Starting from zero

What the law allows

Associação (association; “Associação na Hora”) — A non-profit legal entity created at a registry counter on the same day using model statutes; costs €300 (free for student associations) and needs at least two members present. Allows a bank account, contracts and donations; can't field candidates. Afterwards, the beneficial owner must be registered (RCBE) within 30 days. Source

Grupo de cidadãos eleitores (citizens' electoral group) — Only exists in local elections (municipal council, municipal assembly and parish): the list is proposed by 3% of registered voters, with floors and caps (for example, between 250 and 4,000 in the larger municipalities); signatures can be collected on an online platform. In parliamentary and European elections, only parties and coalitions. Source

Candidatura presidencial (presidential candidacy) — No party is needed to run for President of the Republic: the candidacy is proposed by 7,500 to 15,000 registered voters. Source

Partido político (political party) — Registered with the Constitutional Court at the request of at least 7,500 registered voters (Lei dos Partidos Políticos, art. 15); the court checks the statutes and signatures. The only route into parliamentary and European elections; funding and accounts are audited. Source

What the law allows

Associação (association) — A union of people for non-economic purposes (Civil Code, art. 53) that comes into legal existence when its statutes are registered at a legal-entities registry; then a tax number (CNPJ) and a bank account. Can take donations and run issue campaigns, but can't field candidates. Registry fees (emolumentos) are set by each state's law (Lei 10.169/2000), so costs and times vary. Source

No candidaturas avulsas (no independent candidacies) — The Constitution requires party membership to stand for office (art. 14, §3, V): there are no citizens' lists and no independent candidates. Anyone who wants to run must have their party membership accepted, and be registered to vote in the constituency, at least six months before the election (Lei 9.504/1997, art. 9). Source

Partido político (political party) — Founding one takes at least 101 founders registered to vote in a third of the states and, within two years, support from non-member voters equal to 0.5% of the valid votes in the last Chamber election, spread across a third of the states (about 547,000 signatures in the 2022–2026 cycle). In practice, most movements negotiate with an existing party. Source

What the law allows

Asociación (association) — A minimum of three founders, a founding deed and statutes; registration with the National Register of Associations (or your autonomous community's register) requires paying a fee (€38.89 at the National Register, according to the Interior Ministry). Gives an account, contracts and donations; can't field candidates. Source

Agrupación de electores (voters' group) — Electoral law allows parties, federations, coalitions and voters' groups to field candidates (LOREG, art. 44). A voters' group needs signatures from voters in the constituency: 1% of registered voters for Congress and Senate (art. 169), 15,000 for European elections (art. 220) and, in municipal elections, from 1% of registered voters in towns under 5,000 inhabitants up to 8,000 in cities over one million, certified by a notary or the municipal secretary (art. 187). Source

Partido político y coalición (party and coalition) — Parties and federations entered in the relevant register can field candidates, and parties can join forces in a coalition for an election (LOREG, art. 44). Check the parties act for registration and funding requirements. Source

What the law allows

Association loi 1901 (association) — A declaration to the département's greffe des associations (online via e-création), with statutes signed by at least two officers; a receipt within 5 days and free publication in the Journal officiel, which gives legal personality. It is the basis of almost every French collective and party. Source

Candidature sans parti (candidacy without a party) — In most elections you can run without a party; the presidential election requires 500 sponsorships from elected officials in at least 30 departments or overseas territories, with no more than a tenth from any one department. Every candidacy has a financial agent and files campaign accounts; an individual may give at most €4,600 per election, and donations from legal entities are banned. Source

Parti politique (political party) — Usually an association that receives donations through an agent or a financing association approved by the CNCCFP; an individual may give at most €7,500 a year in donations and dues across all parties, and accounts are certified (law of 11 March 1988). Source

What the law allows

Eingetragener Verein, e.V. (registered association) — Registered at the local court (Amtsgericht) with statutes; the law asks for at least seven members for registration. Gives an account, contracts and limited liability; charitable status (gemeinnützig) restricts party-political activity. Source

Wählergruppe / Wählervereinigung (voters' association) — In municipal and district elections, non-party voters' groups put forward lists, with or without statutes; lists not yet represented usually need supporting signatures. The rules belong to each state (Land): in Bavaria, for example, new lists need 40 to 1,000 supporting signatures depending on municipality size (GLKrWG, art. 27). Check your state's local election law. Source

