File a Complaint

Requirements for Filing a Complaint or Referral.

A complaint or referral must:

1. Be filed with the Enforcement Division via the Electronic Complaint System. Complaints are not accepted by email.
   • A Video on how to use the Electronic System are also available. 
2. Identify the person(s) who allegedly violated the Act (if known) and the specific provision(s) of the Act allegedly violated.
3. Describe with as much particularity as possible the facts constituting each alleged violation.
4. State the facts that support the complainant's belief that a person has violated the Act and include any documents or other evidence supporting this conclusion.
5. Include or describe with as much particularity as possible evidence or means of obtaining evidence in support of the complaint.
6. Include the name and current contact information of any potential witness (if known).

Complaint Types

Sworn Complaints

Sworn complaints are filed under penalty of perjury. A complainant filing a sworn complaint must check the box indicating that the complaint is being filed under penalty of perjury. After submitting the complaint, the complainant will receive an email confirming receipt if they provide a return email address.

Unless the Chief of Enforcement determines otherwise, within three business days of receiving a sworn complaint, the Enforcement Division will send a copy of it to the person(s) alleged to have violated the law, regardless of whether the person is named as a respondent in the complaint. Then, within 14 days of receiving a sworn complaint, the Enforcement Division will inform the complainant of its intended course of action. If a person who filed a sworn complaint disagrees with the Enforcement Division's intended action, other than needing additional time to consider, the person may submit a written request for reconsideration to the Executive Director of the Commission within 20 calendar days of receipt of the response. The Executive Director may deny the request, or based on good cause, direct the Enforcement Division Chief to take specified action consistent with the Act and its regulations.

Non Sworn Complaints

Non Sworn complaints are not filed under penalty of perjury but do require identification of the complainant.  After submitting the complaint, the complainant will receive an email confirming receipt if they provide a return email address.

For non-sworn complaints, information about complaint disposition is publicly available on the FPPC’s Complaint and Case Information Portal.

Anonymous Complaints 

A complaint sent to the FPPC is subject to the Public Records Act and public disclosure, except under very limited circumstances. If you wish to keep your identity as the complainant confidential, you may file the complaint anonymously. This is the only way to guarantee that your name will not be disclosed. Check "Anonymous Complaint," and ensure that you do not include any identifying information in the complaint, including attachments, since complaints are public and disclosable records. 

Avoid using your browser's back button or navigating back within the form to change your complaint type. Doing so can cause your complaint to include identifying information you previously input, even if you chose to be anonymous. Instead, clear your browser's cache and cookies, close the browser, and restart the form. Please also delete any descriptive metadata (information about the author of a document or location a picture was taken that is stored within the document). Enforcement staff does not redact metadata from documents and complaints.

For anonymous complaints, information about complaint disposition is publicly available on the FPPC’s Complaint and Case Information Portal.

If you believe circumstances allow the FPPC to keep your identity confidential despite disclosure of your identity in the complaint, please send an email to intake@fppc.ca.gov requesting to discuss the matter with an attorney in the Enforcement Division before submitting your complaint. An attorney will contact you to assess your status and advise you of the possibility of withholding disclosure of your identity. However, the granting of confidentiality is very limited and, if the confidentiality is challenged, a court ultimately could determine that the complaint must be made public and the FPPC would be required to disclose your identity. This is why the only way to guarantee that your name will not be disclosed is to file an anonymous complaint.

Referrals

Filing officers must submit referrals to the Enforcement Division using the Electronic Complaint System. To refer a matter for prosecution by the Enforcement Division, provide the information requested on the complaint form and at least two written notifications. 

• For Statement of Economic Interests (SEI) referrals, provide a copy of the most recently filed SEI, and a copy of the conflict of interest code. Please also provide the information listed in Statement of Economic Interests Non-Filer: Referral Checklist (PDF).
• For campaign referrals, provide a copy of the most recently filed campaign statement. Please also provide the information listed in the Campaign Non-Filer: Referral Checklist (PDF). 

Once you click submit, you will receive an email confirming receipt. You will also be notified when the Enforcement Division resolves the matter.

Documentary Evidence

If you have documents containing evidence of the alleged violations, include a narrative in the complaint form setting forth which allegation each document supports and the document’s relevance to the specific allegation. To upload attachments, use the document uploader, select your file, click upload, and then submit. File names must be 80 characters or less.

Disclaimers

1. Before submitting your complaint, please ensure that you have included all relevant information and documentation. Submitting additional information or amendments to complaints after submittal will result in delays in processing your complaint.
2. Please do not submit multiple identical complaints, as duplicate filings will not expedite or change the Enforcement Division’s resolution of the matter, but will instead result in processing delays.
3. Please do not rely solely on Artificial Intelligence (AI) to support your complaint. The Enforcement Division has recently received several complaints generated and supported by incorrect AI analysis, leading to their rejection.
4. The complaint form works best on Google Chrome and we suggest you use this browser to submit the complaint. If you are unable to see the complaint form on your screen, please try clearing cache and cookies from your browser. Close the browser after clearing, open a new window, and start again. 

If you have questions or problems submitting your complaint or referral, please email intake@fppc.ca.gov and we will assist you.

Additional Helpful Hints

• If you are unfamiliar with how to remove metadata, please see below for more information on how to:
  • Remove Metadata from Office Files, PDFs, and Images
  • Remove Metadata From Mac Word
• Please enter only one phone number into the phone number field(s). Please enter the phone number with only the digits, no extensions (e.g., 1234567890). If you have additional phone numbers or contact info, please input that information into the notes section at the end of the form. 
  
  

fppc electronic complaint form