For your nomination to be valid, the sum of £1,000 must be deposited with the Constituency Returning Officer (CRO) by the deadline for the delivery of nominations by 4pm on the twenty-fourth working day before the poll.1
The deposit can be made using:2
a UK banker’s draft
legal tender (cash in British pounds only). Payments made by cash will be subject to money laundering checks
The CRO may also accept a deposit made by a debit or credit card or an electronic transfer, which is preferred for security reasons. However, they may refuse to do so.
If you are considering paying the deposit in one of these ways, you should discuss with the CRO at the earliest opportunity whether the payment method is acceptable.
If the CRO 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 £1,000 deposit.
Unless the person making the deposit is your election agent and you have notified the CRO of their appointment, the person making the deposit must at the time they make it give their name and address to the CRO.3
The deposit will be returned if you poll more than 5% of the valid votes cast in the constituency.4
Those candidates who have polled less than, or equal to, 5% of the total number of the valid votes cast will lose their deposit.