Einzelbewerber und Partei (individual candidate and party) — For the Bundestag, a candidate without a party can run in a constituency with 200 signatures from local voters; state lists are for parties only. An association loses party status if it goes six years without contesting elections. Source

What the law allows

Associazione (association) — Either an unrecognised association, created by agreement among its members (those who act on its behalf may be personally liable), or a Third Sector entity entered in the RUNTS register, with more obligations and tax benefits; parties and unions can't be Third Sector entities (Codice del Terzo settore, art. 4). Check costs and timelines. Source

Lista civica (civic list) — In municipal elections, any group can field a list and a mayoral candidate with authenticated voter signatures: from 25–50 in towns of 1,000 to 2,000 inhabitants up to 1,000–1,500 in cities of over a million; none below 1,000 inhabitants. Source

Partito (party) — Legally, usually an unrecognised association. New lists can contest national elections by collecting signatures: for the Chamber, the 2017 law requires 1,500 to 2,000 voters per multi-member constituency (half if parliament is dissolved more than 120 days early), and parties with a parliamentary group in both chambers are exempt. Check the rules for each election, including European ones. Source

What the law allows

Unincorporated association — A group with written rules and no registration; it can open an account in the group's name, but the members who sign may be personally liable. If it makes political contributions of more than £37,270 in a year (donations to parties, for example), it must notify the Electoral Commission within 30 days; its own campaign spending has other rules — check. Source

Independent candidate — The law lets you stand without representing any party, as “Independent” or with no description; a party name on the ballot requires a registered party. Source

Registered party — Registration with the Electoral Commission costs £150, including for parish or community elections only. The law requires a registered leader, nominating officer and treasurer (the leader may also hold one or both of the other roles), plus a constitution and a financial scheme. Check the current processing time. Source

Charity — Can campaign politically in line with its purpose, but not support parties; above a certain level of spending in the year before an election, it registers as a non-party campaigner. Source

What the law allows

501(c)(3) and fiscal sponsorship — A tax-exempt organisation with deductible donations, barred from supporting or opposing candidates; it can run non-partisan voter education and registration. A new group can operate under the fiscal sponsorship of a 501(c)(3) that receives donations on its behalf, with a written agreement. Source

501(c)(4) (social welfare organisation) — Can do advocacy and some political activity, as long as it isn't its primary activity; donations are not deductible — check. Source

PAC (political action committee) — A committee that raises and spends money to influence federal elections and registers with the FEC; super PACs spend independently of campaigns. State and local elections follow each state's laws. Source

Independent candidacy — Allowed. In federal elections, anyone who raises or spends more than $5,000 registers with the FEC, with or without a party. Ballot access follows each state's rules: in Texas in 2026, an independent running statewide needed 81,030 signatures (1% of the 2022 vote for governor) from voters who had not voted in a party primary for that office. Check with your state election office. Source

What the law allows

Candidatura independiente (independent candidacy) — Allowed for federal office: you must set up an asociación civil and gather citizen support — 1% of the voter list in at least 17 states for the presidency (120 days), 2% in the state for the Senate (90 days) and 2% in the district for a deputy (60 days). Source

Asociación civil, A.C. (civil association) — Usually set up before a notary and registered; gives a bank account, receipts and contracts. For an independent candidacy, the law requires an A.C. made up of at least the aspirant, their legal representative and the person managing the funds, using the INE's model statutes, registered with the SAT (tax authority) and with its own bank account (LGIPE, art. 368). Check notary costs and timelines in your state. Source

Partido político nacional (national political party) — A citizens' organisation notifies the INE in January of the year after the presidential election and needs assemblies with 3,000 members in 20 states (or 300 in 200 districts) and members equal to 0.26% of the electoral roll (256,030 in the 2025–2026 process). Source

What the law allows

Asociación civil (civil association) — A non-profit legal entity (Código Civil y Comercial, arts. 168–169): the founding act is executed as a public deed and registered once the supervisory body has authorised it (in the City of Buenos Aires, the Inspección General de Justicia; in the provinces, the local body). Gives an account and donations; can't field candidates. Check costs and timelines. Source

Partido político (political party) — Parties hold the exclusive right to nominate candidates (Law 23,298, art. 2), but may put non-members on their lists if their charter allows. Recognition requires backing from 4 per thousand of the district's voters (up to 1 million) and then members in the same proportion; a national party needs five or more districts. Source

Alianza / frente electoral (electoral alliance or front) — Two or more parties can form district or national alliances to field candidates; confederations are permanent alliances. It is the usual route for movements without their own party to get onto a list. Source