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Organizations in the United States, Canada, and Mexico can advocate with their lawmakers.
Federal, State/Provincial, and some local jurisdictions require registration under some conditions.
Non-profit organizations have additional restrictions to maintain their status.

Ordinary citizens conducting everyday communications with government officials acting on their own behalf and without financial compensation are generally free and unregulated in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.

If you are speaking on behalf of your organization, you may be subject to lobbying regulations in those jurisdictions.

Lobbying Rules - United States

Public Gardens must register as lobbying organizations when their in-house staff activities or financial expenditures cross specific federal, state, or local thresholds. These thresholds are generally large and meant to make the process less onerous
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Lobbying Rules - Canada

Nonprofit lobbying in Canada is fully legal and protected, but organizations must follow strict registration rules if their staff collectively spends 8 hours or more on lobbying activities in a four-week period.
LEARN MORE

Normas sobre cabildeo – México

En México, las actividades de cabildeo y defensa de causas por parte de organizaciones sin fines de lucro están legalmente permitidas a través de asociaciones civiles (AC), pero operan dentro de un marco complejo de normas de registro ante el Congreso y un creciente escrutinio político.
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Find Your Elected Officials - US

Get the names and contact information for the people who represent you on the federal, state, and local levels. USA.GOV

Find Your Elected Officials - Canada

Find Your Member of Parliament

Encuentre a sus funcionarios electos - México

Cámara de Diputados (Chamber of Deputies)

UNITED STATES

Public Gardens must register as lobbying organizations when their in-house staff activities or financial expenditures cross specific federal, state, or local thresholds. These thresholds are generally large and meant to make the process less onerous while respecting First Amendment rights.

In the United States, there are specific disclosure requirements for all organizations at the federal level, subject to minimum levels, for all contacts with legislators and government officials. 501(c)(3) organizations are subject to IRS limitations on contacts regarding specific legislation or government regulation.

ADVOCACY

A broad term covering a range of activities that includes “lobbying” but also including issue education, executive branch activities, issue organizing, and nonpartisan voter engagement.

Non-profits should always ensure that advocacy work is undertaken in support of the mission of the organization.

For almost all public gardens in North America – including all charitable and government-related institutions – this means no partisan politics.

LOBBYING

Lobbying in the United States is the act of attempting to influence the actions, policies, or decisions of government officials, particularly lawmakers and agency regulators. This includes:

  • Direct Communication with government officials
    • The IRS defines this as an attempt to influence specific government policy or legislation.
  • Grassroots Lobbying – mobilizing your members, visitors, and followers.

Federal - Congress

An individual or firm must register with the U.S. Senate Public Disclosure and the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives when they meet specific criteria:

  • Organizations: Total expenses for lobbying activities exceed $16,000 in a quarterly period.
  • Time Spent: An employee spends more than 20% of their total time on lobbying activities for their organization over a three-month period and makes more than one lobbying contact.
There are allowances for retroactive filing, and “good faith” efforts with compliance are generally accepted. If you are spending a significant amount of time in a given quarter you should consider calculating whether you need to register.

IRS - 501(c)(3) organizations

The IRS provides two ways to measure and limit lobbying activity:

  • The “Substantial Part” Test (Default): This rule is generally interpreted to mean keeping lobbying under about 5% of an organization’s overall time and effort.
  • The 501(h) Election: By filing IRS Form 5768, a public charity opts into clear dollar limits based on its annual exempt-purpose expenditures with an upper limit of $1,000,000.
    • Grassroots Lobbying Limit: Trying to influence the general public on legislation is capped at a separate limit of 25% of the total allowable lobbying amount.
    • Federal monies received by an organization does not count towards these limits.

State/Local

State and local lobbying regulations in the United States require individuals and organizations to register, report expenses, and follow strict gift-giving rules when attempting to influence public officials. State and local lobbying regulations in the United States require individuals and organizations to register, report expenses, and follow strict gift-giving rules when attempting to influence public officials.

CANADA

Nonprofit lobbying in Canada is fully legal and protected, but organizations must follow strict registration rules if their staff collectively spends 8 hours or more on lobbying activities in a four-week period. Canadian charities face no restrictions on the total resources they can devote to non-partisan Public Policy Dialogue and Development Activities (PPDDAs), which includes advocacy and lobbying, provided it aligns with their charitable purpose.

