House lobbying disclosure is the federal system, run jointly by the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Secretary of the Senate, that requires paid lobbyists and the organizations that employ them to register on Form LD-1, file quarterly activity reports on Form LD-2, and file semiannual contribution reports on Form LD-203. The public hub for House-side filings and guidance sits at lobbyingdisclosure.house.gov, and the electronic filing and search system is at lda.congress.gov.1U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk. Lobbying Disclosure The rules come from the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995 as amended by the Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007.
Who Has to Register
You are a “lobbyist” under the statute if a client compensates you, you make more than one lobbying contact for that client, and your lobbying activities take up at least 20 percent of the time you spend serving that client over any three-month period.2Cornell Law Institute. 2 U.S.C. § 1602 – Definitions A “lobbying contact” is any oral, written, or electronic communication to a covered executive or legislative branch official, made for a client, about federal legislation, regulations, executive orders, programs, contracts or grants, or nominations subject to Senate confirmation.3U.S. Senate. Lobbying Disclosure Act – Definitions “Lobbying activities” is broader and includes the preparation, research, planning, and coordination that support those contacts.
Two dollar thresholds also gate registration. As of January 1, 2025, a lobbying firm does not have to register for a client if income from that client stays at or below $3,500 in a quarter. An organization with in-house lobbyists does not have to register if its total quarterly lobbying expenses stay at or below $16,000.4U.S. Senate. New Thresholds These figures are adjusted for inflation every four years, with the next adjustment set for January 1, 2029.1U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk. Lobbying Disclosure
The law lists 19 categories of communication that do not count as lobbying contacts even when they reach covered officials. Testimony before a congressional committee, speeches or materials distributed to the general public, communications by journalists gathering news, information provided in response to a specific official request, communications compelled by subpoena, and comments filed in public regulatory proceedings all fall outside the definition. Communications by public officials acting in their official capacity are also excluded, which means state, local, and tribal government employees lobbying federally in their official roles do not trigger the registration rules.5U.S. House of Representatives, Office of the Clerk. Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
The LD-1 Registration and the 45-Day Deadline
Once the thresholds are met, registration is due no later than 45 days after the lobbyist first makes a lobbying contact or is retained to do so, whichever comes first.6LDA.Congress.gov. LD-1 Requirements A lobbying firm files a separate LD-1 for each client. An organization that lobbies for itself files a single LD-1 covering its in-house lobbyists. The form is filed electronically with both the House Clerk and the Senate Secretary.
The LD-1 asks for identifying details about the registrant and the client: legal names, addresses, principal places of business, and descriptions of what each does. It requires the name of every individual expected to act as a lobbyist for the client and, for each one, whether that person held a “covered executive branch official” or “covered legislative branch official” position in the previous 20 years, and which position. Registrants pick from a list of issue-area codes and describe the specific legislative or executive matters they expect to work on. If any foreign entity owns at least 20 percent of the client, or otherwise controls or has a direct interest in the outcome, that entity must be disclosed on the form as well.7LDA.Congress.gov. LD-1 Form Instructions
Quarterly Activity Reports on Form LD-2
Registered filers must submit an LD-2 activity report for every quarter. Reports are due on the 20th day of the month after the quarter closes: April 20, July 20, October 20, and January 20. When that date falls on a weekend or holiday, the deadline shifts to the next business day.8U.S. Senate. Filing Deadlines The quarterly schedule dates to the 2007 amendments, which replaced the earlier twice-a-year cycle and cut the reporting thresholds.9EveryCRSReport.com. Honest Leadership and Open Government Act Amendments
Each LD-2 must contain a good-faith estimate of lobbying income (for firms) or lobbying expenses (for organizations), rounded to the nearest $10,000 when the figure is $5,000 or more. The report identifies each issue area lobbied on, describes the specific bills or executive actions involved, lists the chambers of Congress and federal agencies contacted, and names every individual who acted as a lobbyist for the client during the quarter. Any foreign interest in the specific issues must also be described.10LDA.Congress.gov. LD-2 Form Instructions
Semiannual Contribution Reports on Form LD-203
