How to File

• MD CRIS: Using any Internet browser, log in at www.campaignfinance.maryland.gov. You can file your campaign finance report up to 11:59pm on the filing deadline. An email will be sent to you verifying the submission of the report.
  
  Reports can be entered directly into our MD CRIS online filing system, or they can be uploaded into MD CRIS as Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets if they meet the file format requirements. See below for information about the file format requirements.

Each responsible officer of the political committee established prior to November 30, 2011 must activate their individual access to MD CRIS via "Reconnect to your Committee" right below the log in feature in order to complete the filing process if you have not already done so. In order to complete the activation online, you will need one of the following to enter in the system:

1. Your Driver's license number;
2. The last 4 numbers of your Social Security Number; or
3. Your Voter Registration ID number.

Note: Using your Voter Registration ID is the most reliable way to activate your committee.

Penalty for Failure to File on Time

There is a late filing fee for each Campaign Finance Report or Affidavit that is not filed on or before the due date. The fee is $20 per day for the first 6 days that a pre-election report or affidavit is overdue and $10 per day thereafter. If the report is a post-election report the fee is $10 for each day the report is late. The maximum fee chargeable is $250.

Note: The report must be filed whether or not transactions occurred.

File Formats

The latest file formats can be found on the MD CRIS website. You may view them when logged into your CRIS account by going to the 'Upload Transactions' link under the menu tab. This link appears on the left hand side when you have clicked the 'Menu' tab. The latest file format specifications are current as of August 21, 2012 Revision 0.00.

If you are not using any other software besides MD CRIS to manage the accounting for your committee, you may find it easier to enter your transactions directly into MD CRIS, instead of uploading Microsoft Excel Spreadsheets which meet our file formats. The potential exists for more errors and may require more troubleshooting when using the file formats. The file formats are usually intended for third-party software vendors whose software generates the file formats automatically.

To meet the file format requirements, you may also need to download CCFID's and Contributor/PayeeIDs for your specific MD CRIS account. These are also located in the 'Upload Transactions' screen which is accessible when logged into your CRIS account by going to the 'Upload Transactions' link under the menu tab. This link appears on the left hand side when you have clicked the 'Menu' tab.

Files for third party software vendors - for testing purposes only - appear below.

• Sample CCFID file
• Sample Contributor/PayeeIDs
• Sample Contribution Data
• Sample Expenditure Data
• File Format Specification for Contributions as of August 21, 2012 Revision 0.00
• File Format Specification for Expenditures as of August 21, 2012 Revision 0.00

Vendors: Please send your test import files (output from your third party software) to our Database Administrator, Kurt Snyder at ksnyder@elections.state.md.us.