Political Consultant Registrations
Seattle’s Political Consulting Registration regulation was enacted in December 2025 as SMC 4.16.072 (Ordinance 127379) to establish reporting and disclosure requirements for political consultants.
Political Consultant Registration Form - Blank fillable .pdf
2026 Registrations
John Wyble/Winpower - Neighbors for Nilu
Political Consulting Registration FAQs
How do I register? Complete the Political Consultant Registration Form on the Seattle Ethics and Elections Commission (SEEC) Political Consulting Registration page.
Who must register? The law requires political consultants to register with the SEEC and disclose those who provide political consulting services on their behalf and to disclose any contracts the political consultant holds with the City.
When do I have to register? A political consultant must register with SEEC within 15 days after providing any political consulting services.
When do I disclose my contract with the City? Within 15 days of accepting a City consulting contract, a person that is performing work as a political consultant for a City election campaign must disclose to the SEEC that they have accepted a City consulting contract and disclose the City department for which they are consulting. City contracts can be reported on your Political Consulting Registration form.
Where can I see who has registered? Completed Political Consulting Registration forms will be posted within five days of receipt on SEEC’s Political Consulting Registration page.
Where can I find the Political Consulting Registration law? You can find Ordinance 127379 on our Political Consulting Registration page.Once the law is recodified, you can find it as SMC 4.16.072 on the SEEC Rules and Procedures page here: https://www.seattle.gov/ethics/commission/rules-and-procedures
Definitions
"Political consultant" means a person that provides compensated political consulting services to: an elected official; a candidate for City office; or the authorized campaign committee registered with the Washington Public Disclosure Commission for a City ballot proposition. “Political consultant” does not include: a City employee; an accountant, attorney, pollster, or professional fundraiser who provides only accounting, legal, polling, or fundraising services, respectively; or a vendor or sub-vendor who supplies goods or services other than political consulting services for an election campaign.
"Political consulting services" means compensated actions in City campaign management and political strategy services, including but not limited to: advocacy and strategy; political polling; advising or assisting in voter contact strategies and services; advising in media strategy, buying, and advertisement; providing candidate development, policy training, political image consulting, and designing, implementing, and analyzing polls and surveys; performing issues research and opposition research; developing and assisting in strategic communication such as news releases, talking points, and speech writing; and advising on negative information handling and political crisis management.