.

Our guide to candidate imprints on printed material explains the rules you must follow if you are a candidate in this type of election. 

Under the Elections Act 2022, imprints are also required on certain digital material.2 For the imprint requirements on digital material, please see our statutory guidance on digital imprints.

As the Nominating Officer of a registered political party which has submitted a list of candidates, or as an individual candidate, you are entitled to free postage on a maximum of two election communications sent to electors in the constituency.1

The election communications may be sent either:2

• unaddressed to every postal address
• addressed to each elector

An election communication must only contain matters relating to the election and must not exceed 60 grammes in weight.3

Until the statement of persons nominated is published:

• a party that has submitted a party list or 
• an individual candidate who is nominated 

is entitled to exercise this right of free postage, but only if the Nominating Officer (or person appointed to act on their behalf) or the individual candidate gives a security required by Royal Mail for the payment of postage in case the party or individual candidate is not shown as standing nominated on the statement.4

If you are considering exercising this right, you should contact Royal Mail to make arrangements. Royal Mail’s terms and conditions must be complied with.

We strongly advise that you consult Royal Mail’s guidance on candidate mailings at http://www.royalmail.com/business/manage-mail/candidate-mail 
 

The Welsh elections information platform will provide accessible, timely and impartial information to electors to help them make informed choices at elections. It will be searchable by postcode and electoral area and will provide voters with specific information for their constituency.

The platform will include:

• official notices published by Returning Officers
• polling station and accessibility information
• election addresses

An election address is a campaign statement that a candidate makes to the electorate to persuade electors to vote for them. The election address will be an online version of one of the freepost communications that may be sent via Royal Mail.

An election address may be submitted to the Electoral Management Board (EMB) for inclusion on the information platform. For guidance on submitting the election address see How to submit an election address | Vote.Wales  

For more information see the Welsh elections information platform.

Access by party lists

The election agent of a registered political party that has submitted a list of candidates to the Returning Officer is entitled to a copy of the electoral register and lists of absent voters for the whole of the constituency. The register and lists can only be supplied after the party has submitted a list of candidates.1

Additionally, a person nominated by the Nominating Officer may be given a copy of the lists of absent voters.2

Registered political parties are, however, entitled to obtain and use the electoral register and absent voters’ lists at any time for electoral purposes and, in the case of the register, for the checking of donations. 

Access by individual candidates

Individual candidates are entitled to receive a copy of the electoral register and lists of people voting by post or proxy (the lists of absent voters) once they officially become a candidate covering the constituency they are standing in.3

There are two registers

Using information received from the public, registration officers keep two registers.

The electoral register

The electoral register lists the names and addresses of everyone who is registered to vote in public elections. The register is used for electoral purposes, such as making sure only eligible people can vote. It is also used for other limited purposes specified in law, such as detecting crime (e.g. fraud), calling people for jury service, checking credit applications.

The open register (also known as the edited register)

The open register is an extract of the electoral register, but is not used for elections. It can be bought by any person, company or organisation. For example, it is used by businesses and charities to confirm name and address details. Electors can request not to have their name and address included in the open register.

Copies of the electoral register and lists of absent voters can be obtained from the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO). The ERO will have been appointed for each local authority area within Wales to maintain the electoral registers. You can find their contact details on our website.

The request must be made in writing1 and we have made a register request form and an absent voters’ lists request form available for this purpose.

While requests must be made to the ERO, election agents for a party list and individual candidates should also liaise with the Returning Officer, who may have put arrangements in place to coordinate requests for all the registers and lists in the region.

The register and lists will be supplied in electronic format unless a paper copy is specifically requested.

The version of the electoral register and lists you will receive will be the ones current at the time of your request. You may also request the updates to the electoral registers and lists that are published in the lead-up to the poll, including the list of newly registered electors when it is published five working days before the poll.

Any person found breaching the restrictions on use of the electoral register could face an unlimited fine. For more information see our guidance on restrictions on the use of the electoral register. 

Requesting the electoral register outside of the election period

Political parties and elected representatives are also entitled to request a copy of the electoral register outside of the election period.

Guidance on what information can be requested, when and how it can be requested, and the permitted uses of that information can be found in our factsheet:

More information can be found in our guidance on access and supply of the electoral register.

The electoral register and absent voters’ lists contain people’s personal data and so their use is very carefully controlled.

The register and absent voting lists can be used to: 

• help you campaign
• check that donations are permissible.

Any details that appear only in the electoral register and not on the open register which is available for general sale must not be released to any person.

The electoral register and lists of absent voters must not be used for any other purpose not listed above.

The electoral register and the lists of absent voters must be kept secure.1 Once you no longer need the register and lists of absent voters for any electoral purpose, you should securely destroy any copies supplied to you as a candidate in accordance with the Information Commissioner’s guidelines.

If copies of the electoral register or lists of absent voters have been supplied to party list candidates and/or campaign workers, they must also comply with these requirements. 

You may want to engage with the public at public meetings, promoting your views and responding to questions from the audience.

A party list or individual candidate is entitled to use publicly funded rooms and schools for public meetings between the last day on which the notice of election can be published until the day before polling day.1

Candidates are entitled to use rooms in the constituency they are contesting (or, if they are unavailable, rooms in an adjoining constituency).2

You should contact the owner of the premises to make a booking, giving reasonable notice to reduce the risk of the request being refused. Your right to use the room does not include hours during which a school is used for educational purposes or when any prior letting of a room has been agreed.3

There is no hire charge for using these rooms, but you must pay for any expenses incurred, such as heating, lighting and cleaning, and for any damage to the premises.

The Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) of each local authority in Wales keeps a list of the location and availability of meeting rooms in their area. They will make this list available for inspection by candidates and election agents, from the day the notice of election is published.4

Contact details for EROs can be found on our website.

Candidates are one of the key public faces of the election, and your conduct will be scrutinised in detail by your opponents, the media and voters.

Voters should be able to trust that you will comply with the law and maintain the security and integrity of the election process.

Election agents are responsible for your campaign and are legally responsible for its financial management.

You should also make sure that your supporters fully understand the law and know what they need to do to ensure that:

• voters can participate freely in this election; and
• other candidates and their supporters can participate safely in this election and be free from intimidation

If there is an immediate and direct threat to your personal safety and/or the incident is currently ongoing and urgent, you and/or your staff or family should call 999 as a priority.

If the incident does require an urgent response but is not currently ongoing or an immediate threat, it is important to use the 101 service or Contact us | Police.uk. This is the easiest and quick way to record incidents and obtain the allocation of appropriate resources and gain a reference number. 

More information about security guidance for candidates and agents is available at Candidate Security Guidance Collection - GOV.UK

The police can only investigate allegations of electoral fraud where there is evidence to show that an offence has taken place. Claims or allegations should always be able to be substantiated when referred to the police.

You should also consider the impact on public trust and confidence of making false or unsubstantiated allegations about the conduct of other campaigners.

Neither the Returning Officer nor the Commission regulate these offences. For more information see our guidance on reporting allegations of electoral fraud. 

The following table shows a number of electoral and non-electoral offences of which you should be aware. You should seek your own legal advice where necessary.

You may be able to apply for relief from the penalties for any offence which has been committed inadvertently, innocently or without your knowledge.1

You should always seek legal advice if considering applying for relief.

For more information, you should contact the:

Election Petitions Office 
Room E105
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London  WC2A 2LL

Email: [email protected]

Phone: 0207 947 6877

If you are concerned that electoral fraud may have been committed, you should first speak to the relevant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) or the relevant Returning Officer (RO).

They may be able to explain whether or not electoral fraud has been committed, and can refer your concerns to the police if necessary. They can also provide you with the details of a police contact so that you can report the allegation yourself.

If you have evidence that an electoral offence has been committed you should contact the police immediately, using the 101 non-emergency number unless there is a crime in progress, in which case you should use the standard 999 emergency line.

Every police force has a dedicated Single Point of Contact Officer who will be able to provide advice to ensure that your allegations are properly investigated. You should be prepared to give them a statement and substantiate your allegation.

If you do not want to give a statement to the police, you can report your concerns anonymously on the Crimestoppers website or by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111

You can find contact details of EROs on our website. Contact details for ROs will be made available as soon a possible. 

Please note that if your allegation relates to party, election or registered campaigner finance matters, such as spending or donations, then you should follow the advice given on our website.

This section contains our guidance for Nominating Officers submitting a list of candidates and for party list candidates standing at a Senedd election.

The guidance covers:

• the nomination process, including what forms need to be completed
• when and how you need to submit the nomination papers
• what happens after nomination papers are submitted

Guidance on standing for other elections can be found on our website.  

As the Nominating Officer of a registered political party you may submit a list of up to 8 candidates to stand in a constituency.1

The party must be a qualifying political party.2 A qualifying political party is one that is registered on the Commission’s register of political parties and listed as allowed to field candidates in Wales.3

To contest the election, you or someone appointed in writing to act on your behalf, needs to submit a completed set of nomination papers to the place fixed by the relevant Returning Officer (RO) with the deposit for each party list candidate by 4pm, 19 working days.4

This deadline is set out in law and cannot be changed for any reason.

The date from which you will be able to submit nomination papers, as well as the times and arrangements for delivery by hand or electronically will be set out in the notice of election published by the RO.5  

There are three nomination papers that you must submit to make the party list nomination valid:6

• the nomination form for the party list which also authorises the use of the party name
• a home address form for each candidate on the list
• a consent to nomination including a statement of party membership for each candidate on the list 

As Nominating Officer, you may also make a written request for one of the party’s emblems to appear on the ballot paper.7 For more information see our guidance on requests to use an emblem on the ballot paper.