Au Canada, les activités de lobbying menées par des organismes à but non lucratif sont tout à fait légales et protégées ; toutefois, ces organismes sont tenus de respecter des règles d’enregistrement strictes si leur personnel consacre collectivement huit heures ou plus à de telles activités sur une période de quatre semaines. Les organismes de bienfaisance canadiens ne sont soumis à aucune restriction quant aux ressources totales qu’ils peuvent consacrer aux activités non partisanes de dialogue et d’élaboration de politiques publiques (PPDDA) — lesquelles englobent le plaidoyer et le lobbying — pour autant que ces activités s’inscrivent dans le cadre de leur mission caritative.

ADVOCACY

  • The Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) regulates non-profits and registered charities, allowing them to engage in non-partisan public policy dialogue and development activities to support their purposes.
  • Canadian non-profits cannot support or oppose specific political parties or candidates.
  • Organizations engaging in direct communication with public office holders may need to register under federal or provincial lobbyist transparency acts.

LOBBYING

Lobbying in Canada is the paid activity of communicating with government officials or elected politicians to influence public policy, legislation, regulations, or the awarding of government grants, contracts, and financial benefits.

The legal definition applies specifically to paid or compensated lobbying; purely voluntary advocacy is generally exempt from formal registration.

Federal

Effective January 19, 2026, new federal guidance lowers the threshold at which corporations and organizations, including charities, nonprofits, and foundations, must register their inhouse lobbying activities under Canada’s Lobbying Act.

  • Collective Hours: This 8-hour limit combines the time of all employees, including preparation, research, emails, phone calls, and meetings with public office holders.
  • Who Registers: The most senior compensated officer (such as the CEO or Executive Director) must file the in-house registration for the organization.

Provincial/Local

Federal lobbying rules do not apply to provincial officials. Organizations must look to the specific provincial registry where they intend to communicate with provincial MLAs, public servants, or provincial agency personnel.

All ten provinces have independent lobbying legislation:

  • Alberta: Lobbyists Act
  • British Columbia: Lobbyists Transparency Act
  • Manitoba: The Lobbyists Registration Act
  • New Brunswick: Lobbyists’ Registration Act
  • Newfoundland and Labrador: Lobbyist Registration Act
  • Nova Scotia: Lobbyists’ Registration Act
  • Ontario: Lobbyists Registration Act, 1998
  • Prince Edward Island: Lobbyists Registration Act
  • Quebec: Lobbying Transparency and Ethics Act
  • Saskatchewan: The Lobbyists Act

MÉXICO

En México, las actividades de cabildeo y defensa de causas por parte de organizaciones sin fines de lucro están legalmente permitidas a través de asociaciones civiles (AC), pero operan dentro de un marco complejo de normas de registro ante el Congreso y un creciente escrutinio político.

DEFENSA

  • Civil Association (Asociación Civil or A.C.): The most common structure for non-profits, formed by two or more people for non-economic, cultural, sporting, or social purposes.
  • Mexican non-profits cannot support or oppose specific political parties or candidates.
  • Any organizations engaging in direct communication with public office holders may need to register under federal or provincial lobbyist transparency acts.

CABILDEO

El cabildeo se define como el acto de intentar promover los intereses legítimos de terceros ante organismos y comisiones, o ante miembros específicos, con el propósito de influir en sus decisiones. (Artículo 298 del Senado, Artículo 263 de la Cámara).

  • Grupos cívicos: Las organizaciones sin fines de lucro operan bajo estructuras como las asociaciones civiles, regidas por los códigos civiles locales. Learn more at Council on Foundations.
  • Reglas iguales: las organizaciones sin fines de lucro deben cumplir las mismas normas de transparencia en materia de cabildeo que los cabilderos corporativos si intentan modificar leyes.

Federal

Congressional Rules: Lobbying activities in Mexico are regulated separately by the internal rules of the House of Representatives and the Senate rather than a unified federal lobbying statute.

  • Lobbyist Registry: Individuals and entities—including non-profit organizations and individuals advocating for third parties—must register at the beginning of each legislative term in the official public lobbying registries.Registration requires identification, proof of address, and disclosure of congressional committees or areas of interest

Because Mexico has a federal structure and individual states maintain their own congresses, lobbying rules can vary significantly across different Mexican states

SAT Rules

To maintain tax-exempt status (“authorized donee” status) via Mexico’s tax authority (SAT), organizations must operate on a non-profit, non-political, and non-religious basis, which often blurs the line regarding how much direct policy lobbying they can undertake without risking administrative penalties.