Guidance for (Acting) Returning Officers administering a UK Parliamentary election in Great Britain

Formal delivery

A nomination is formally delivered at the point where:

  • a paper is left with you and the offer of an informal check was not accepted
  • the informal check has been conducted, any issues addressed and the person delivering the nomination paper has indicated they are satisfied that it is ready to be determined

All candidates should be offered an informal check. Further information is available in our guidance on carrying out informal checks.

Once a nomination form has been formally delivered, no changes can be subsequently made to it (subject to your power to correct minor errors). You can find more information on your power to correct minor errors in the section Mistakes on nomination papers.

You should endorse each form with the date and time of formal delivery, so that you have a record of when each paper was formally submitted. 

If a candidate later decides that they want to make a change to their nomination paper after it has been formally submitted, for example to the description, this can only be done by: 

  • withdrawing their candidature 
  • submitting new nomination papers within the statutory timeframe  

Similarly, there is no provision to allow a subscriber to withdraw their signature from a nomination paper once it has been delivered.

Last updated: 19 December 2023