The RO can hold the party nomination paper invalid if:8

• the party and its given party name or description are not registered with the Commission (not including the prefix Welsh or suffix Cymru)
• the party or description used has not been authorised by the delivery of a certificate of authorisation in the prescribed form.
• the paper is not subscribed as required
• the party list is not included in the party nomination paper
• the party list includes more than 8 persons
• every candidate included on the party list has ceased to stand nominated because they have died or withdrawn

The RO can decide that a particular party list candidate has ceased to stand nominated. The grounds for this decision are that:9  

• the particulars of a candidate in that list are not as required by law
• a candidate is disqualified under section 16(A1) of the Government of Wales Act 2006 from being a Member of the Senedd, and from being a candidate to be a Member of the Senedd
• a candidate in the list is, at the same election, an individual candidate or a candidate on any other party list in the same or another constituency

The RO can also reject the nomination of a party list candidate if they conclude that it is clearly a sham, for example if an obviously fictitious name is provided.

Nomination papers can be obtained from the RO. Contact details can be obtained from our website. Alternatively, we have produced a set of nomination papers that you could use:

If you (or someone appointed in writing to act on your behalf) are unable to complete the nomination form, the RO can help by preparing the form for your signature. You should check with the RO at the earliest opportunity what assistance may be available.

The RO may also be able to offer informal checks of completed nomination papers before submission. The RO will be able to confirm whether they plan to offer informal checks. 

Note that any information you provide on the nomination papers must be true to the best of your knowledge (or to the best of the knowledge of the person appointed in writing to act on your behalf). It is an offence to provide a false statement on nomination papers.10 Providing a false statement could invalidate the election of candidates on the party’s list, and is also punishable by an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment.

The nomination form must be completed in English or Welsh and must contain:

A description

The nomination form must contain a certificate including a description authorised by you as Nominating Officer (or by someone appointed in writing on your behalf).1

The certificate authorises the use of either the party’s name or one of the party’s registered descriptions registered on the Commission’s register of political parties and listed as allowed to field candidates in Wales.

The party name or description authorised on the nomination form must match the party name or description registered on the Commission’s register.2

The registered party name may be supplemented with Wales/Welsh/Cymru/Cymreig where not already included.3

The signature of one subscriber

The nomination paper must be subscribed by you as Nominating Officer of the party or by someone you have authorised in writing.4

A Party list5

You can include up to 8 candidates on the party list in the order they are to be elected.

You need to include the full names of each candidate:

• This means their surname placed first and other names in full
• Using initials only could lead to the candidate’s nomination being rejected  
• Do not use prefixes such as Mr, Mrs, Dr or Cllr as part of the name 

The same applies to suffixes. However, if a candidate on the party list has a title, they can use this as their full name. For example, if their actual name is Joseph Smith but their hereditary title is Joseph Avon, they can use the name Joseph Avon as their full name.

If a candidate on the party list:

• commonly uses a surname or forename that is different in any respect from any other surname or forename they have
• uses one or more forenames or surname in a different way from the way they are stated on their nomination form

they may state their commonly used name(s) on the nomination form in addition to their full names.1
  
For example, they may be known by their abbreviated name Andy, rather than their full first name Andrew. In that case, they can write Andy into the commonly used forename box on the nomination paper if they would rather that name appear on the ballot paper.

They can state that they use a commonly used forename, surname or both.

A candidate may also use initials as part of their commonly used name if they are commonly known by them.

The commonly used name(s) would be included:

• on the statement of parties and persons nominated and the notice of poll
• on the ballot paper
• on the notice of election agent

Decisions on commonly used names

The Returning Officer (RO) will disallow commonly used names that are likely to mislead or confuse electors, or are obscene or offensive.2 If the name(s) are not permissible, the RO will write to the candidate stating the reason for rejection.3 In those cases, the candidate’s actual name will be used instead.

If either the commonly used forename or surname box on the nomination form is left blank, then the candidate’s actual forename or surname, depending on which commonly used name box has been left blank, will be used.

It is an offence to give a false statement on the nomination form.4 Therefore if the candidate chooses to provide a commonly used name, they must ensure that it is a forename or surname which they commonly use.

Candidates on a party list must each formally consent to their nomination in writing.1

The consent to nomination may be delivered to the Returning Officer (RO) in person or via the arrangements as set out in the electronic delivery statement.2

The content of the consent to nomination form is fixed by law.3

Candidates must provide on the consent to nomination:4

• their date of birth
• an address within the relevant area,5 this will be deemed to be their office address should they become the party’s election agent if none is appointed. For more information see our guidance on election agents
• the name of the local authority area in Wales where they are registered as a local government elector
• a statement that to the best of their knowledge and belief they are not disqualified
• a statement that they are not an individual candidate standing in the same or any other constituency, or a party list candidate in any other constituency

Each candidate must also include a statement of party membership in their consent to nomination.6

Candidates are not allowed to sign the consent form earlier than one month before the deadline for submitting the nomination papers.7

The candidate’s consent to nomination must also be attested by a witness.8 The witness should be present when the candidate signs their declaration. There are no restrictions on who can be a witness.

For consents delivered electronically, an electronic signature could take the form of a typed name in the space for a signature for example.

While the absence of a consent to nomination for a candidate on the party list does not invalidate a party list’s nomination, if a consent form for a particular candidate on the list is not submitted by 4pm, 19 working days before the poll, the RO will remove the person from the list.9

Each party list candidate must include a statement of party membership on their consent to nomination.1 It must state whether the candidate has been a member of any registered political party, other than the one for which they are standing, at any time during the relevant period.2

The relevant period means a period of 12 months ending with the day on which the notice of election is published.3

If the candidate has been a member of one or more registered political parties within the relevant period, other than the one for which they are standing, they must include on the statement:4

• the name(s) of any other registered political party(ies) they have been a member of
• the dates during the relevant period they have been a member of the other party(ies). 

It is an offence to knowingly fail to include a statement of party membership with a consent to nomination paper.5  

The information provided on the statement of party membership will be included on the statement of parties and persons nominated and will be published by the Returning Officer.6

The nomination paper must be accompanied by a home address form for each candidate included on the party list.1

Candidates must use the form as prescribed in legislation (or a form to like effect).2

The home address form must state:3

• the candidate’s full name
• any commonly used names, if these are included on their nomination form
• the candidate’s home address in full. 

The home address:

• must not contain abbreviations
• must be the candidate’s current home address
• must not be a business address (unless they run a business from their home).

The home address does not need to be in the Senedd constituency in which the candidate intends to stand.

Choosing not to publish their home address

A party list candidate may choose for their home address not to be published on the statement of parties and persons nominated.

In this case the home address form must contain, as well as their full name and their home address in full:4

• a statement, signed by the candidate, that they require their home address not to be made public
• if their home address is in Wales, the name of the Senedd constituency or if their home address is elsewhere in the UK, the name of the UK Parliamentary constituency
• if they live outside the UK, the name of the country in which their home address is situated.

The certificate of authorisation is prescribed and must be combined with the party nomination form.1 You as the Nominating Officer must authorise the use of the party name or description as stated on the form. The authorisation must be signed by you (or by a person appointed in writing on your behalf).

The party name or description you authorise on the nomination form must match the party name or description registered on the Commission’s register.2

The registered party name may be supplemented with Wales/Welsh/Cymru/Cymreig where not already included.3

You as the Nominating Officer, or a person appointed to act on your behalf, can also request that one of the party's official emblems is printed on the ballot paper.1
 
The request for an emblem must be made on the certificate of authorisation.2 The request should state both the name of the political party and the description of the emblem to be used, as listed on the Commission’s online register of political parties.

Registered emblems cannot be varied in any way.

It is your responsibility as Nominating Officer to ensure that the nomination form, which includes the certificate of authorisation and any emblem request, the home address forms and the consents to nomination including the statements of party memberships for all candidates on your party list, are delivered to the Returning Officer (RO) by 4pm 19 working days before the poll.1

The RO will have arrangements in place that will allow you to deliver the nomination papers electronically. An email address or an online portal will be provided specifically for the purpose of electronic delivery of nomination papers. Our guidance about the electronic delivery of nomination papers has more information.

We recommend that you as Nominating Officer, the agent, or someone you trust delivers the nomination papers by hand or submits them electronically on your behalf, so you can be sure they are delivered to the RO in the required way and in time.

The nomination form, home address form and consent to nomination must be delivered either:1

• by hand, or 
• electronically as per the arrangements set out in the electronic delivery statement on the notice of election.

Where a document is delivered electronically, it may be signed electronically - this could take the form of a typed signature, for example.2

If you deliver your nomination papers by hand, the original version of each completed paper must be submitted.

Nomination papers cannot be delivered by post. 

The Returning Officer (RO) will include an electronic delivery statement on the notice of election.

This statement will set out the arrangements that the RO has in place for nomination papers to be delivered electronically.

The arrangements provided by the RO will be either:1

• an email address that you can send your nomination papers to
• a service which you can use to submit your nomination papers online 

If you choose to deliver your nomination papers by email, you should ensure that you use the email address specified for that purpose as provided in the electronic delivery statement. It is your responsibility to ensure that the RO receives your nomination forms in the correct way by the required deadlines.

Delivery of your nomination to an email address not specified for that purpose will result in your nomination paper being considered not delivered as required.

As far as is possible, you should should attach all the forms required for your party list nomination to one email.

Nomination papers should be submitted as early as possible to give the Returning Officer (RO) an opportunity to conduct an informal check and give you sufficient time to submit new nomination papers should your first set contain any errors.
 
The notice of election will be published no later than 25 working days before the poll and will state the times at which nominations can be delivered in person and the arrangements in place for nominations to be delivered electronically.1 The notice of election will be published on the RO’s website.

