How to Run for Office in Florida
A candidate filing guide from Campaign Partner, websites for candidates since 2011.
Your Campaign Website
When you file, your name becomes public and voters, reporters and donors will search for it. Have your website ready first - Campaign Partner sites are ready at signup, from $29/month, free domain name included.
Getting on the Ballot
Florida candidates qualify for the ballot during a short statutory qualifying period - typically a single noon-to-noon week set in law for each office group. You qualify by paying a qualifying fee based on a percentage of the office's salary (plus a party assessment for partisan candidates), or by the petition method: collecting signatures from 1% of registered voters in the district, which waives the fee but must be completed and verified well before the qualifying period opens. Write-in candidates qualify free but don't appear on the ballot.
Before you accept a single contribution, spend money, or collect a single petition signature, you must file an Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository with your filing officer and open a campaign account.
Statewide, legislative, multi-county, and most judicial candidates qualify with the Division of Elections in Tallahassee; everyone else qualifies locally.
Where Local Candidates File
County offices, school board, county judges, and special district candidates qualify with the county Supervisor of Elections; municipal candidates qualify with their city clerk. Your qualifying officer is also where your campaign treasurer appointment and campaign finance reports are filed. Florida's Supervisors of Elections publish some of the best local candidate handbooks in the country - ask yours for the current one.
Running for a local office? See what a school board, city council, mayor or county commissioner campaign website needs.
Worth Knowing
- Florida's resign-to-run law: if you currently hold an office whose term overlaps the one you're seeking, you must submit an irrevocable resignation before qualifying. This catches sitting officeholders every cycle - read ยง99.012, Florida Statutes, before committing.
- The qualifying window is short and the deadlines are hard noon deadlines - paperwork problems discovered on Friday morning of qualifying week can end a campaign. Most filing officers accept qualifying papers early for review; use that.
- Financial disclosure (Form 6 or Form 1) is filed electronically through the Florida Commission on Ethics system, and a copy goes to your qualifying officer - register in the e-filing system before qualifying week, not during it.
Official Florida Resources
Filing deadlines, fees, and signature requirements change from cycle to cycle. Always confirm current details with the official sources below.
This page was last reviewed on August 4, 2026. Process details above are believed current as of that date; deadlines and fees should always be verified with your election office.