Michigan, Iowa, Virginia and New Jersey petitions
How Many Signatures Do You Need to Run for Office in New Jersey?
It depends on the office and on the kind of petition you file. Under New Jersey law as amended in 2025, a Democratic or Republican candidate for the State Senate or General Assembly needs at least 250 signatures from voters of the party. A primary candidate for county office needs between 150 and 300, depending on the party's turnout at the last Assembly primary in the county. A municipal candidate needs between 5 and 100, depending on the population of the municipality or ward. A school board candidate needs at least 25, and one of them may be the candidate's own. An independent candidate needs 5 percent of the last full General Assembly vote in the district, up to a maximum of 250.
These are minimums, and signatures from people who are not qualified to sign will be struck, so plan to collect a margin above your number. Your filing officer can confirm the exact figure for your office. For the rest of petition season, including deadlines, the forms and objections, see our guide to New Jersey nominating petitions.
Signature requirements by office
These minimums come from the New Jersey Statutes (N.J.S.A.) as amended by P.L.2025, c.20, which took effect in February 2025. Guides and forms printed before 2025 may show different numbers, so use the current form from your filing officer.
| Office and petition | Minimum signatures | N.J.S.A. |
|---|---|---|
| State Senate or General Assembly, party primary | 250 voters of the party | 19:23-8(a) |
| County office, party primary | 1 percent of the party's total vote at the last Assembly primary in the county, or 300 if less; never fewer than 150 | 19:23-8(b) |
| Municipal office, party primary | 5 to 100 by population (table below) | 19:23-8(c) |
| Municipal office, nonpartisan election | 5 to 100 by population (table below) | 40:45-8 |
| Any office below statewide, direct nomination (independents) | 5 percent of the last full General Assembly vote in the district, no more than 250 | 19:13-5 |
| School board | 25, one of whom may be the candidate | 19:60-7 |
Municipal offices: the population table
For municipal office, the number depends on the population of the municipality, or of the ward for a ward seat, at the last federal census.
| Population | Party primary petition | Nonpartisan petition |
|---|---|---|
| More than 50,000 | 100 | 100 |
| More than 25,000, up to 50,000 | 75 | 75 |
| More than 10,000, up to 25,000 | 50 | 50 |
| More than 5,000, up to 10,000 | 25, or 5 percent of the party's last Assembly primary vote if less | 25 |
| More than 2,500, up to 5,000 | 10, or 5 percent if less | 10 |
| Up to 2,500 | 5, or 5 percent if less | 5 |
Two differences matter. On a party primary petition in a municipality of 10,000 or fewer people, the requirement can be lower than the table's first number if 5 percent of the party's vote at the last primary for General Assembly is smaller (N.J.S.A. 19:23-8(c)). The nonpartisan petition has no such alternative (N.J.S.A. 40:45-8). And a nonpartisan petition is made of individual certificates, one signature per sheet of paper, so a requirement of 50 means 50 separate certificates.
Which petition you file depends on how your municipality elects its governing body: in a partisan election with a June primary, or in a nonpartisan election in May or November. Your municipal clerk can tell you.
County offices
A primary candidate for county office, such as county commissioner, sheriff, county clerk or surrogate, needs signatures equal to 1 percent of the total votes cast by the party's voters at the last primary held for General Assembly, or 300, whichever is less, and never fewer than 150 (N.J.S.A. 19:23-8(b)). The last Assembly primary before 2027 was in June 2025. In practice the requirement falls between 150 and 300. Your county clerk computes the figure, so ask for it early.
The Legislature
Democratic and Republican candidates for the State Senate and the General Assembly need at least 250 signatures from voters of their party in the district (N.J.S.A. 19:23-8(a)). Independent candidates, and candidates of parties that do not hold a primary, also reach 250: their requirement is 5 percent of the last full General Assembly vote in the district, capped at 250 (N.J.S.A. 19:13-5). The Division of Elections listed 250 for both primary and general election Assembly candidates after the 2025 change.
Independent candidates for other offices
A direct nomination petition for any office below statewide needs signatures equal to 5 percent of the total vote for General Assembly at the last election in which the whole Assembly was elected, counted in the district for the office, but no more than 250 (N.J.S.A. 19:13-5). In a small municipality the requirement can be well under 250. The county clerk, who receives these petitions for county and municipal offices, can tell you the number.
