LD-2 Report: Deadlines, Contents, and Filing Process

An LD-2 report is the quarterly lobbying activity disclosure required under the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, filed electronically with both the Secretary of the Senate and the Clerk of the House. To meet the LD-2 report filing requirements, a registered lobbying firm or an organization with in-house lobbyists must submit the report through the Lobbying Disclosure Electronic Filing System by the 20th day of the month following each calendar quarter, listing the client, the issues lobbied, the chambers and agencies contacted, the lobbyists involved, and either the income received or the expenses incurred for that work.¹

Who Has to File

Two kinds of filers are on the hook: lobbying firms that represent outside clients, and organizations that employ their own in-house lobbyists. A lobbying firm is exempt from registration for a given client only if its total lobbying income from that client stays at or below $3,500 in a quarter. An organization lobbying for itself is exempt only if its total lobbying expenses stay at or below $16,000 for the quarter.² Once either threshold is crossed or expected to be crossed, registration is required within 45 days of the first lobbying contact, and quarterly LD-2 filings begin from there.³

These dollar figures are adjusted for inflation periodically, so anyone sitting close to the line is safer registering than guessing.

Who Counts as a Lobbyist on the Report

Not every employee who speaks with a government official has to be listed. An individual qualifies as a lobbyist under the LDA only if they make more than one lobbying contact and spend 20 percent or more of their working time on lobbying activities for that client over a three-month period.⁴ Both prongs must be met. Once an employee crosses both, their name goes on the LD-2.

A lobbying contact itself is any oral or written communication to a covered official, on behalf of a client, about federal legislation, regulations, executive orders, contracts, grants, or nominations. Covered officials include Members of Congress and their staff, committee employees, the President and Vice President, and senior executive branch appointees.⁵ The statute exempts a long list of routine interactions from the definition, including public testimony before a committee, responses to formal written requests, purely administrative scheduling calls, media reporting, comments filed in response to a Federal Register notice, and participation on a federal advisory committee.⁶

Quarterly Deadlines

LD-2 reports track the calendar quarter and are due 20 days after each one closes:

First quarter (January 1 to March 31): due April 20
Second quarter (April 1 to June 30): due July 20
Third quarter (July 1 to September 30): due October 20
Fourth quarter (October 1 to December 31): due January 20

When a deadline falls on a weekend or federal holiday, the report is due the next business day.⁷

What Each Report Must Contain

The LD-2 is available through the Lobbying Disclosure Electronic Filing System at lda.congress.gov and covers four broad areas: identification, lobbying activity, officials contacted, and money.¹

Identification and Issue Codes

Every report opens with the registrant’s name, address, and the registrant and client identification numbers assigned at initial LD-1 registration. Filers then pick one or more three-letter issue area codes describing the general subjects of the lobbying. The system uses roughly 80 codes, from TAX (Taxation) and HCR (Health Issues) to ENV (Environmental/Superfund) and DEF (Defense).⁸

Specific Issues and Contacts

Under each issue code, the filer has to describe the specific issues lobbied during the quarter, including bill numbers, resolution numbers, or the executive branch actions at stake whenever possible. The report must also name the chambers of Congress or federal agencies contacted and every individual who acted as a lobbyist on behalf of the client during the period.⁹ The description needs enough detail that someone reading the public database can tell what the lobbying was actually about.

Income or Expenses

Lobbying firms and in-house organizations part ways here. A lobbying firm reports income: the total received from each client for lobbying-related work during the quarter. If that income was less than $5,000, the firm checks a box. If it was $5,000 or more, the firm gives a good-faith estimate rounded to the nearest $10,000.¹⁰

An organization lobbying for itself reports expenses instead, including staff salaries, benefits, and overhead tied to lobbying activities. That organization also has to pick one of three accounting methods:

Method A uses definitions from the Lobbying Disclosure Act itself and is available to all organizations.
Method B uses Internal Revenue Code definitions under Section 4911(d) and is available only to nonprofits that report lobbying expenses under IRC Section 6033(b)(8).
Method C uses IRC definitions for lobbying costs that are not deductible under Section 162(e) and is available to any registrant subject to that provision.

