Search Advice Letters

Every year the Commission responds to hundreds of requests from candidates and public officials about their obligations under the Political Reform Act and Section 1090. Thousands of advice letters have been issued since the Commission was established in 1974. 

You can search all of the advice letters the Commission has issued since 1984 using the fields below. 

Advice Letters are issued pursuant Government Code Sections 1097.1(c)(2) and 83114(b). Advice is applicable only to the specific question and requesting party and are provided here for informational and archival purposes. Advice Letters do not have precedential value for any other party and should not be relied upon except by the requestor. Applicable laws and regulations are subject to change. Citations provided reflect the law applicable at the time of the request.

Advice pertaining to Government Code Section 1090, issued under Section 1097.1(c)(2), is not binding on any other local or state law enforcement agency, and is not admissible in a criminal proceeding against any individual other than the requester. It may be offered as evidence of good faith by the requester in an FPPC enforcement proceeding if all material facts were truthfully disclosed to the FPPC and the requester relied on the advice.  

For the requesting party, formal advice involving a specific question relating to the Political Reform serves as a complete defense in an enforcement proceeding initiated by the Commission and evidence of good faith conduct in any other civil or criminal proceeding.

Search for an Advice Letter

You may also view the Advice Letter Reports by following the link below. The Commission started issuing monthly reports on advice letters in May 2020.

Advice Letter Reports