The 2007 law added a second stream of filings. Active registrants and each individual listed as a lobbyist must file LD-203 reports covering two periods a year: January 1 through June 30, due July 30, and July 1 through December 31, due January 30.11LDA.Congress.gov. LDA Guidance The LD-203 itemizes Federal Election Campaign Act contributions, payments to presidential library foundations and inaugural committees, honorary payments, and certain event-related costs. It also asks the filer to list any political action committee they established or control and to certify familiarity with House and Senate gift and travel rules and that they have not violated them.12LDA.Congress.gov. LD-203 Line-by-Line Instructions
Candidate committees, leadership PACs, and party committees have their own related duty: they must disclose registered lobbyists who bundle contributions above $15,000 in a covered period, including the lobbyist’s name, address, employer, and total bundled amount. Bundled contributions cover funds a lobbyist physically forwards and contributions the lobbyist gets credit for through formal tracking, honorary titles, or exclusive-event access.13Federal Election Commission. Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 2007
JACK Act Conviction Disclosures
The Justice Against Corruption on K Street Act, signed January 3, 2019, added a criminal-conviction disclosure for lobbyists. It covers bribery, extortion, embezzlement, illegal kickbacks, tax evasion, fraud, conflicts of interest, false statements, perjury, and money laundering.14GovInfo. JACK Act, Public Law 115-418 Both the date and a description of the conviction must appear on the LD-1 and on every LD-2 that lists the affected lobbyist. Once triggered, the disclosure stays on the filings for as long as the individual is listed.15U.S. Senate. Notice Regarding the JACK Act
Where to File and Where to Search
LD-1 registrations and LD-2 quarterly reports are filed and searchable through lda.congress.gov, and the Senate operates a parallel public search at lda.senate.gov that lets you filter by registrant, client, lobbyist, issue area, government entity contacted, filing period, dollar amount, and disclosed convictions.16U.S. Senate. LDA Filing Search LD-203 contribution reports go through a separate portal at lda.congress.gov/LC. The 2007 amendments require that all registration and disclosure forms be posted online in a searchable, sortable format.9EveryCRSReport.com. Honest Leadership and Open Government Act Amendments
Penalties for Missing or Defective Filings
When a filer misses a report, the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House sends a written notice. A filer who does not come into compliance within 60 days is referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia. Knowingly failing to fix a defective filing or otherwise comply can bring a civil fine of up to $200,000, depending on the extent and gravity of the violation. Knowingly and corruptly failing to comply is a criminal offense punishable by up to five years in prison.17U.S. Senate. Penalties
In practice, referrals outrun resolutions. Between 2015 and 2024, the U.S. Attorney’s Office received 3,566 referrals for failure to file quarterly reports; as of December 2024, about 36 percent had been resolved by the filer coming into compliance, and roughly 63 percent remained pending.18U.S. Government Accountability Office. 2024 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations on Compliance With Requirements The dedicated enforcement staff is small: two full-time employees, three part-time paralegal specialists, assistant U.S. attorneys assigned as needed, and two unpaid student interns per semester.19U.S. Government Accountability Office. GAO-25-107523
Where Filers Most Often Slip Up
The Government Accountability Office reviews compliance every year. Its April 2025 report, covering mid-2023 through mid-2024, found that 97 percent of lobbyists who filed new registrations also filed the required quarterly reports for the same period, 93 percent could produce documentation supporting their reported income or expenses, and 95 percent of LD-203s included all reportable political contributions.18U.S. Government Accountability Office. 2024 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations on Compliance With Requirements
The recurring problem is covered-position disclosure. An estimated 21 percent of quarterly reports listed lobbyists who had not properly disclosed prior government service, and the GAO noted continuing confusion about whether roles like paid congressional internships count as covered positions.20U.S. Government Accountability Office. GAO-25-107523 Full Report These same disclosures matter because former officials face post-employment restrictions under 18 U.S.C. § 207: former senior executive branch officials cannot make representational communications to their old department or agency for one year, former very senior officials face a two-year ban on influencing high-ranking officials across the executive branch, and all former executive branch employees face a lifetime ban on switching sides on specific matters they worked on personally and substantially. Former House members and senior House staff cannot make lobbying contacts with any member of Congress or congressional staff for one year after leaving; former senators face a two-year ban. Former members who register as lobbyists also lose their floor privileges in the chamber they served in.21EveryCRSReport.com. Post-Employment Lobbying Restrictions Getting the covered-position line right on the LD-1 and every subsequent LD-2 is what lets the public and enforcement staff check that timeline.
On JACK Act reporting, the GAO’s most recent sample of 258 individual lobbyists turned up no failures to report required criminal convictions.