Whose signatures count
A signature counts only if the signer could legally sign your petition:
- On a primary petition: voters of the district who are members of your party and intend to affiliate with it (N.J.S.A. 19:23-7). Members of another party may not sign, and a signer may not endorse more candidates than there are seats (N.J.S.A. 19:23-10). Ask your filing officer how voters who are not affiliated with any party are treated.
- On a direct petition: qualified voters of the district. Each voter may sign one petition for each office, and signers state that they have not signed another primary or general election petition for that office (N.J.S.A. 19:13-4; 19:13-6).
- On a nonpartisan certificate: registered voters of the municipality who have not signed more certificates than there are seats. For a ward seat, the signer must live in your ward and may sign only one ward certificate (N.J.S.A. 40:45-9).
- On a school board petition: qualified voters of the school district, or of the constituent district your seat represents on a regional board (N.J.S.A. 19:60-5).
Each signature must be the signer's own, with the address the form asks for. Our post on filling out and circulating a New Jersey nominating petition covers each line of the form and what circulators (the people who collect the signatures) need to know.
Choosing a target above the minimum
The law sets the minimum, and your target belongs above it. How far above depends on your risk. A first-time candidate in a contested race, collecting with new volunteers, has more reason to aim high than a candidate whose pages were all gathered by one careful circulator. An amendment after filing can fix a defect, but it can never add signatures (N.J.S.A. 19:23-20; 19:13-13), so the margin has to be in hand on filing day.
As an example only, a council candidate who needs 50 signatures might aim for 75 to 100. That leaves room for struck lines from signers who turn out to live outside the municipality or to belong to another party. Our general guide on how many signatures to collect above the minimum explains how to weigh the risk; it uses Illinois examples, so apply its reasoning rather than its numbers.
Turning your target into doors
To turn a signature target into doors, you need two rates from your own district: the share of doors where someone answers, and the share of those people who sign.
As an illustration only, suppose your target is 100. If someone answers at about one door in three, and about half of them sign, each signature takes about six doors, or roughly 600 doors in all. At 25 doors an hour, that is 24 circulator hours. Your rates will differ, so measure them over your first few sessions and adjust.
The doors where nobody answered are where many of your extra signatures will come from, so a clear record of which doors were visited, and which need a second try, matters as much as the walk itself. Beacon is built for this part of the job. Draw each circulator's turf on the map inside your district or ward, and assign it. Add your contacts, and each downloaded walk list puts its stops in walking order by distance. Beacon routes circulators door to door and records which doors were visited and the result: contacted, not home, come back later and the other door codes. Circulators can note "signed" or "not signed" in each door result's Notes field. The signed paper stays the legal record of every signature, and Beacon keeps the record of the doors, with unlimited canvassers on every plan.
The 2027 deadlines
All dates are based on state law; the Division of Elections had not posted its 2027 timelines when we checked.
| Petition | Deadline |
|---|---|
| Nonpartisan municipal, May election | Thursday, February 25, 2027 |
| School board, April district | 4 p.m., Monday, March 1, 2027 |
| Party primary (Legislature, county, municipal) | 4 p.m., Monday, March 29, 2027 |
| Direct nomination (independents) | 4 p.m., Tuesday, June 8, 2027 |
| School board, November district | 4 p.m., Monday, July 26, 2027 |
| Nonpartisan municipal, November election | Thursday, August 19, 2027 |
Frequently asked questions
How many signatures do I need to run for city council in New Jersey?
Between 5 and 100, based on the population of your municipality, or of your ward for a ward seat. A primary candidate in a municipality of 10,000 or fewer may need fewer if 5 percent of the party's last Assembly primary vote is smaller. Ask your municipal clerk for your number.
How many signatures do I need to run for the New Jersey Assembly?
At least 250, whether you run in a party primary or as an independent (N.J.S.A. 19:23-8; 19:13-5).
Can I sign my own petition?
Yes. New Jersey law allows a candidate to sign, circulate, or both sign and circulate their own petition, and on a school board petition one of the 25 signatures may be the candidate's own.
Reach your number with room to spare
Knowing your number is the first step. Most of the work goes into reaching it with signatures you can rely on, from addresses inside your district. Beacon gives your circulators turf on a map, a walk list in walking order by distance and a record of every door, with unlimited canvassers on every plan. Start a 14-day Beacon trial and have your first turf ready for your first weekend of collecting.
