File to Run for Office

Qualifications

If you wish to declare candidacy, you must meet certain qualifications. Review and determine that you meet the qualifications for:

• Alderperson
• Comptroller
• Mayor
• President of the Board of Aldermen

For additional information regarding qualifications to file for an office, please contact the Board of Elections at (314) 622-4336.

Dates and Deadlines

Take note of the filing deadlines and election years for each office. You may not file your Declaration before filing opens.

(Mayor, President of the Board of Aldermen, Comptroller and Alderpersons)

1. Obtain a certificate of nomination. This is a list of signatures from registered voters in St. Louis City stating that they endorse you as a candidate for office. It is a multi-step process, so it's important to start early. Learn how to obtain a certificate of nomination.
2. Visit the City Treasurer's Office and pay a filing fee. You must bring your receipt from the Treasurer to the Election Board when you file, to show proof of payment of filing fee.
3. Obtain official receipts or statements of no taxes due and no outstanding bills for services obtained from the Collector of Revenue's Office.
4. Bring the above documents to:

Board of Election Commissioners
300 N. Tucker Blvd.
St. Louis, Missouri 63101

• $250 for Mayor, President of the Board of Aldermen, and Comptroller
• $100 for Alderperson

Filing a Declaration of Candidacy is the first step, but candidacy is not complete until all required elements have been submitted and verified. Please ensure that you've submitted all the items on the list of requirements for your office.

Once filing is complete, candidates are required to adhere to strict recordkeeping, conflict of interest, ethics, and campaign finance disclosure laws administered by the Missouri Ethics Commission. Information about mandatory ethics filing dates and reporting requirements can be found on the Missouri Ethics Commission website. At the time of filing, Board staff will provide pamphlets and information about these requirements. Candidates and interested parties may also visit the Board office during regular business hours with questions.

Please note that the Board of Election Commissioners serves a ministerial and administrative role in the filing process for all offices. Board staff will verify that all required documents have been submitted and, where applicable, that certificates of nomination contain the requisite number of signatures on their face, but does not independently investigate or audit any candidate's underlying qualifications for office, whether for municipal or county offices. Any challenge to another candidate's qualifications must be pursued through the appropriate legal process.

Qualifications

If you wish to declare candidacy, you must meet certain qualifications. Review and determine that you meet the qualifications for:

• Circuit Attorney
• Collector of Revenue
• Committeeman/Committeewoman
• License Collector
• Recorder of Deeds
• Sheriff
• Treasurer

For additional information regarding qualifications to file for an office, please contact the Board of Elections at (314) 622-4336.

Dates and Deadlines

Take note of the filing deadlines and election years for each office. Candidates may not file their Declarations before filing opens.

(Circuit Attorney, Collector of Revenue, License Collector, Recorder of Deeds, Sheriff, and Treasurer)

Candidates with Party Designation

A party candidate seeks nomination through a primary election to appear on the general election ballot under a party label.

Requirements

• File a Declaration of Candidacy in person at the Board of Election Commissioners during the filing period.
• Pay a filing fee of $100.00 to the treasurer of the county central committee of the party on whose ticket the candidate seeks nomination, or present a receipt of such payment at the time of filing. Candidates may submit the filing fee sum to the Election Board at the time of filing for the Election Board to transfer to the appropriate political party central committee.
• Provide proof of identity at the time of filing.

A candidate who cannot pay the filing fee may file a Declaration of Inability to Pay along with a petition signed by registered voters equal to at least one percent of the total votes cast for the office at the last election in which a candidate ran for that office. (§ 115.357 RSMo)

For Independent Candidates

An independent candidate bypasses the primary election and seeks placement on the general election ballot by petition. Independent candidates will appear without party designation on the general Election ballot.

