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Federal Election Commission | United States of America

Administrative fines file metadata

The Commission implemented theAdministrative Fine Program beginning with the 2000 July Quarterly Reports. The program assesses civil money penalties (or fines) for violations including:

  • Failure to file reports on time
  • Failure to file reports at all
  • Failure to file 48-hour notices

The FEC uses four factors to calculate fines:

  • The election sensitivity of the report
  • Whether the report is considered late or not filed
  • The level of activity on the late report or the estimated level of activity on the nonfiled report
  • The committee's number of previous violations in the Administrative Fine Program

Search Administrative Fine cases

Administrative fine file format

Column name Field name Data type Description Range Explanation Example data
CAS_NUM Case number Number Unique identifier for administrative fines cases Internally generated sequential number for each administrative fines case. 1
COM_ID Committee ID Character Character C followed by eight digits 9 characters Unique nine digit identifier used by the Commission to identify each political committee. In general committee IDs begin with the letter C which is followed by eight C00100005
COM_NAM Committee name Character Name of committee or other entity registered with the FEC Max 90 characters This is the name of the committee failing to file or filing a report late Martha Washington for Congress
REP_TYP Report type Character 3 character abbreviation for report submitted late The full list of abbreviations and their meaning 12G
REP_YEA Report year Number Calendar year covered by the report 4 digits Calendar year covered by the report 2018
FIN_AMO Fine amount Currency Total fine amount The penalty ultimately approved by the FEC 10,000.00
OFF Office Character Office sought by candidate 1 character H=House, S=Senate, P=President H
STA State Character Postal state abbreviation 2 characters VA
DIS District Number House district number 2 digits 01
CAN_NAM Candidate name Text Candidate Name Martha Washington
LAT_FIL_NOT_FIL Late filed/not filed Boolean L=Late, N=not filed L
PAI_YES_NO Paid (yes/no) Boolean Y=yes, N=no, P=pending Note: if the fine amount is $0 this column is not applicable Y

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This information is not intended to replace the law or to change its meaning, nor does this information create or confer any rights for or on any person or bind the Federal Election Commission or the public.

The reader is encouraged also to consult the Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971, as amended (52 U.S.C. 30101 et seq.), Commission regulations (Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations), Commission advisory opinions and applicable court decisions.