Delivering nomination papers by hand is usually only possible during office hours. The RO will confirm the exact details of when and where nominations papers can be delivered in person on the official notice of election.

If, after you have submitted the nomination papers you no longer wish the party list to contest the election, you as Nominating Officer can withdraw the full party list, provided you do so by 4pm, 19 working days before the poll.2
  
You may also withdraw one or more candidates included on the party list by the same deadline. Individual candidates included on the list may also withdraw, provided they do so by the same deadline. For more details see our guidance on withdrawing.

For the nomination to be valid, a deposit must be made by you as the Nominating Officer or by a person appointed in writing to act on your behalf1 for the party list. This must be deposited with the Returning Officer (RO) by the deadline for nominations, 4pm, 19 working days before the poll.2

£500 must be deposited for the first party list candidate appearing on the list.3
 
£200 must be deposited for each of the next five candidates appearing on the party list.4

The deposit can be made using:5

• Legal tender (cash in British pounds only)
• a UK banker’s draft.

The RO may also accept a deposit made by a building society check, a debit or credit card or an electronic funds transfer. However, they may refuse to do so. If you are considering paying the deposit in one of these ways, you should discuss with the RO at the earliest opportunity whether the payment method is acceptable.

If the RO allows the deposit to be paid by credit or debit card, there may be a fee charged by the bank or credit card company for the transaction, in which case you will be required to pay any additional fees as well as the deposit.

Where the deposit is made by you, you must state that fact to the RO. Anybody else who makes the deposit must at the time they make it give their name and address to the RO (unless they are the party list’s election agent and that name and address has been previously given to the RO).6

Parties that poll 5% or more of the total valid votes cast in the constituency will have their deposit returned. Those parties that have polled less than 5% of the total number of the valid votes cast will lose their deposit.7

You as Nominating Officer (or someone appointed in writing by you) may withdraw your whole party list, or one or more of the candidates from the party list by signing and submitting a withdrawal notice.1 There are no restrictions on who may submit the notice, but it must be delivered to the Returning Officer (RO):2

• by hand to the place for the delivery of nomination papers
• electronically as per the arrangements set out in the notice of election

by the deadline for withdrawals, 4pm, 19 working days before the poll.3

A candidate on the party list may also withdraw from the election by submitting a withdrawal notice, which must be signed by them in the presence of a witness who must attest their signature.4

A notice of withdrawal can be obtained from the RO or downloaded from our website:

If you withdraw the full party list, all of the deposit will be returned.

If a candidate on the party list withdraws or is withdrawn by you, the return of the deposit will depend on the number of candidates still remaining on the party list. If there are less than six candidates remaining, a portion of the deposit will be returned.

After the withdrawal deadline it is not possible to withdraw from the election.

Only certain people are entitled to attend the delivery of nomination papers, or have access to them if delivered electronically, to inspect and make any objections to the validity of a nomination form.1

Once they have submitted nomination papers and the party list candidates stand validly nominated, the following can inspect and make objections to a nomination form:2

• you as Nominating Officer (or someone appointed in writing on your behalf)
• any other Nominating Officers (or someone appointed in writing on their behalf) who have submitted a party list
• a party list candidate
• the election agent of a party list
• if the election agent is also a candidate on the party list, someone nominated by them to attend on their behalf
• a person standing as an individual candidate
• the election agent of a person standing as an individual candidate
• if an individual candidate is their own election agent, someone nominated by them to attend on their behalf

Electoral Commission representatives and one other person chosen by each validly nominated party list or individual candidate may also be present at the delivery of nomination papers, but may not inspect them nor make any objections.3

No other persons, except the Returning Officer and their staff, may attend the delivery of nomination papers.

The time within which an objection can be made depends on when the nomination papers are delivered.

Timetable for objections1

Nominations delivered up to and including 4pm on the day before the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers 

Objections to any nomination form delivered up to and including 4pm on the day before the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers must be made on or before noon on the day of the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers on or before noon.

Nominations delivered after 4pm on the day before the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers

Objections to any nomination form delivered after 4pm on the day before the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers must be made on or before 5pm on the day of the deadline for the delivery of nominations papers. 

Decisions on objections

The Returning Officer (RO) will consider any objections made, but is entitled to hold a nomination invalid only on the following grounds:2

• that the nomination form does not include a party name or description in breach of rule 6(3) of the Senedd election rules
• that the nomination form does not include a party list, or more than 8 candidates have been included on the party list
• that the nomination form does not include a certificate authorising the use of a party name or description in breach of rule 7(1) and (5) of the Senedd election rules
• that the form is not subscribed as required by rule 6(8) of the Senedd election rules
• that each candidate on the party list has ceased to stand nominated because:
  • they have died or withdrawn
  • they are not as required by law:
    • they are disqualified under 16(A1) of the 2006 Act or
    • their candidature is in breach of s7(4) of the 2006 Act

The RO’s decision that a nomination is valid is final and cannot be challenged during the election. The decision can only be challenged after an election through an election petition.3 For more information see our guidance on election petitions. 

Will the election be contested or uncontested? 

The election is uncontested if the number of candidates standing for election (whether on a party’s list or individual candidates) is the same or less than the number of seats for the constituency.1

In these circumstances, the Returning Officer (RO) will declare the Senedd seats for the constituency in accordance with the rules.

If elected at an uncontested election, party list candidates must still make a declaration as to their personal expenses.
 
For more information see our guidance on spending and donations for party list candidates.  

Publication of statement of parties and persons nominated

The RO will publish a statement of parties and persons nominated, including notice of poll for the constituency, by no later than 4pm, 18 working days before the poll.2

The statement must include:3

• each registered party together with the list of candidates who are validly nominated
• each individual candidate who is validly nominated
• the full name of each party list or individual candidate or commonly used name(s) if they have given one;
• the description "Independent" and/or "Annibynnol" (if applicable) for individual candidates not standing on behalf of a political party
• the home addresses of all party list candidates, or if they have requested not to make their home address public the relevant area which is:
  • the name of the Senedd constituency if the home address is in Wales,
  • the name of the UK Parliamentary constituency if the home address is elsewhere in the UK,
  • the country if their home address is situated outside the UK
• the information contained in each candidates’ statement of membership of political parties, as given in their consent to nomination
• any registered parties or individual candidates who no longer stand nominated, if any (i.e. invalid and withdrawn candidates or parties), with the reason why they are no longer standing

Candidate contact details

Where you have provided details of your candidates' email or telephone contact details to the RO via the candidate contact details form, these details will then be passed on to the police to enable them to provide you with any specific security guidance updates or advice for these elections. 

These contact details will also be shared with the Electoral Management Board for Wales (EMB).

From the day after the close of nominations until the day before the poll, during normal office hours, any person may inspect nomination papers and consent to nomination forms.1

Where nomination papers and consent to nomination forms have been delivered electronically, they will be made accessible by the Returning Officer for the purposes of inspection.2

During this inspection period, a person inspecting nomination papers or consent to nomination forms is permitted to make an extract or take a copy of them.3

During the time for inspection of nomination forms and consent to nomination forms certain people are entitled to inspect home address forms.1 These people are:

• any person standing nominated as a candidate in the same Senedd constituency 
• the election agent or subscriber of any other person standing nominated as a candidate in the same Senedd constituency 
• where an individual candidate standing nominated in the same Senedd constituency is acting as their own agent, any other person nominated by them

Where home address forms have been delivered electronically, they will be made accessible to those permitted to inspect them by the Returning Officer.

No person is permitted to take an extract from a home address form or make a copy of them.2

If before the declaration of result, a candidate on a party list or any individual candidate dies, but the poll remains contested, the election will continue as normal.

The Returning Officer (RO) must take reasonable steps to publicise the name of the candidate, the fact of their death, whether they were an individual candidate or a party list candidate and, if they were standing on behalf of a registered party, the name of the party.

The RO should publicise the death by placing notices outside and inside the polling stations in the constituency.

If the RO receives proof and is satisfied before the result is announced that a candidate on a party list or an individual candidate has died and as a result the poll has become uncontested, the election must be stopped and validly nominated candidates are deemed elected. If this happens before polling begins, the RO must countermand the notice of poll. If the poll is underway or the counting is being undertaken, the poll or the count must be abandoned.1

If the poll remains contested after the death of a candidate, the election continues. The death has no effect on the validity of the election and the return of any other candidate.

This section of the document contains our guidance on standing as an individual candidate at a Senedd election.

The guidance covers:

• the nomination process, including what forms need to be completed
• when and how you need to submit your nomination papers
• what happens after your nomination papers are submitted

Guidance on standing for other elections can be found on our website.

To become nominated as an individual candidate at the Senedd elections, you need to submit a completed set of nomination papers to the place fixed by the relevant Returning Officer (RO) with the deposit by 4pm, 19 working days before the poll.1

This deadline is set out in law and cannot be changed for any reason.
 
The start date from which you will be able to submit nomination papers, as well as the times and arrangements for delivery by hand or electronically, will be set out in the notice of election published by the RO.2

There are three nomination papers that you must submit to make your nomination valid:3

• the individual nomination form 
• a home address form
• your consent to nomination including statement of party membership

The RO can hold your nomination paper invalid if the particulars of your nomination are not as required by law.4

The RO can also reject your nomination if they conclude that it is clearly a sham, for example, if an obviously fictitious name is provided.

You can obtain nomination papers from the RO. Contact details can be obtained from our website. Alternatively, we have produced a set of nomination papers that you could use.

If you, your agent or someone you trust are unable to complete the nomination form, the RO can help by preparing the form for your signature. You should check with the RO at the earliest opportunity what assistance may be available. The RO may also be able to offer informal checks of your completed nomination papers before you submit them. You should find out from the RO whether they plan to offer informal checks.

