File your Indiana campaign finance reports on time
Candidates file CFA-1, not CFA-2. Everything is due at noon, and most committees are not on a quarterly schedule.
Last reviewed 29 August 2026 against the Indiana Election Division. Campaign finance rules change: confirm current requirements with Indiana Election Division before you file. This page is general information, not legal advice.
Your 2026 Indiana filing calendar
| Report | Period covered | Due |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 Annual (CFA-4) | Through 31 Dec 2025 | Noon, 21 Jan 2026 |
| 2026 Pre-Primary | 1 Jan – 10 Apr 2026 | Noon, 17 Apr 2026 |
| Primary supplemental (CFA-11) | 11 Apr – 6:00 am, 3 May 2026 | Within 48 hours of each large contribution |
| 2026 Pre-Election | 11 Apr – 9 Oct 2026 | Noon, 16 Oct 2026 |
| General supplemental (CFA-11) | 10 Oct – 6:00 am, 1 Nov 2026 | Within 48 hours of each large contribution |
| 2026 Annual | Through 31 Dec 2026 | Noon, 20 Jan 2027 |
Every deadline is noon, not end of day. The schedule above covers candidate committees other than statewide, plus PACs and regular party committees. Statewide candidates on the 2026 ballot file quarterly instead — 15 April, 15 July, 15 October, then a pre-election report due 27 October. Statewide officeholders not on the 2026 ballot file semi-annually. Regular party committees file their annual report on 2 March 2026 rather than in January. A committee stays open and must keep filing every cycle, regardless of activity, until it files a final disbanding report.
Contribution limits
Individuals, unincorporated businesses and PACs may give without limit to Indiana candidates, parties and committees. Caps apply to corporations and labor organizations only, and they are set by the office the money goes to, not by the donor. Each figure below is a calendar-year total shared across every candidate in that group, under an overall $22,000 ceiling.
| Contributions to | Limit | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Statewide candidates | $5,000 | shared across every statewide candidate |
| State Senate candidates | $2,000 | shared across every Senate candidate |
| State House candidates | $2,000 | shared across every House candidate |
| County, local and school board candidates | $2,000 | shared across every such candidate |
| All candidates combined | $22,000 | overall ceiling |
What you must collect on every donor
Itemize each contributor whose contributions exceed $100 cumulative in a calendar year. Regular party committees itemize above $200.
- Full name
- Mailing address
- Amount and date of each contribution
- Occupation — only for an individual whose calendar-year total reaches $1,000; optional below that
- Employer is not required in Indiana. That is a federal field.
Statutory basis: IC 3-9-5-14, which sets out what a report must contain.
Reports that run on a clock, not a date
CFA-11, the 48-hour large contribution report
Candidate committees must report contributions totalling $1,000 or more — lump sum or aggregated — received after the pre-primary or pre-election reporting period closes, up to 48 hours before the election, within 48 hours of receipt. The 2026 windows run 11 April to 6:00 am on 3 May, and 10 October to 6:00 am on 1 November.
Statewide candidates, the $10,000 rule
A statewide candidate receiving a single contribution of $10,000 or more at any time files CFA-11 by noon seven days after receipt.
Registering your committee
In Indiana the form is: Form CFA-1 — Candidate’s Statement of Organization
Due at whichever comes first: noon ten days after becoming a candidate, noon seven days after the final candidacy filing deadline, or the date your first CFA-4 is due. CFA-2 is the PAC form, CFA-3 is for regular party committees.
A candidate committee organizes on form CFA-1, the Candidate’s Statement of Organization. CFA-2 is the PAC form and CFA-3 is for regular party committees — filing the wrong one is a common and consequential error. Every candidate for an office paying $5,000 or more a year must have a principal committee even if they raise nothing. File by whichever comes first: noon ten days after becoming a candidate, noon seven days after the final candidacy filing deadline, or the date your first CFA-4 is due. For local offices paying under $5,000 a year and for school board, CFA-1 is required only within ten days of exceeding $500 raised or spent.
Who files where
File and edit your reports in Indiana Campaign Finance Online. Candidates filing with a county board may use a different system — confirm with your county election office.
Statewide and state legislative candidates, and the committees supporting them, file with the Indiana Election Division electronically. Judicial, prosecuting attorney, local and school board candidates file with the county election board — school board candidates with every county in the district. A committee that files with the Division does not also file with a county board.
If you miss a deadline
A delinquent report costs $50 per calendar day up to $1,000 per report, with the afternoon of deadline day counting as day one, plus investigative costs. A defective report not corrected after notice runs $10 per day up to $100. Only the Indiana Election Commission or the county election board may waive or reduce a fine, by unanimous agreement at a public hearing. Failure to file is a Class B misdemeanour; a fraudulent report is a Level 6 felony.
Keeping Indiana records ready to file
Whoever files your reports, the work is the same: capture every contributor field at the point of donation, keep running totals against the itemization threshold, and reconcile before each deadline. Campaign Deputy does that for campaigns in the states it supports.
Sources
- IC 3-9-5-14 — what a campaign finance report must contain
- IC 3-9-2-4 — contribution limits, corporations and labor organizations
- Indiana Election Division — campaign finance
- 2026–2027 Campaign Finance Reporting Schedule
- 2026 Campaign Finance Manual
- Indiana Campaign Finance Online — file and edit reports
- Indiana Campaign Finance Online — forms by committee type
