Costs to Run for Office
- The qualifying fee is either 4 percent of the annual salary for non-partisan candidates or 6 percent of the annual salary for partisan candidates.
- The filing fee is 3 percent of the annual salary of the office sought.
- The election assessment is 1% of the annual salary.
- The party assessment for partisan candidates is 2% of the annual salary.
- The qualifying fee is based on the annual salary of the office sought as of July 1 the year preceding qualifying.
For more information regarding qualifying fees for federal, state, judicial and special district offices, visit the Florida Division of Elections' website .
Petitions in lieu of Qualifying Fee
As an alternative to paying a qualifying fee, candidates may qualify by the petition process. Candidates who wish to know more about the petition process should contact the qualifying officer at [email protected].
Candidates have the option to waive the payment of a qualifying fee by collecting petitions instead. Signatures may not be obtained, however, until the candidate has filed the DS/DE 9 Appointment of Campaign Treasurer, Designation of Campaign Depository (PDF) form.
The number of signatures required is based on the number of registered voters as of the immediately preceding general election's book closing.
The petition form itself is prescribed by the Florida Division of Elections and is available through the qualifying officer. The official petition format must be used.
The deadlines for submitting petitions to the Supervisor of Elections for verification is noon of the 28th day preceding the first day of the qualifying period for the office being sought.
Candidates should verify with the appropriate qualifying officer how many petition signatures are needed, as well as confirming the deadline for submitting the petitions.
Verification Fee
Pursuant to F.S. 99.097(4)(a), The Supervisor of Elections must be paid in advance the sum of ten cents (10¢) per signature or the actual cost of checking such signatures, whichever is less, by the candidate or, in the case of a petition to have a local issue placed on the ballot, by the person or orgnaization submitting the petition. The payment must be made with a campaign check, with the exception of special district candidates who choose not to open a campaign account pursuant to F.S. 99.061(3).
Undue Burden
A candidate, a person, or an organization may file an Undue Burden Oath with the Supervisor of Elections exempting paying the ten cents (10¢) per name checked. This oath must be filed with the Supervisor of Elections at the time petitions are submitted for verification. The form used will be the Affidavit of Undue Burden.