The method chosen affects what gets counted and how, so switching between methods across quarters can create inconsistencies that draw scrutiny.¹¹

The report also requires disclosure of any foreign entity with an interest in the specific issues listed, and filers must flag whether any listed lobbyist has a prior conviction for bribery, fraud, tax evasion, or related offenses.⁹

How to Submit the Report

All LD-2 reports are filed electronically through the Lobbying Disclosure Electronic Filing System, which routes the submission to both the House and the Senate at once.¹ There is no paper option for routine filings. The system uses a digital signature to authenticate the submitter and generates a confirmation receipt with a tracking number once the filing is accepted. Save that receipt. If a dispute later arises about whether you filed on time, it is your proof.

After a short processing period the report appears in the public database maintained by both offices, searchable by registrant, client, or issue area.²

Fixing Errors and Ending a Registration

Amendments

A registrant must file an amended LD-2 immediately if the Secretary of the Senate or the Clerk of the House sends a deficiency notice, or if the registrant finds an error on their own. Amendments run through the same electronic system, with the amendment box marked on Line 9 of the form.⁸ After a deficiency notice, you have 60 days to correct the problem before penalties come into play.¹²

Termination

When lobbying for a client ends, you cannot simply stop filing. You must affirmatively terminate the registration by checking the “Terminate Report” box on the LD-2 for the quarter in which lobbying ceased and entering a termination date within that quarter. Lobbying firms with multiple clients file a separate termination for each client as the work ends; an in-house organization files a single termination for its registration. Removing a lobbyist from the issue pages of a report is not the same as delisting; delisting happens in the Update section, and it has to be done for every active client where that person previously appeared.¹³

Penalties and Oversight

A knowing failure to comply, including failing to fix a defective filing within 60 days of notice, can result in a civil fine of up to $200,000, with the amount tied to the extent and gravity of the violation. A knowing and corrupt violation of any provision of the Act carries up to five years in federal prison, a fine under Title 18, or both.¹² Criminal prosecutions are rare, but the Department of Justice has the authority to bring them.

Enforcement is not entirely reactive. The Government Accountability Office conducts annual audits of lobbyist compliance, sampling filed reports to see whether registrants are meeting their obligations. The audit published in 2025 was the eighteenth consecutive annual review under that mandate.¹⁴ Filers found non-compliant through audits or other means can be referred to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia.

The Separate LD-203 Obligation

Filing quarterly LD-2s does not finish the job. Every active registrant and every individual listed as a lobbyist on an LD-2 must also file a semiannual contribution report, the LD-203, due January 30 and July 30 each year. The LD-203 discloses political contributions of $200 or more to federal candidates, leadership PACs, and party committees, plus payments for events honoring covered officials, and it carries a certification that the filer has read and understands the House and Senate gift and travel rules and has not knowingly violated them. The report is required even if no contributions were made during the period; the certification alone makes it mandatory.¹⁵

1
United States Congress. Lobbying Disclosure Online Reporting
2
Office of the Clerk, United States House of Representatives. Lobbying Disclosure
3
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 2 USC 1603 – Registration of Lobbyists
4
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 2 USC 1602 – Definitions
5
U.S. Senate. 2 USC 1602 – Definitions
6
Office of the Clerk, United States House of Representatives. Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995
7
Lobbying Disclosure Act Guidance. Lobbying Report Requirements
8
United States Senate. Instructions for Form LD-2, Lobbying Report
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 2 USC 1604 – Reports by Registered Lobbyists
10
U.S. House of Representatives. LD-2 Instructions – Section: Lobbying Firms (Income)
11
Lobbying Disclosure Act Guidance. LD-2 Instructions
12
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 2 USC 1606 – Penalties
13
U.S. Senate. How to Terminate a Registration
14
U.S. GAO. 2024 Lobbying Disclosure: Observations on Compliance with Requirements
15
U.S. House of Representatives. Lobbying Disclosure Act Guidance