48-Hour Notices

48-Hour Notices are reports of "last minute" contributions and/or loans of $1,000 or more received by an authorized committee of the candidate (including a joint fundraising committee) less than 20 days but more than 48 hours before the day of any election in which the candidate is running. The 48-Hour Notice must be filed within 48 hours of the campaign's receipt of the contribution. If the committee misses this deadline, the Commission still recommends filing the notice, provided it is filed before the date of the applicable election.

The 48-hour notice requirement applies to all types of elections—primary, convention, general, runoff, special—even when a candidate is unopposed in an election.

This requirement applies to all contributions of $1,000 or more, including:

• Monetary and in-kind contributions
• Loans from the candidate and other non-bank sources
• Guarantees or endorsements of bank loans
• Advances
• Contributions, personal loans, endorsements of bank loans and advances made by the candidate
• Candidate draws on personal credit cards

All committees file these notices with the FEC. Committees that file electronically must file 48-Hour Notices in an electronic format. A paper-filing committee may also file online using the FEC’s web-based forms. Paper-filing committees that choose to file using the paper version of FEC Form 6 can fax the notice to the FEC at 202-219-0174.

In addition to filing the 48-Hour Notices on Form 6, committees must itemize all last-minute contributions in their next scheduled report on Form 3.

Reporting on candidate forms

House and Senate committees report 48-Hour Notices of Contributions/Loans Received on Form 6. The Form 6 shows general information about the committee including the committee’s name and address, the candiate’s name, and the office sought.

To itemize a contribution on Form 6, the committee discloses:

• The contributor’s name and address
• The contributor’s employer and occupation (if an individual)
• The amount of the contribution
• The date the contribution was received

48-Hour Notices for partnership contributions

If a partnership gives a contribution of $1,000 or more to your committee during the 48-Hour Notice period, the committee should file a notice for the partnership. There is no need to report the individual attribution on the 48-Hour Notice.

48-Hour notices for contributions received through joint fundraisers

When reporting 48-Hour Notices for joint fundraising transfers, the committee should file notices for the original contributions that make up the joint fundraising transfers. There is no need to report the transfer itself on the 48-Hour Notice.

48-Hour notices for contributions received through a conduit

When reporting 48-Hour Notices for contributions given through a conduit, the committee should file the notices for the original contributions. There is no need to report the entity serving as a conduit on the 48-hour Notice.

Reporting with FECFile

To create a 48-Hour Notice, go to the Reports tab and create a “48-hour notice (Form 6).” Enter the contribution in your software and then go to the All Transactions tab. Find the contribution, right click on it, and select “Add to Form 6.”