Note that any information you provide on your nomination papers must be true to the best of your knowledge. It is an offence to provide a false statement on your nomination papers.5 Providing a false statement could invalidate your election, and is also punishable by an unlimited fine and/or imprisonment.

The nomination form must be completed in English or Welsh.

The nomination form must contain:

Your full name1

• This means your surname placed first and other names in full. 
• Using initials only could lead to your nomination paper being rejected.
• Do not use prefixes such as Mr, Mrs, Dr or Cllr as part of your name.

The same applies to suffixes. However, if you have a title, you can use this as your full name. For example, if your actual name is Joseph Smith but your hereditary title is Joseph Avon, you can use the name Joseph Avon as your full name.

A description

If you want the word Independent and/or Annibynnol to appear on the ballot paper underneath your name, you need to state this on the nomination form. No other descriptions are allowed.2

Alternatively, you may choose not to have a description at all by leaving this part of the form blank.

The signature of one subscriber

You can act as your own subscriber or ask someone else to subscribe your nomination. If you do not subscribe your own nomination, the person signing, will need to supply their full name and address, this address does not need to be in the constituency.3

If you:

• commonly use a surname or forename that is different in any respect from any other surname or forename you have
• use one or more forenames or surname in a different way from the way they are stated on your nomination form

you may state your commonly used name(s) on your nomination form in addition to your full names.1

For example, you may be known by your abbreviated name Andy, rather than your full first name Andrew. In that case, you can write Andy into the commonly used forename box on the nomination paper if you would rather that name appear on the ballot paper.

You can state that they use a commonly used forename, surname, or both.

You may also use initials as part of your commonly used name if you are commonly known by them.

The commonly used name(s) would then be included:

• on the statement of parties and persons nominated and the notice of poll
• on the ballot paper
• on the notice of election agent

Decisions on commonly used names

The Returning Officer (RO) will disallow commonly used names that are likely to mislead or confuse electors, or are obscene or offensive.2 If the name(s) are not permissible, the RO will write to you stating the reason for rejection.3 In those cases, your actual name will be used instead.

If either the commonly used forename or surname box on the nomination form is left blank, then your actual forename or surname, depending on which commonly used name box has been left blank, will be used.

It is an offence to give a false statement on your nomination form.4 Therefore if you choose to provide a commonly used name, you must ensure that it is a forename or surname which you commonly use.

You must also formally consent to your nomination in writing.1
 
You can deliver the consent to nomination to the Returning Officer in person, or via the arrangements as set out in the electronic delivery statement.2

The content of the consent to nomination form is fixed by law.3

You must provide on the consent to nomination:4

• your date of birth
• an address within the relevant area,5 this will be deemed to be your office address should you become your own election agent by failing to appoint anybody else. For more information see our guidance on election agents
• the name of the local authority area in Wales where you are registered as a local government elector
• a statement that to the best of your knowledge and belief you are not disqualified
• a statement that you are not an individual candidate standing in the same or any other constituency, or a party list candidate in any other constituency

Your consent to nomination must also include a statement of party membership.6

You are not allowed to sign the consent form earlier than one month before the deadline for submitting your nomination papers.7

Your candidate’s consent to nomination must also be attested by a witness.8 The witness should be present when you sign your declaration. There are no restrictions on who can be a witness.  

For consents delivered electronically, an electronic signature could take the form of a typed name in the space for a signature for example.

You must include a statement of party membership on your consent to nomination.1 It must state whether you have been a member of any registered political party at any time during the relevant period.2

The relevant period means the period of 12 months ending with the day on which the notice of election is published.3

If you have been a member of one or more registered political parties within the relevant period, you must include on the statement:4

• the name(s) of each registered political party(ies) you have been a member of 
• the dates during the relevant period you were a member of any political party(ies) 

It is an offence to knowingly fail to include a statement of party membership with your consent to nomination paper.5

The information provided on the statement of party membership will be included on the statement of parties and persons nominated and will be published by the Returning Officer.6

Your nomination paper must be accompanied by a home address form.1

You must use the form as prescribed in legislation (or a form to like effect).2

The home address form must state:3

• your full name
• any commonly used names, if these are included on your nomination form
• your home address in full

Your home address:

• must not contain abbreviations
• must be your current home address
• must not be a business address (unless you run a business from your home)

Your home address does not need to be in the Senedd constituency in which you intend to stand. 

Choosing not to publish your home address

You may choose for your home address not to be published on the statement of parties and persons nominated. 

In this case the home address form must contain, as well as your full name and home address in full:4

• a statement, signed by you, that you require your home address not to be made public
• if your home address is in Wales, the name of the Senedd constituency or if your home address is elsewhere in the UK, the name of the UK Parliamentary constituency
• if your home address is outside the UK, the name of the country in which your home address is situated

It is your responsibility to ensure that your nomination form, the home address form and the consent to nomination including the statement of party membership, are delivered to the Returning Officer (RO) by 4pm, 19 working days before the poll.1
 
The RO will have arrangements in place that will allow you to deliver your nomination papers electronically. An email address or an online portal will be provided specifically for the purpose of electronic delivery of nomination papers. For more information see our guidance about the electronic delivery of nomination papers.

Only you or your agent (if your agent’s name and address has been previously given to the RO) may deliver your nomination papers. 

The nomination form, home address form and consent to nomination must be delivered either:1

• by hand or 
• electronically as per the arrangements set out in the electronic delivery statement on the notice of election.

Where a document is delivered electronically, it may be signed electronically - this could take the form of a typed signature for example.2

If you deliver your nomination papers by hand, the original version of each completed paper must be submitted.

Nomination papers cannot be delivered by post.

The Returning Officer (RO) will include an electronic delivery statement on the notice of election.

This statement will set out the arrangements that the RO has in place for nomination papers to be delivered electronically.

The arrangements provided by the RO will be:1

• an email address that you can send your nomination papers to 
• a service which you can use to submit your nomination papers online
• or both of the options listed above

If you choose to deliver your nomination papers by email, you should ensure that you use the email address specified for that purpose as provided in the electronic delivery statement. It is your responsibility to ensure that the RO receives your nomination forms in the correct way by the required deadlines.

Delivery of your nomination to an email address not specified for that purpose will result in your nomination paper being considered not delivered as required.

As far as is possible, you should attach all the forms required for your nomination to the RO to one email.
 

You should submit your nomination papers as early as possible to give the Returning Officer (RO) an opportunity to conduct an informal check and to give you sufficient time to submit new nomination papers should your first set contain any errors.

The notice of election will be published no later than 25 working days before the poll and will state the times at which nominations can be delivered in person and the arrangements in place for nominations to be delivered electronically.1 The notice of election will be published on the RO’s website.

Delivering nomination papers by hand is usually only possible during office hours. The RO will confirm the exact details of when and where nomination papers can be delivered in person on the official notice of election.

If, after you have submitted your nomination papers, you change your mind and no longer want to stand for election, you can withdraw, provided you do so by 4pm on the nineteenth working day before the poll.2 For more information see our guidance on withdrawing.

For your nomination to be valid, the sum of £500 must be deposited with the Returning Officer (RO) by the deadline for nominations, 4pm 19 working days before the poll.1 The deposit can be made using:2

• legal tender (cash in British pounds only)
• a UK banker’s draft

The RO may also accept a deposit made by a building society cheque a debit or credit card or an electronic transfer. However, they may refuse to do so. If you are considering paying the deposit in one of these ways, you should discuss with the RO at the earliest opportunity whether the payment method is acceptable.

If the RO allows the deposit to be paid by credit or debit card, there may be a fee charged by the bank or credit card company for the transaction, in which case you will be required to pay any additional fees as well as the £500 deposit.

Unless the person making the deposit is your agent and you have notified the RO of their appointment, the person making the deposit must at the time they make it give their name and address to the RO.3

The deposit will be returned if you poll 5% or more of the valid votes cast in the constituency. Those candidates who have polled less than 5% of the total number of the valid votes cast will lose their deposit.4

You may withdraw as a candidate by signing and submitting a withdrawal notice.1 You must sign the notice in the presence of a witness who must attest your signature.2

There are no restrictions on who may submit the notice, but it must be delivered to the Returning Officer (RO):3

• by hand to the place for the delivery of nomination papers
• electronically as per the arrangements set out in the notice of election 

by the deadline for withdrawals, 4pm, 19 working days before the poll.4

A notice of withdrawal can be obtained from the RO or downloaded from our website.

If you withdraw as a candidate, your deposit will be returned.

After the withdrawal deadline, it is not possible to withdraw from the election.

Only certain people are entitled to attend the delivery of nomination papers or have access to them if delivered electronically to inspect and make any objections to the validity of a nomination form.1

After your nomination papers and deposit have been delivered and you stand validly nominated, the following can inspect and make objections to a nomination form:2

• you (or someone appointed in writing on your behalf)
• your election agent or if you are acting as your own election agent, someone nominated by you to attend on their behalf
• any Nominating Officers (or someone appointed in writing on their behalf) who have submitted a party list
• a party list candidate
• another person standing as an individual candidate
• the election agent of a party list
• if the election agent is also a candidate on the party list, someone nominated by them to attend on their behalf
• if you are acting as your own election agent, someone nominated by you to attend on your behalf.

Electoral Commission representatives and one other person chosen by each validly nominated party list or individual candidate may also be present at the delivery of nomination papers, but may not inspect them nor make any objections.3

No other person, except the Returning Officer and their staff, may attend the delivery of nomination papers.

The time within which an objection can be made depends on when the nomination papers are delivered.

Timetable for objections 

Nominations delivered up to and including 4pm on the day before the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers

Objections to any nomination form delivered up to and including 4pm on the day before the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers must be made on the day of the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers on or before noon.

