Principal Occupation GuidancePRINCIPAL OCCUPATION GUIDANCE
Committees must report the principal occupation of the contributor on the date the contribution is
made. See N.C.G.S. § 163A-1422(a)(1). A committee fulfills this requirement by disclosing the
contributor’s “job title or profession” and “employer’s name or employer’s specific field of business
activity.” Id. Please refer to the NAICS classification for specific business fields for a list of acceptable
fields: https://www.census.gov/eos/www/naics/).
Below are examples of how to disclose a contributor’s principal occupation:
For an employed contributor, the committee must disclose the contributor’s job title or
profession, and the employer’s name or employer’s specific field of business activity.
For a self-employed contributor, the committee must disclose the contributor’s job title or
profession, and the name of the contributor’s business or contributor’s specific field of business
activity.
For a contributor who principally earns income as a consultant or an independent contractor,
the committee must disclose the contributor’s job title or profession, and either (1) the name of
the principal client of the contributor, or (2) the specific field of business activity of the principal
client or clients of the contributor.
For a contributor who is not earning income, but maintains an active professional license in
North Carolina or in another jurisdiction, the contributor’s profession must be listed.
If the contributor does not fall into one of the categories described above at the time the contribution is
made, the committee may list the contributor as having “no job title or profession” and “not employed.”
The committee may not list the contributor as “retired.” This term does not adequately convey the
occupation of the contributor.