Campaign Finance
All campaign finance reporting can be found in the Campaign Finance System. For detailed information regarding compliance with campaign finance law, please see our Campaign Finance Guide. To see filing statuses as of the most recent period, click on Vermont 2024 Candidates and Campaign Finance.
Candidate and PAC Reporting Dates – 17 V.S.A. §2964
2025
2026
- March 15
- July 1
- August 1
- September 1
- October 1
- October 15
- October 30 (Friday before election)
- November 17 (2 weeks after general election)
- December 15 (Final Report due; PAC and parties End of Cycle Report due)
Local Candidates and Public Question Advocacy
Candidates for local office who have raised or spent $500 or more must file campaign finance reports with the Office of the Secretary of State thirty days before, ten days before, 4 days before, and two weeks after the local election. A final report is due within 40 days of the elections.
PACs and parties that have raised or spent more than $500 to influence a local election or support candidates in a local election must file campaign finance reports with the Office of the Secretary of State on these same dates.
Any formal or informal committee of one or more individuals or another organization (not a political party) which spends $500 or more for the purpose of advocating a position on a public question must file reports of its expenditures on these same dates.
Contribution Limits
There is no longer a separate limit for the Primary and General elections. All limits are the total amount that may be contributed to the candidate, PAC, or party over the entire two-year period between elections 17 V.S.A. §2941. Limits are adjusted for inflation in accordance with 17 V.S.A. §2905.
- Contribution to Local Candidates
- $1,290 per election cycle from a single source or PAC
- Unlimited contributions from political parties
- Contributions to State Representative Candidates
- $1,290 per election cycle from a single source or PAC
- Unlimited contributions from political parties
- Contributions to State Senate and High Bailiff
- $1,940 per election cycle from a single source or PAC
- Unlimited contributions from political parties
- Contributions to County Office Candidates (4-year cycle)
- $1,940 per election cycle from a single source or PAC
- Unlimited contributions from political parties
- Candidates for probate judge and assistant judge should also be aware of the Vermont Code of Judicial Conduct
- Contributions to Statewide Candidates
- $5,180 per election cycle from a single source or PAC
- Unlimited contributions from political parties
- Contributions to Political Committees (PACs)
- $5,180 per election cycle from a single source or PAC
- $5,180 per election cycle from a political party
- Contributions to Political Parties
- $12,950 per election cycle from a single source or PAC
- $77,690 from a political party
Reporting
All campaign finance disclosures for all entities must be filed through the online filing system, see 17 V.S.A. §2961.
All candidates for statewide, general assembly, and county offices MUST register in the Vermont Secretary of State’s Campaign Finance System PRIOR to filing their consent of candidate form. When they register in the system, they can also choose to have their candidate information published in the Secretary of State’s Voter Guide.
Candidates for these offices who raise or spend $500 during the election cycle must file by each of the Candidate and PAC Reporting Dates (above). Candidates who roll over a surplus from a previous campaign must file a report for each reporting period in the new cycle regardless of whether they have had any activity in their account. Candidates who did not meet the threshold and did not roll over surplus from a previous campaign should log onto their Campaign Finance System account at each filing deadline to attest that they aren’t required to file.
Candidates for local office must register in the Campaign Finance System once they raise or spend $500 or more on their campaign. Candidates for local office should see the Campaign Finance Guide for reporting requirements.
Any person who makes expenditures for any one mass media activity totaling $650 or more within 45 days of a primary, general, or local election must file. For details, see the Campaign Finance Guide or 17 V.S.A. §2971.
Since Vermont law limits contributions to political committees (PACs) to $5,180, any political committee (PAC) that receives contributions greater than $5,180 is prohibited from making contributions to Vermont candidates unless it segregates the compliant contributions for use in Vermont.
Political Action Committees in Vermont
Under Vermont law, a political action committee (PAC) is “any formal or informal committee of one or more individuals or a corporation, labor organization, public interest group, or other entity, not including a political party, that accepts contributions or makes expenditures in any amounts in any two-year general election cycle for the purpose of supporting or opposing one or more candidates, influencing an election, or advocating a position on a public question in any election, and includes a legislative leadership political committee.” 17 V.S.A. §2901(13).
Any PAC that raises $500 or more or spends $500 or more within any two-year general election cycle must register with the Office of the Secretary of State and file all regularly required disclosure reports.
Independent Expenditure-Only Political Committee
Vermont law defines an independent expenditure-only political committee as “one or more individuals, or any corporation, labor organization, public interest group, or other entity, excluding a political party, that accepts contributions or makes expenditures in any amounts within any two-year general election cycle for the purpose of supporting or opposing candidates, influencing an election, or advocating for or against a public question; conducts its activities entirely independent of candidates; does not give contributions to candidates, political committees, or political parties; does not make related expenditures; and is not closely related to a political party or to a political committee that makes contributions to candidates or makes related expenditures.”
Vermont law notes that independent expenditure-only political committee includes “any ‘self-funded individual,’ meaning an individual who receives no contributions from any other source for the purpose of supporting or opposing candidates, influencing an election, or advocating for or against a public question.”
Currently, contribution limits do not apply to independent expenditure-only committees. The contribution limits will not apply to these “IE-only” committees unless and until the final disposition of a case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit or the U.S. Supreme Court holds that limits on contributions to independent expenditure-only political committees are constitutional. Although the contribution limits do not apply to independent expenditure-only committees, they must register with the Office of the Secretary of State within 10 days of reaching the threshold and must file all regularly required disclosure reports.
Federal and Out-of-State PACs or Political Parties
Any PAC or independent expenditure-only political committee that reaches the $500 raising and spending threshold must register with the Office of the Secretary of State, regardless of where the treasurer or principal place of business of the PAC or party is located. A PAC or political party with a principal place of business outside of Vermont or whose treasurer is not located in Vermont must file a statement with the Office of the Secretary of State designating a person who resides in the state as its representative.
Since Vermont law limits contributions to political committees (PACs), any PAC or independent expenditure-only political committee that receives contributions greater than the limit is prohibited from making contributions to Vermont candidates unless it segregates the compliant contributions for use in Vermont.
PACs Operating in Local Elections
Any PAC that has accepted contributions or made expenditures of $500 or more for the purpose of influencing a local election or supporting or opposing one or more candidates in a local election must register with the Office of the Secretary of State and file campaign finance reports thirty days before, ten days before, and two weeks after the local election.
Currently Registered PACs
Find registered PACs and reporting in the Campaign Finance System.