Nominations delivered after 4pm on the day before the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers

Objections to any nomination form delivered after 4pm on the day before the deadline for the delivery of nomination papers must be made on or before 5pm on the day of the deadline for the delivery of nominations papers. 

Decisions on objections

The Returning Officer (RO) will consider any objections made, but is entitled to hold a nomination invalid only on the following grounds:1

• the particulars of the candidate are not as required by law
• the candidate is disqualified under s16(A1) of the 2006 Act
• the candidate’s candidature is in breach of s7(5) of the 2006 Act
• the nomination paper is not subscribed as required by rule 5(6) of the Senedd election rules.

The RO’s decision that a nomination is valid is final and cannot be challenged during the election. The decision can only be challenged after an election through an election petition.2 For more information see our guidance on election petitions. 

Will the election be contested or uncontested? 

The election is uncontested if either the number of candidates standing for election (whether on a party’s list or individual candidates) is the same or less than the number of seats for the constituency.1

In these circumstances, the Returning Officer (RO) will declare the Senedd seats for the constituency in accordance with the rules.

If elected at an uncontested election, individual candidates must still submit a spending return and make a declaration as to their election spending. 

For more information see our guidance on spending for individual candidates.

Publication of statement of parties and persons nominated

The RO will publish a statement of parties and persons nominated, including notice of poll for the constituency, by no later than 4pm, 18 working days before the poll.2

The statement must include:3

• each registered party together with the list of candidates who are validly nominated
• each individual candidate who is validly nominated
• the full name of each party list candidate and individual candidate or commonly used names if they have given one
• the description Independent and/or Annibynnol (if applicable) for individual candidates not standing on behalf of a political party
• the home addresses of all party list candidates, or if they have requested not to make their home address public the relevant area which is:
  • the name of the Senedd constituency if the home address is in Wales,
  • the name of the UK Parliamentary constituency if the home address is elsewhere in the UK
  • the country if their home address is situated outside the UK
• the information contained in each candidates’ statement of membership of political parties, as given in their nomination papers
• any registered parties or individual candidates who no longer stand nominated, if any (i.e. invalid and withdrawn candidates or parties), with the reason why they are no longer standing

Candidate contact details

Where you have provided your email or telephone contact details to the RO via the candidate contact details form, these details will then be passed on to the police to enable them to provide you with any specific security guidance updates or advice for these elections. 

These contact details will also be shared with the Electoral Management Board for Wales (EMB).

From the day after the close of nominations until the day before the poll, during normal office hours, any person may inspect nomination papers and consent to nomination forms.1

Where nomination papers and consent to nomination forms have been delivered electronically, they will be made accessible by the Returning Officer for the purposes of inspection.2

During this inspection period, a person inspecting nomination papers or consent to nomination forms is permitted to make an extract or take a copy of them.3

During the time for inspection of nomination forms and consent to nomination forms certain people are entitled to inspect home address forms.1 These people are:

• any (other) person standing nominated as a candidate in the same Senedd constituency as you
• the election agent or subscriber of any other person standing nominated as a candidate in the same Senedd constituency as you
• where an individual candidate standing nominated in the same Senedd constituency as you is acting as their own agent, any other person nominated by them

Where home address forms have been delivered electronically, they will be made accessible to those permitted to inspect them by the Returning Officer.

No person is permitted to take an extract from a home address form or make a copy of them.2

If before the declaration of result, a candidate on a party list or any individual candidate dies but the poll remains contested, the election will continue as normal.

The Returning Officer (RO) must take reasonable steps to publicise the name of the candidate, the fact of their death, whether they were an individual candidate or a party list candidate and, if they were standing on behalf of a registered party, the name of the party.

The RO should publicise the death by placing notices outside and inside the polling stations in the constituency.

If the RO receives proof and is satisfied before the result is announced that a candidate on a party list or an individual candidate has died and as a result the poll has become uncontested, the election must be stopped and validly nominated candidates are deemed elected. If this happens before polling begins, the RO must countermand the notice of poll. If the poll is underway or the counting is being undertaken, the poll or the count must be abandoned.1

If the poll remains contested after the death of a candidate, the election continues. The death has no effect on the validity of the election and the return of any other candidate.

The following sections provide guidance on postal voting and the processes involved.

The guidance covers:

• who can apply to vote by post
• what is contained in postal ballot pack
• the opening of postal votes and who can attend
• the postal vote opening process
• the appointment of postal voting agents and their role

The guidance also covers your duty to maintain secrecy during postal vote opening sessions
 

The following can apply to vote by post in Senedd elections by submitting an application to the Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) at their local authority:

• a person aged 16 or over who is registered to vote
• a person aged 16 or over who has applied to be registered to vote
• a person who has been appointed to vote as a proxy on behalf of someone else

The application must be received by the ERO by 5pm 11 working days before the poll.1

The ERO has no discretion to extend the deadline for whatever reason.

Postal ballot packs will be sent to electors from around two weeks before polling day.

Electors who registered close to the registration deadline will be issued with their postal ballot packs once their names have been added to the final register update, 5 working days before the poll.

Electors will then mark their ballot paper, complete the postal voting statement by providing their signature and date of birth, and return them to the Returning Officer (RO) before the close of poll (i.e. 10pm on polling day).

While the RO is ultimately responsible for the issue and opening of postal votes across their constituency, they may wish to appoint deputies within their constituencies to administer these processes at local authority level. Candidates, election agents and postal voting agents are not entitled to attend the issue of postal votes.1

Postal ballot packs contain the following:

• Envelope A is the envelope that the elector returns their ballot papers in. It is marked with the letter 'A' and the words 'ballot paper envelope' in English and 'Amlen papur pleidleisio' in Welsh
• Envelope B is the envelope that the elector will use to return the ballot paper envelope and the postal voting statement. It is marked with the letter 'B' and the address of the Returning Officer
• The postal voting statement contains the elector’s name, the number of the ballot paper issued to them, instructions on how to vote by post and space for the elector to sign and provide their date of birth
• The ballot paper.

Who can attend the opening of postal votes?

The following people are entitled to attend the opening of returned postal votes:1

• Party list candidates and Individual candidates
• An individual candidate’s election agent or a person appointed by the individual candidate to attend in the election agents place
• A party list election agent or a person appointed by the Nominating Officer to attend in the election agent’s place
• Postal voting agents you have appointed to attend openings

For details on how to appoint these agents see our guidance on appointing postal voting agents.

Duty to maintain secrecy during postal vote opening sessions

Ballot papers will be kept face down throughout a postal vote opening session.2 Anyone attending an opening session must not:3

• obtain
• attempt to obtain
• communicate at any time to another person:
  • any information relating to the number or other unique identifying mark on the ballot paper
  • any information as to the official mark on a postal ballot paper before the close of poll
• disclose how any particular ballot paper has been marked or pass on any such information gained from the session.

It follows therefore that keeping a tally of how ballot papers have been marked is not allowed.

Anyone found guilty of breaching these requirements can face an unlimited fine or may be imprisoned for up to six months.4

The election agent of a party list and any individual candidates may also appoint agents to attend postal vote openings.1

Anyone, apart from the following people listed below, can be appointed as a postal vote agent:2

• Returning Officer (RO) or a member of their staff
• a partner or clerk of the RO or a member of their staff
• anyone not entitled to vote at the election as a result of the report of an election court or a conviction for a corrupt or illegal practice under the Representation of the People Act 1983.

Election agents for party lists and individual candidates can automatically act as postal voting agents without the need of an official appointment.

The RO or a deputy will tell you the maximum number of postal voting agents that can be appointed. Election agents for party lists and individual candidates will be allowed to appoint exactly the same number.3

The request to appoint these agents must be made in writing to the RO or a deputy and must contain the names and addresses of the people being appointed.4 The RO can provide forms you can use for this, or you can find postal voting agent appointment forms on the Commission’s website.

Appointment forms for postal voting agents need to be submitted to the RO or a deputy by the time fixed for the opening of postal votes they want to attend.5

The RO will give you at least 48 hours’ notice before the scheduled start of each postal vote opening session.6

If an agent dies or becomes incapable of acting, another agent may be appointed in their place. Any new appointment in these circumstances must be made without delay.7

For more information on what postal voting agents can and cannot do and what they can expect to see at postal vote opening sessions see our guidance what does a postal voting agent do and the stages of the postal vote opening process.

A postal voting agent is allowed to attend and observe postal vote opening sessions.

At each opening session the Returning Officer (RO) or a deputy will decide whether or not the date of birth and signature provided by electors on their postal voting statements match the signature and date of birth previously provided and held on their records. If there is a mismatch, the postal vote will be rejected.

A postal voting agent has a right to observe, but not to interfere with, this process. A postal voting agent can, however, object to the decision to reject a postal voting statement.1 It will not affect the decision, but any objection will be recorded by marking the postal voting statement with the words 'rejection objected t'o in English and or 'gwrthwynebwyd y gwrthodiad' in Welsh.

Like your postal voting agents, election agents for party lists, individual candidates, or a person they may have appointed to attend on their behalf are also entitled to object to a rejection.2

The RO or a deputy will explain the postal vote opening process and may issue information on the procedures to be followed, including instructions on what people attending an opening session can and cannot do. All attendees should comply with any instructions that have been given.

It is likely that several opening sessions will take place before polling day, as well as on polling day itself.

The Returning Officer (RO) must:

• give party list and individual candidates and the election agent for each registered party standing at least 48 hours’ notice of when and where the sessions will take place1
• set out how many postal voting agents will be allowed to attend each session

There will be a final opening session after the polls have closed to open any postal votes handed in to polling stations. This session may be held at the count venue or in another location. The RO will advise those listed above of the location for the final opening.

