FECCodes

FECCodes refers to a standardized coding scheme used by the U.S. Federal Election Commission (FEC) to classify elements of campaign finance data in disclosures and filings. The goal is to improve data consistency, machine readability, and interoperability across FEC portals, public datasets, and third-party analysis tools.

The scope and structure of FECCodes cover several dimensions of data, including committee type (such as candidate committees, political action committees, and party committees), transaction type (contribution, disbursement, loan), recipient or sponsor, and geographic information (state, district), as well as election cycle. Codes are typically expressed as short alphanumeric tokens that appear in FEC data dictionaries and API responses, enabling compact representation and efficient filtering.

Applications of FECCodes include filtering and grouping data in public portals and bulk downloads, supporting data validation in filings, and enabling programmatic analysis for researchers, journalists, and policymakers. By providing a common vocabulary, FECCodes helps users interpret, compare, and aggregate disclosures across multiple data releases.

Maintenance and governance are handled by the FEC, with periodic updates to reflect changes in election law, reporting requirements, and data collection practices. Change logs and release notes accompany updates to the FECCodes, along with mappings and guidance to aid correct usage.

Limitations of the system can arise from the need to map legacy data and from ambiguities in multi-purpose transactions. The FEC provides documentation and mapping resources to support users in applying FECCodes consistently.

See also: Federal Election Commission, Campaign finance data, FEC disclosure data, Data standards in government.