Deadline to run for president

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There is no formal, national deadline to file to run for president of the United States. Instead, candidates must meet a variety of state-specific filing requirements and deadlines to appear on each state's election ballot.

These regulations, which are set at the state level, are known as ballot access laws. They often include collecting a certain number of signatures or paying a filing fee. A presidential candidate must prepare to meet ballot access requirements well in advance of primaries, caucuses, and the general election if he or she wants to make it to the election ballot.

The first filing deadline for a presidential state primary was November 8, 2019, in Alabama.

Candidates also file with the Federal Election Commission, which has its own reporting requirements regarding campaign finance statements.

This page provides a brief overview of the 2020 filing deadlines and requirements by state for individuals running as a Democratic, Republican, independent, or write-in candidate. For a more detailed overview of ballot access requirements for presidential candidates, including minor party candidates, click here.

Qualifications

Article 2, Section 1, of the United States Constitution sets the following qualifications for the presidency:

“	No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen of the United States, at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution, shall be eligible to the Office of President; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.	”
—United States Constitution

Major party candidates

The table below summarizes general filing procedures for a candidate seeking the nomination of his or her party in 2020. Please note that this information is not necessarily exhaustive. Specific filing requirements can vary by party and by state. For more information, contact the appropriate state-level party. In the table below, blank cells indicate that we have not yet collected filing information for that state. We will update this information as soon as possible.

Independent candidates

The table below summarizes general filing procedures for independent presidential candidates in 2020.

Write-in candidates

Although a write-in candidate is not entitled to ballot placement, he or she may still be required to file paperwork in order to have his or her votes tallied (or to be eligible to serve should the candidate be elected). A total of 33 states require a write-in presidential candidate to file some paperwork in advance of an election. In nine states, write-in voting for presidential candidates is not permitted. The remaining states do not require presidential write-in candidates to file special paperwork before the election.

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