For more information on the process carried out at the opening of postal votes see our guidance on the stages of the postal vote opening process.

The stages of the postal vote opening process can be summarised as follows:

Matching up postal voting statements with postal ballot papers

Lists will be maintained of any provisionally rejected postal ballot papers including:1

• any postal ballot paper that has been returned without a postal voting statement
• any postal voting statement that is not returned with the postal ballot paper

These lists will be checked regularly to ensure that if any mismatched documents can be matched up, those postal ballots are re-introduced into the process.

Valid ballot papers are those ballot papers whose related postal voting statement has passed the signature and date of birth checks.

A very small number of voters do not need to sign their postal voting statement. These voters will have been granted a waiver because they are unable to sign or provide a consistent signature due to a disability or an inability to read or write. The postal voting statement sent to such electors will make this clear.

Invalid ballot papers are set aside and stored in secure packets.

Unless a waiver has been granted a postal voting statement will be rejected if a signature and/or date of birth is missing, or if a signature and/or date of birth does not match that previously provided by the elector and held on record.

Rejected statements are attached to the relevant ballot papers or ballot paper envelope. They are marked as 'rejected' in English and or 'gwrthodwyd' in Welsh and shown to any agents present. 

Agents can object to the decision to reject any postal vote and, if they do, the words 'rejection objected to' in English and or 'gwrthwynebwyd y gwrthodiad' in Welsh are added to it. However, the decision is final and the postal vote will remain rejected.
 

Polling day is the day on which polling stations will open and electors will visit them to cast their votes in person. It is also the last day that Returning Officers and any deputies can accept returned postal votes. Polling day is sometimes called "election day".

The guidance covers:

• Polling station locations and the voting process
• Who can support you on polling day (including polling agents and tellers)
• Polling day dos and don’ts for you and your campaigners
• What happens after polls close

Party list candidates, individual candidates and election agents are entitled to observe proceedings inside polling stations.1 Additionally, agents may be appointed to attend polling stations on your behalf.2 For more information see our guidance on appointing polling agents.

Finding the location of polling stations

The Returning Officer must give public notice of the location of polling stations by 4pm, 18 working days before the poll.3 They will give a copy of this notice to all appointed election agents soon after this.

Polling station opening hours

Polling stations will be open on polling day between 7am and 10pm. Any voters waiting in a queue at their polling station at 10pm will be allowed to vote, even if they haven’t yet been issued with a ballot paper. 

Most people choose to vote in person at their polling station. Any person on the polling station’s electoral register can vote at the polling station in a Senedd election, unless:

• they are a registered postal voter
• they are a registered proxy voter and their proxy has already voted for them or has applied to vote on their behalf by post
• they are not 16 years of age or older on polling day
• they are registered as an overseas elector

Electors will receive a poll card before the election telling them where and when they can vote. Electors do not need to take their poll card to the polling station in order to vote, unless they are registered anonymously because of risks to their safety.

Return of postal ballot packs

Registered postal voters cannot be issued with a ballot paper at the polling station, but they can return their completed postal ballot pack to their polling station on polling day. Alternatively, they may return their postal vote to any polling station in the constituency or by hand to the Returning Officer or a deputy.

Postal ballot packs returned to polling stations must be handed to polling station staff and not placed in the ballot box.

The normal voting process at a polling station is straightforward and can be summarised as follows:

Polling station staff will:

• ask voters to confirm their name and address before making sure they are eligible to vote by checking against the register of electors
• place a mark against the voter’s entry on the register of electors
• call out the number and name of the elector
• add the elector number on to a list (the Corresponding Numbers List) next to the number of the ballot paper to be issued 
• ensure the ballot paper includes the official mark (e.g. a barcode or watermark)
• fold the ballot paper and then hand it to the voter unfolded so that they can see all of the options on the ballot paper

The elector will then:

• take the ballot paper to the polling both and mark the ballot paper in private, unless assisted by a companion or the Presiding Officer
• fold the marked ballot paper and show the ballot paper number and unique identifying mark on the back of the ballot paper to the Presiding Officer
• place the ballot paper in the ballot box and leave the polling station

Accessibility in polling stations

The Returning Officer has a responsibility to ensure that voting is accessible. They must provide each polling station with a range of equipment as is reasonable for the purposes of enabling or making it easier for disabled voters to vote independently and in secret.

The Presiding Officer can assist anyone who is unable to mark the ballot papers themselves.1

Alternatively, a voter may bring along someone they know and trust to assist them in marking their vote. The person assisting the voter must be aged 16 or over. A person can only assist a maximum of two voters at the election.2

Any person attending the polling station to assist an elector must complete a declaration to the Presiding Officer before they aid the elector in the polling booth.

The Returning Officer may arrange for the collection of any postal votes that electors have handed in at polling stations throughout polling day. The Presiding Officer must seal any returned postal votes in a packet before they are collected. Any agents present can add their own seal to the packet if they wish.1

Once all voters who have been issued with ballot papers have voted, the ballot box is sealed by the Presiding Officer and polling agents can add their own seal if they wish. After the Presiding Officer has completed all of the paperwork, the sealed ballot box is taken to the count venue.1

On polling day, you may be supported by campaigners, polling agents, and you may also intend to use tellers.

This section sets out more information about:

• polling agents and how to appoint them
• the role of tellers
• the requirement to maintain the secrecy of the ballot
• dos and don’ts for candidates and their supporters on polling day
   

While a polling agent can observe the poll, they do not have to be present in a polling station for polling and related procedures to take place. Polling agents have a number of important roles to play on polling day. They can:

• be present in the polling station before the opening of the poll to watch the Presiding Officer show the empty ballot box before it is sealed  
• detect personation and prevent people voting more than once in the election (other than as proxies). Personation is when an individual votes as someone else, whether that person is living, dead or fictitious
• be present when the Presiding Officer marks a ballot paper at the request of an elector who needs assistance marking a ballot paper because of a disability or an inability to read or write
• report to you or your election agent any improper activities and keep notes, if required, for giving evidence in court
• be present at the close of poll when the various packets of documents are sealed
• attach their seal to any packets made up by the Presiding Officer at the close of poll, including the ballot box. Polling agents’ seals cannot be attached to ballot boxes at the start of, or during, the poll

Election agents for a party list and individual candidates may appoint people as agents to attend the polling stations.1

Anyone can be appointed as a polling agent, provided that they are not:2

• the Returning Officer (RO), or a member of their staff
• a partner or clerk of the RO, or a member of their staff
• anyone not entitled to vote at the election as a result of the report of an election court or a conviction for a corrupt or illegal practice under the Representation of the People Act 19833

Election agents for party lists, individual candidates and their election agent can also do anything that a polling agent is entitled to do without the need of an official appointment.4

Any number of polling agents can be appointed to attend each polling station, but only one polling agent for each party list or individual candidate can be present in the polling station at any time.5 A polling agent can be appointed to attend multiple polling stations.

Sub-agents may also attend the poll, but only instead of an election agent.

Polling agents must be appointed by not later than 5 workings day before the poll.6 The request to appoint these agents must be made in writing to the relevant RO. It must contain the names, postal addresses and where available email addresses of the people being appointed.7 The RO will provide forms that can be used for this, or you can use the Commission’s polling agent appointment form.

If a polling agent dies or becomes incapable of acting, another agent may be appointed in their place by submitting the relevant appointment form to the RO. Any new appointment in these circumstances must be made without delay.8

Tellers are people who stand outside polling stations and record the elector numbers of electors who have voted. They can then identify likely supporters who have not voted and encourage them to vote before the close of poll.

Tellers have no legal status and voters can refuse to give information to them. The Returning Officer (RO) is in charge of the conduct of the election. If they are concerned by the activities of tellers, they can ask tellers to comply with agreed behaviour or leave the polling place.

We have produced a factsheet of tellers’ dos and don’ts, as well as more comprehensive guidance on the activities of tellers. The guidance aims to ensure that everyone knows precisely what is and is not acceptable and is designed to promote appropriate standards of conduct.

The RO may also provide their own guidance to tellers.

Anyone attending a polling station has a duty to maintain the secrecy of the ballot.1 In particular, the following information must not be disclosed:

• the name or electoral number of who has or has not voted
• the number or other unique identifying mark on the ballot papers

Anyone attending a polling station must also not try to ascertain how a voter has voted or who they are about to vote for.

A polling agent can mark off on their copy of the register of electors those voters who have applied for ballot papers. If the polling agent leaves the polling station during the hours of polling, they will need to leave the marked copy of the register in the polling station to ensure that secrecy requirements are not breached.

Any person found guilty of breaching the secrecy requirements can face an unlimited fine, or may be imprisoned for up to six months.

Make sure:

• that any tellers follow our tellers dos and don'ts and any guidance issued by the Returning Officer (RO)
• campaigners follow the Code of Conduct for Campaigners at Scottish Parliament, Senedd Cymru, Scottish council and Welsh local elections which sets out what is, and is not, considered acceptable behaviour at polling stations and in the community
• any additional security advice provided by the RO is followed
• requests by polling station staff and ROs about campaigning near polling stations are complied with
• any agents who are attending polling stations, postal vote opening sessions or the count understand the rules about the secrecy of the ballot - for more information, see our documents setting out the secrecy requirements for the poll, postal voting and the count in both English and Welsh

Do not:

• campaign near polling places in a way that could be seen by voters as aggressive or intimidating (for example, large groups of supporters carrying banners, or vehicles with loudspeakers or heavily branded with campaign material)
• breach the requirements on secrecy of the ballot.1 This is an essential part of any modern democracy and breaches are taken seriously
• seek to identify and publicise how votes have been marked on individual ballot papers, particularly following any attendance at postal vote opening sessions
• publish exit polls or any other data based on information given by people about how they voted after they have cast their vote, including a postal vote, before the close of poll2
   

The following sections provide guidance on the process of verifying and counting the votes in the election.

