Registration of Political Parties

The Chief Executive of the Electoral Commission is the Registrar of Political Parties. All political parties must be on the Register of Political Parties. A political party must be on the Register of Political Parties in order to contest all or any of the following elections:

• A Dáil election
• A European Parliament election
• A local election

If you would like to enquire about registering a political party please email info@electoralcommission.ie

There are specific timelines to register a party or amend the Register (see below):

If you would like to learn more about registering a political party, please see the forms and guidance below:

The Register is important as part of the function of being a registered political party, listed in the Register, is that it formalises for ballot papers if a person is a candidate for a registered political party or not.

Also if a Party is not on the Register, then a party emblem cannot appear on the ballot paper.  

If a decision of the Registrar in respect of registration, amendment or cancellation is made

• after the date of issue of the writ or writs for a Dáil election, or
• after the date of the relevant ministerial order for a Local, Limerick mayoral or European election,

the decision will not have effect for the particular election called.

Under Section 51(5) of the Electoral Reform Act 2022 as amended, the Register of Political Parties which has effect for an election, is that which was in effect on the date that the Minister for Housing, Local Government and Heritage signed the Polling Day Orders which set election date and times. Once polling day orders are signed the published Register remains static until after the election.

Any decision the Registrar may make to alter the Register after polling day orders are signed cannot have effect until after the election. Regardless of whether an application to register a new party or to alter existing register details is complete or not, the Register will not be updated until after the election.

If parties do not inform the Registrar’s office of changes for a period of time, election time limits will affect how party candidates may appear on ballot papers. 

Parties are requested to notify the Registrar’s office of any changes in Register details as soon as they arise. The completed application form can be emailed to registrar@electoralcommission.ie or posted to the Commission’s office, marked ‘Private and Confidential’ to the Registrar of Political Parties, An Coimisiún Toghcháin,  the Electoral Commission, Block M, Dublin Castle, Dublin 2, D02 X8X8.

No. The Register of Political Parties only lists political parties not any individual election candidate (whether a party candidate or a Non Party candidate). 

If a political party is not on the Register, a candidate has to appear on the ballot paper listed as ‘Non Party’. If a candidate is ‘Non Party’ they have to nominate themselves for Dáil, European Parliament or Local or Limerick Mayoral elections. This means either (i) lodging a monetary deposit or (ii) arranging for a number of electors to support their candidacy (who are registered to vote and who live in the area in which the candidate is standing).