Pre- and Post-General Reports (2020)
Campaign committees file a Pre- and Post-General Report for every general election their candidate runs in. House and Senate committees use Form 3 (access the PDF and instructions) for this report, while presidential committees use Form 3P (access the PDF and instructions).
Leading up to a general election, quarterly filing PACs and party committees must file a Pre-General Report if the committee makes contributions or expenditures (including independent expenditures) in connection with that election during the pre-general reporting period. Monthly filing PACs and party committees file a Pre- and Post-General Report instead of the November and December Reports. All PACs and party committees must file a Post-General Report 30 days after the general election, regardless of activity. PACs and party committees report on Form 3X (access the PDF and instructions).
Pre-General Reports include all activity from the close of books on the committee's last report through 20 days before the election. Post-General Reports include all activity from the close of books on the committee's last report through 20 days after the election.
Pre- and Post-General Reports
| Report | Period covered | Filing deadline [1] |
|---|---|---|
| Pre-General [2]
Congressional Presidential Quarterly filing PACs and parties [3] Monthly filing PACs and parties |
10/01/2020 - 10/14/2020 | 10/22/2020 |
| Post-General
Congressional Presidential All PACs and parties |
10/15/2020 - 11/23/2020 | 12/03/2020 |
FOOTNOTES:
[1] Meeting the Filing Deadline:
- Registered & Certified Mail. Reports sent by registered or certified mail must be postmarked on or before the mailing deadline to be considered timely filed -- except in the case of the Pre-General Report, consult footnote 2.
- Overnight Mail. Reports filed via overnight mail will be considered timely filed if the report is received by the delivery service on or before the mailing deadline.
- Other Means of Filing. Reports filed by any other means—including first class mail and courier—must be received by the Commission before the close of business on the last business day before the filing deadline.
[2] If sent by registered or certified mail, the Pre-General must be postmarked on or before October 19. If using overnight mail, the delivery service must receive the report on or before October 19.
[3] Required by PACs and parties only if committee makes contributions or expenditures in connection with election during the reporting period.
Methods of filing reports
Electronic filing
Reports filed electronically must be received and validated by the Commission by 11:59 p.m. Eastern Time on the filing deadline.
Paper filing
Paper filers must ensure their reports are received by the filing deadline. Report filing options: registered, certified or overnight or first-class mail.