It includes guidance on the following:

• when and where the count will take place
• who can attend the count
• what does a counting agent do?
• duty to maintain secrecy
• how votes are counted
• what if the vote on a ballot paper is not clear?
• doubtful ballot papers
• declaration of result

The Returning Officer (RO) is responsible for verifying and counting the votes cast in the constituency.

ROs must make arrangements for counting the votes as soon as practicable after the close of poll. The RO will notify you of the exact time(s) and location(s).

While it is important that a count is timely, it is also important that the count produces an accurate result that everyone can have confidence in.

The RO or a deputy will issue instructions or an invitation with any requirements they have in place for attendance. This could include information about any additional security measures in place such as requiring attendees to show ID and undertake bag checks before being allowed entry, as well as information about the expected standards of behaviour for attendees. You should ensure these instructions are followed by yourself and anyone else attending with you. Failure to comply with these expectations, or any instructions issued by the RO, may result in your removal from the venue.

Party list and individual candidates, and their election agents (or a sub-agent instead of an election agent) have the right to be present at a count.1

Additionally, you can invite one other person to attend. This person is in attendance as your guest. They have no powers or functions.

The election agent for party lists and individual candidates may also appoint counting agents to attend the count.2

All attendees should ensure they comply with any instructions given by the Returning Officer.

Counting agents have a number of important roles to play at the count:

• they observe the counting process and make sure that it is accurate
• they can draw to the attention of count staff any doubtful ballot papers
• if they disagree with a decision to reject a ballot paper, they can ask for the ballot paper to be marked with the words rejection objected to and/or gwrthwynebwyd y gwrthodiad
• if a count is suspended for any reason or there is a break in the proceedings, counting agents can add their seals when ballot boxes and envelopes are sealed

The election agent of a party list, an individual candidate and their agent can do anything a counting agent is allowed to do.1

The election agent of a party list and any individual candidates may appoint other people as agents to attend the count.1

Anyone, apart from those listed can be appointed as a counting agent.

The following people are not allowed to be counting agents:2

• the Returning Officer (RO), or a member of their staff (including any clerks appointed specifically for the election)
• a deputy or clerk of the RO, or a member of their staff
• an officer of a local authority whose services have been placed at the disposal of the RO
• a partner or clerk of any of the above
• anyone not entitled to vote at the election as a result of the report of an election court or a conviction for a corrupt or illegal practice under the Representation of the People Act 1983

The election agent of a registered political party, an individual candidate and their agent can do anything a counting agent is allowed to do.

The RO or a deputy will manage the process for appointing counting agents.

The RO or a deputy will tell you the maximum number of counting agents that can be appointed. Election agents for party lists and individual candidates will be allowed to appoint exactly the same number.3

The request to appoint these agents must be made in writing to the RO or a deputy and must contain the names, postal addresses and where available email addresses of the people being appointed.4 The RO can provide forms you can use for this, or you can find counting agent appointment forms on the Commission’s website.

The deadline for appointing counting agents is by no later than 5 working days before the poll.5

If an agent dies or becomes incapable of acting, another agent may be appointed in their place.6 Any new appointment in these circumstances must be made without delay.7

For more information on what agents can or cannot do and what they can expect to see at a count, see our guidance what does a counting agent do?

Anyone attending a count has a duty to maintain the secrecy of the count.1 In particular, anyone attending must not:

• ascertain or attempt to ascertain the number or other unique identifying mark on the back of any ballot paper
• communicate any information obtained at the count as to the political party or individual candidate for whom any vote is given on any particular ballot paper

Stage 1 - Check-in

Staff will deliver ballot boxes from the polling stations to the verification venue.

Ballot boxes will be checked in as they arrive.

Stage 2 - Verification

At the verification stage, each ballot box is processed separately from any other ballot box.

One by one, all ballot boxes are emptied onto tables and the empty boxes are shown to agents.

Staff count the number of ballot papers in each box from each polling station.

Staff verify that the number of ballot papers in each ballot box matches the number of papers issued, as recorded on the Presiding Officers’ ballot paper accounts.

During the verification stage the ballot papers are kept face up.

In the event of any discrepancies between the numbers of ballot papers in the ballot box, against the paperwork completed by the Presiding Officer, the reasons for any discrepancy will be established and a final verified total will be produced.

A statement of the verification will be produced. Agents can view or copy this statement if they wish.1  

If the count does not take place immediately following verification stage, the verified boxes will be stored securely. Counting agents can attach their seals to the boxes if they wish.2

Stage 3 - Counting of the votes

Before counting commences, postal ballot papers must be mixed with other ballot papers from at least one ballot box and ballot papers from a polling station must be mixed with ballot papers from at least one other polling stations ballot box.3

Staff sort ballot papers by political party or individual candidate.

Staff count the number of votes cast for each political party or individual candidate.

The provisional total numbers of votes may be shared with party list candidates and the election agent for that party list, individual candidates, their election agent, and any appointed counting agents.

Recounts4

Party list candidates and the election agent for that party list, individual candidates, their election agent and in their absence, a counting agent appointed by them can ask the Returning Officer or a deputy to recount the votes.

A recount can be refused if the request is unreasonable.

A ballot paper will not be counted if it:1

• is unmarked
• does not contain the official mark
• contains more than one vote
• contains any mark or writing that can identify the voter
• does not indicate the voter’s intention with certainty

A statement will be drawn up showing the number of ballot papers rejected for these reasons.2

The word rejected and/or gwrthodwyd will be marked on any ballot paper that is rejected.3 The words rejection objected to and/or gwrthwynebwyd y gwrthodiad must be added if a counting agent objects to the decision.

If the voter’s intention is clear on a ballot paper and the voter cannot be identified by any mark or writing, it will not be void if a vote is marked:

• elsewhere than in the proper place
• by other means than a cross (e.g. a tick)
• by more than one mark

Doubtful ballot papers

We have produced guidance on how to adjudicate votes on ballot papers that may appear doubtful. This guidance is contained in our booklet Dealing with doubtful ballot papers. We have also produced doubtful ballot paper placemats that staff adjudicating ballot papers may refer to at the count.

The examples given in these are based on the election rules.

Please note that while we provide guidance, the Returning Officer or their deputies have the ultimate responsibility for making a decision on individual ballot papers. The decision to reject a particular ballot paper during the count or recount is final and can be reviewed only at an election petition after the declaration of the result.4 For more information see our guidance on election petitions.

The Returning Officer (RO) is responsible for calculating the results of the poll.1

The RO will notify you of the exact time and location that the calculation will take place.2

The RO will issue instructions or an invitation with any requirements they have in place for attendance. This could include information about any additional security measures in place such as requiring attendees to show ID and undertake bag checks before being allowed entry, as well as information about the expected standards of behaviour for attendees. You should ensure these instructions are followed by yourself and anyone else attending with you.

Party list, individual candidates and their election agents have the right to be present.1

Additionally, each party list and individual candidate can invite one other person to attend. This person is in attendance as your guest. They have no powers or functions.

You should ensure that you and all your attendees comply with any instructions given by the Returning Officer.

Each constituency is allocated six seats to be filled. Seats will be allocated based on the number of votes each party or individual candidate receives, using a mathematical formula d’Hondt.1

This formula sees the number of votes cast in the constituency for each party divided by the number of constituency seats they have gained, plus one. Individual candidates do not have their total votes divided at any stage. They simply win a seat if they have the highest total of votes at any round.

The total number of votes cast for each party and each individual candidate is known as the seat allocation figure for that party or individual candidate.2

The first seat is allocated to the registered party or individual candidate with the highest seat allocation figure.3

The allocations of the second to sixth seats are calculated by dividing the total number votes each party or individual candidate has received by the number of seats it has already been allocated. Once a party has been allocated as many seats as there are candidates on its list, or an individual candidate has been allocated a seat, they are removed from the calculation for the allocation of the remaining seats.4

Recalculation

The Returning Officer (RO) will share the provisional result with the election agent for each registered political party or in the absence of the agent one of the party list candidates, each individual candidate or their agent.5

An election agent or an individual candidate can ask the RO to recalculate the result. The RO may refuse to do so if the request to is unreasonable.6

There is no provision at this stage to request a recount of votes.

Equality of votes

If the highest seat allocation figure is the same for two or more political parties or individual candidates, the RO must decide between them by drawing lots.7

The Returning Officer (RO) will, in English and Welsh:1

• announce the registered political parties and individual candidates who have been allocated a seat
• announce the names of the party list candidates who are to fill the seats
• declare the party list and individual candidates who have been elected

The RO may use commonly used names when declaring the result where the statement of parties and persons nominated shows that a candidate uses a commonly used name.2

The RO will also publish a notice stating:3

• the name of any party list candidate elected together with the name of the political party
• the name of any individual candidate
• the total number of votes given for each political party and each individual candidate
• the number of rejected ballot papers

The RO may use commonly used names when publishing the result where the statement of parties and persons nominated shows that a candidate uses a commonly used name.4

The RO may allow candidates to make speeches after the result is declared. Please check arrangements with your RO. You should ensure that you and your supporters comply with any instructions given by the RO regarding the standards of behaviour required during verbal announcements.

For more information about what happens after the result has been announced see our guidance on after the election.