Requirements

• File a petition with the Board of Election Commissioners signed by registered voters of the county equal to at least two percent of the total number of voters who voted at the last election for the office being sought, or ten thousand voters, whichever is less (§ 115.321 RSMo)
• Petitions must be filed no later than 5:00 p.m. on the fifteenth Monday immediately preceding the general election (§ 115.329 RSMo)
• No filing fee is required for independent candidates (§ 115.357(4) RSMo)

Note: A person who filed as a party candidate for the same office at the same election may not simultaneously file as an independent candidate without first withdrawing. (§ 115.351 RSMo) 

For Declared Write-In Candidate

A write-in candidate does not appear on the printed ballot but may receive and have counted votes written in by voters, provided they have filed a formal declaration in advance.

Requirements

• File a Declaration of Intent to be a Write-In Candidate with the Board of Election Commissioners no later than 5:00 p.m. on the second Friday immediately preceding the election (§ 115.453(4) RSMo)
• No filing fee is required

Note: A candidate who filed as a party or independent candidate for the same office may not file as a write-in candidate without first withdrawing. A candidate who sought party nomination and was not nominated at the primary may not file as a write-in candidate for the same office at the general election. Write-in votes will only be counted at General Elections for candidates who have properly filed this declaration.

• $100 for City Treasurer, Collector of Revenue, License Collector, Recorder of Deeds, Circuit Attorney, and Sheriff 

Filing a Declaration of Candidacy is the first step, but candidacy is not complete until all required elements have been submitted and verified. Please ensure that you've submitted all the items on the list of requirements for your office.

Once filing is complete, candidates are required to adhere to strict recordkeeping, conflict of interest, ethics, and campaign finance disclosure laws administered by the Missouri Ethics Commission. Information about mandatory ethics filing dates and reporting requirements can be found on the Missouri Ethics Commission website. At the time of filing, Board staff will provide pamphlets and information about these requirements. Candidates and interested parties may also visit the Board office during regular business hours with questions.

Please note that the Board of Election Commissioners serves a ministerial and administrative role in the filing process for all offices. Board staff will verify that all required documents have been submitted and, where applicable, that certificates of nomination contain the requisite number of signatures on their face, but does not independently investigate or audit any candidate's underlying qualifications for office, whether for municipal or county offices. Any challenge to another candidate's qualifications must be pursued through the appropriate legal process.

Qualifications

If you wish to declare candidacy, you must meet certain qualifications. Review and determine that you meet the qualifications for St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education.

For additional information regarding qualifications to file for an office, please contact the Board of Elections at (314) 622-4336.

Dates and Deadlines

Take note of the filing deadlines and election years for each office. Candidates may not file their Declarations before filing opens.

Candidates for the St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education file their declarations of candidacy with the Board of Election Commissioners. Board of Education elections are nonpartisan elections conducted under the general political subdivision election framework of Chapter 115 RSMo.

To be a Declared Candidate seeking to appear on the printed ballot must file a Declaration of Candidacy with the Board of Election Commissioners during the filing window.

• $100 for a candidate for the St. Louis Public Schools Board of Education

Filing a Declaration of Candidacy is the first step, but candidacy is not complete until all required elements have been submitted and verified. Please ensure that you've submitted all the items on the list of requirements for your office.

Once filing is complete, candidates are required to adhere to strict recordkeeping, conflict of interest, ethics, and campaign finance disclosure laws administered by the Missouri Ethics Commission. Information about mandatory ethics filing dates and reporting requirements can be found on the Missouri Ethics Commission website. At the time of filing, Board staff will provide pamphlets and information about these requirements. Candidates and interested parties may also visit the Board office during regular business hours with questions.

Please note that the Board of Election Commissioners serves a ministerial and administrative role in the filing process for all offices. Board staff will verify that all required documents have been submitted and, where applicable, that certificates of nomination contain the requisite number of signatures on their face, but does not independently investigate or audit any candidate's underlying qualifications for office, whether for municipal or county offices. Any challenge to another candidate's qualifications must be pursued through the appropriate legal process.