Beginning January 1, 2023, filers required by the Political Reform Act of 1974 to file a report or statement by paper with the Secretary of State may instead file the paper report or statement by email.

All statements must be signed using a verified digital signature consistent with FPPC Regulation 18104(b) (2). To comply with this requirement, see​​​​ FPPC guidance.

**IMPORTANT: If you are required to file electronically or online, that obligation and method of filing remains unchanged. This guidance pertains only to filings previously required to be filed by paper. Filing statements by email does not satisfy the online filing requirement under GC 84605 (Political Reform Act) to file electronically with the Secretary of State in CAL-ACCESS. If your filing is received and filed by email, it only fulfills your obligation to file a report or statement by paper.

Filings received with a scanned copy of a signature or without a digital signature that qualifies as a “secure electronic signature” pursuant to the FPPC regulation and guidance referenced above will not be processed. 

To ensure receipt of your filing, follow these guidelines:

When submitting multiple lobbying statements at once (i.e. Initial or renewal registration for Lobbyist Employers or Lobbying Firms, or submitting subsequent amendments during a legislative session) please include all digitally signed forms, as well as the lobbyist photos and receipt of payment, in a single PDF attachment.  

To arrange payment by credit card, send an email to prdlobbying@sos.ca.gov.  

Lobbyist photos may also be submitted using the Lobbyist Photograph Submission Form.

Naming conventions for timely processing of Lobbying Statements:  

All files should:  

  1. Have the form number as the first numerical characters to appear in the file name 
  2. Contain the word “form” and the FPPC form number of the document 
  3. Contain an underscore after the FPPC form number 
  4. Include any additional information that you see fit, after the underscore 

If you are submitting a packet of statements for an initial, renewal or amendment please use the applicable “FORM601,” “FORM603” or “FORM605” in the name of the file. 

  • Example File Names Include: 
    • “FORM601_Lobbyist Name and ID123456.pdf” 
    • “FORM601_Lobbyist Name” 
    • “FORM601_ID123456.pdf” 
    • “FORM601_.pdf”

If you are submitting a lobbyist photo by itself, indicate that with the word “photo” after the form number. 

  • Example: “FORM604_Photo_Lobbyist Name and ID123456.pdf” 

Digital Filing Frequently Asked Questions