This section sets out what happens after the election. It covers:

• submitting your spending return and the associated deadlines for individual candidates
• submitting your declaration of personal expenses for party list candidates
• return of your deposit
• access and supply of election documents
• election petitions

Personal expenses

Candidates who are not acting as their own agent must provide a written statement of their personal expenses to their agent no later than 21 calendar days after the election result is declared.1

Invoices

After the election, the agent must make sure that:

• all invoices are received no later than 21 calendar days after the election result is declared2
• all invoices are paid no later than 28 calendar days after the election result is declared3

Return and declarations

The agent must submit to the Returning Officer:

• an election spending return reporting details of the candidate’s spending and donations
• a declaration confirming the return is complete and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief

no later than 35 calendar days after the election result is declared.4

Both the agent and the candidate must submit declarations that the return is complete and accurate.5 There are separate declaration forms for this. If the candidate is acting as their own agent, they only need to complete the candidate declaration.

Candidates who are not acting as their own agent must send the Returning Officer a declaration within seven working days of the return being submitted.6 If the candidate is outside the United Kingdom when the declaration is due, the deadline for submitting their declaration is extended to 14 days after they come back.7

You must still submit a return even if you haven’t spent any money.8 This is called a ‘nil return’.

There are consequences for failure to submit spending returns. These are set out in what happens if a spending return or declaration isn’t submitted?

Please note that if the deadline for any of the above falls on a weekend or public holiday, the deadline will move to the next working day. This is included within the following deadline calculations.

Invoices received or paid outside of the deadlines

If you do not receive an invoice for your candidate spending within 21 calendar days of the result being declared, you must not pay it without getting a court order to do so.9 These are known in the law as ‘unpaid claims’.

Similarly, if you do not pay an invoice received on time within 28 calendar days of the deadline for receiving invoices, you must not pay it after that time without getting a court order to do so.10 These are known in the law as ‘disputed claims’.

You should make your suppliers aware of this.

Obtaining a court order to pay invoices received late or remaining unpaid after the deadline is known as leave to pay. Leave to pay may be obtained by you or the supplier applying to the relevant court to obtain a court judgement or order for payment. It is an offence to make a payment for these claims without obtaining leave to pay.11  

Any claim paid:

• after the 21-day deadline for receipt, or
• after the 28-day deadline for payments

following a successful application to the court and after the deadline for submission of election spending returns, must be reported in writing to the Returning Officer within seven days of payment and be accompanied by a copy of the court order.12

You should also forward a copy of the Order to the Electoral Commission.

Your spending and donations report is known as a ‘return’. The agent must complete the return.

The return should include the following:

• what the spending was for – for example, leaflets or advertising
• the name and address of the supplier
• the amount or value
• details of when it was incurred and paid
• details of any unpaid or disputed payments1  
• details of any notional spending, and a declaration of its value2
• invoices or receipts for any payment of £20 or over3
• details of any personal expenses4

It is good practice to include any evidence you have of the value of notional spending when you submit your return.

The return must also include details of all donations over £500 and any authorised local campaigning spending.5 There is more information on the details that you need to report in spending for individual candidates and donations for individual candidates.

The candidate and agent must also sign a declaration that the return is complete and correct to the best of their knowledge and belief.6 It is your responsibility to fully and accurately report candidate spending.

It is a criminal offence to make a false declaration knowingly.7

Forms you will need:

Sample completed spending return

We have published a sample candidate spending return to illustrate how one might be completed. It is not intended to be used to fill in your expenses.

It contains comments highlighting links between different parts of the form - for example something reported as notional spending, which is also reported as a donation.

Failure to submit a spending return or declaration by the deadline without an authorised excuse is a criminal offence.1

The Electoral Commission has a legal remit to secure compliance with the rules on candidates’ spending and donations, but no sanctioning powers in respect of breaches. Suspected breaches of the rules should be referred to the police.

If either:

• an individual candidate has been elected but the spending return and/or declaration has not been submitted by the deadline, or
• a party list candidate has been elected but the declaration of personal expenses has not been submitted by the deadline

they are barred from sitting or voting and can be subject to a forfeit or fine of £100 per day if they do so.2

If you do not comply with the legal or regulatory requirements, you may be subject to criminal sanctions. If you win the election and someone succeeds in an election petition against your campaign activities or reporting, you could be barred from holding office.

If you take donations that you can’t legally accept, we may apply to the courts for them to be forfeited.

You can find more information about the Commission’s regulatory role at: www.electoralcommission.org.uk/who-we-are-and-what-we-do/our-enforcement-work

After the election, you must submit a declaration of personal expenses to the Returning Officer. This must be delivered within 35 days of the election result being declared.1 You should not include any personal expenses that have been paid or reimbursed by the party in the declaration.2

If you are outside the United Kingdom when the declaration is due, the deadline for submitting the declaration is extended to no later than 14 days after you return.3

You must still submit a declaration even if you haven’t incurred any personal expenses.

It is a criminal offence to knowingly make a false declaration.4

The deposit made by or on behalf of any registered party list or individual candidate that has polled 5% or more of the total number of valid votes cast at the election will have their deposit returned by the Returning Officer by the next working day following the declaration of result.1

Those registered parties and individual candidates that have polled less than 5% of the total number of valid votes cast in the election will lose their deposit.2

Those elected will be given information on taking up their seat as a Member of the Senedd.

Before a person can sit and vote in the Senedd they must take the oath of allegiance or make an affirmation to the monarch.1 This will take place at the start of the new session of the Senedd.

You can find more information on the Senedd website.

After the results are declared, all election documents are securely held by the relevant Electoral Registration Officer (ERO) for a period of one year from the date they are received.1

Most documents are available for public inspection. Please note that ballot papers are not open to public inspection.2

Inspection and supply of the marked registers

The marked electoral registers and lists of absent voters show who has been issued with a ballot paper, who has returned their postal ballot paper, and who has had a proxy vote cast on their behalf.

You can inspect or obtain copies of the marked register of electors and lists of absent voters after the election if you make a request in writing to the relevant ERO. Contact details are available on our website.

Note that you can only use the information obtained from these documents for research or electoral purposes.3

Making a request to inspect a marked register

The request for inspection must be made in writing and specify:4

• which documents are requested
• the purposes for which the information in any document will be used
• where the request is to inspect the marked register or lists, any reason why inspecting the full register or unmarked lists would not be sufficient to achieve that purpose
• who will inspect the documents
• the date on which they wish to inspect the documents
• whether they would prefer to inspect the documents in a printed or data form

Inspection is under supervision and will be free of charge. You will not be able to take copies but may make handwritten notes.

Making a request for supply of a marked register5

The request for supply must specify:

• which of the marked register or lists (or the relevant part of the register or lists) are requested
• whether a printed copy of the records or lists is requested or a copy in data form
• the purposes for which the marked register or lists will be used and why the supply or purchase of a copy of the full register or unmarked lists would not be sufficient to achieve that purpose

The requested document will be supplied for a fee of £10 plus £2 (for printed versions) or £1 (for data versions) per 1,000 entries.6

Note that after 12 months these documents held by the ERO will be destroyed, unless a court order directs otherwise.7 Under data protection legislation, personal data processed for any purpose shall not be kept for longer than is necessary for that purpose. If you request and are supplied with any of the information listed above, once the purpose for collecting this data has passed, you need to consider if there is a reason for you to retain that data. If there is not you should ensure secure destruction of any data held.

Inspection of nomination papers

Nomination papers cannot be inspected after the election. They can only be inspected during ordinary office hours on any day after the last day for the delivery of nomination papers and the day before polling day.8

Inspection of other election documents9

You can inspect other election documents, but you will not be allowed to make any notes or take copies of these documents. The only documents that cannot be inspected are:10

• the ballot papers
• the corresponding number lists
• the certificates allowing polling station staff to vote at the polling station they are working at

One year from the date they are received all of the election documents that are held by the ERO will be destroyed, unless a court order directs otherwise.11

Inspection of election spending returns and declarations

Spending returns and declarations are held by the relevant Returning Officer. Spending returns and declarations can be inspected by any person after they have been submitted. Copies can also be made for a fee of 20p per side.12

Spending returns and declarations are kept for two years. You can request to have them returned to you or your agent at the end of this period. If you or your agent do not want them back, the spending returns and declarations will be destroyed.13

The outcome of a Senedd election can be challenged through an election petition.1

Lodging an election petition

Only certain people can lodge an election petition, and only under specific circumstances.2

An election petition can be presented by:3

• someone claiming to have been a candidate at the election, or
• someone claiming to have had a right to be elected or returned at the election, or
• an elector (not an anonymously registered elector) who had a right to vote at the election (although they need not have voted)
• someone claiming to have had a right to be returned in respect of a relevant vacancy

The allowable grounds for a petition are that there has been an:4

• undue election, or
• undue return

There is a separate judicial process for challenging the election of a Senedd Member on the grounds that they were or are disqualified, by application to the High Court.5

The Member, about whose election or return is complained, must be a respondent to the petition.6 If the petition complains about the conduct of the Returning Officer or their staff during the election, the Returning Officer(s) must also be a respondent.7

Normally a petition must be presented within 21 calendar days of the name of the elected candidate being returned to the Clerk of the Senedd.8 However, if the petition complains of corrupt or illegal practices involving the payment of money or other reward, or an illegal practice relating to election spending, further time may be allowed.

For any questions relating to election petitions, including to confirm the deadlines for lodging an election petition, you should contact:

The Election Petitions Office
Room E105
Royal Courts of Justice
Strand
London
WC2A 2LL
Email: [email protected] 
Phone: 0207 947 6877

There are costs attached to an election petition. If you are considering lodging an election petition, we strongly recommend that you take independent legal advice.
 

Guidance for Candidates and Agents at Senedd elections

Campaigning

Nominations

Postal Votes

Polling day

Verification and count

After the election

Individual candidates:

Party-list candidates: