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Key Takeaways:

  • The New York City lobbying report, published annually on March 1, shows that real estate remained the top lobbying industry in 2025 at 32%, with the City Council continuing as the most common lobbying target at 24%.
  • NYC Lobbying Bureau compliance efforts improved in 2025, with only 43 entities failing to register with the City despite reporting state lobbying activity, down from 107 in 2024.
  • New York lobbying registration requirements include filing within 10 days of anticipating the $5,000 threshold, with bi-monthly activity reports and annual client reports due throughout the year.
  • In 2025, NYC lobbyist civil penalties totaled over $95,000 for 399 late filings, while the Bureau also conducted 45 random audits that resulted in 69 findings requiring corrective actions.
  • New York City lobbying trends remained consistent from 2024 to 2025, with 31% of lobbying activities related to the city budget and 20% focused on local legislation.


On March 1 of every year, the New York City Lobbying Bureau publishes an annual report summarizing the past year’s lobbying activities. The extensive report gives an overview of all lobbying activity of the previous year, including the top industries involved in lobbying matters, lobbyists with the most compensation received, and the companies and organizations spending the most on paid lobbyists. The report also takes into account political fundraising and consulting. After last year’s report, what changed in lobbying trends from 2024 to 2025?

NYC Lobbying Trends and Activity Changes from 2024 to 2025

As in 2024, most clients who registered to lobby in 2025 were in the real estate industry (32%), followed by the public interest/non-profit sector (20%). Lobbying targets varied, but the most common target was the City Council. 24% of lobbyists reported lobbying the fifty-one members of the New York City Council at some point in 2025, the same percentage as in 2024. However, the percentage of lobbyists who met with council staff members decreased from 21% to 17%, although the percentage of lobbyists who met with the mayor’s office held steady at 7%. The distribution of the subjects of lobbying activities remained largely the same: 31% of lobbying activities in 2025 related to the city’s budget (the same percentage as in 2024), followed by local legislation (20%, up one percentage point), determinations of boards or commissions (14%), and determinations regarding real property (14%).

Compliance Enforcement and Regulatory Oversight

For our compliance team, this annual report is a good insight into how the lobbying bureau administers lobbying regulations, especially civil penalties issued for filing of late registration and activity reports. Here are some compliance highlights from the latest report covering 2025.

Registration Compliance Issues Between City and State Requirements

Lobbyists who are registered in New York City must also register with the State to report their activity. The NYC Lobbying Bureau works with the New York State Commission on Ethics and Lobbying in Government (COELG) to compare lobbying statements in their respective jurisdictions each year. They found that 43 entities reported to the State that they had lobbying activities in New York City, but failed to register separately with the City for 2025, a significant decrease from 2024, when 107 entities registered in New York State failed to register their lobbying activities with the City.

Comparing registrations with the state of New York is one way NYC ensures compliance in their jurisdiction. If caught with inaccurate registrations, the NYC Lobbying Bureau may require your company to backdate any missing registrations and reports, which can result in sizable late fees for each filing.

Filing Deadlines and Civil Penalty Assessment

The report highlights civil penalties issued for filing of late registration reports and activity reports. Registrations are due annually every January 15th or within 10 days that a lobbyist or client anticipates exceeding the $5,000 compensation or expenditure threshold. Lobbyists are required to file reports every two months detailing their activity; additionally, an annual report is required for clients who retain contract lobbyists detailing the activity those lobbyists performed over the course of the past calendar year. Fundraising and consulting reports are also required to be filed by clients every two months if contributions were solicited for any candidate running for elected office in New York City, or for any city official running for state or federal office.

Overall, the NYC Lobbying Bureau identified 45 late lobbying reports for the last two months of 2024 and 279 late annual client reports, incurring a total of over $175,000 in aggregate filing penalties. For 2025, they identified 399 late filings of registrations and reports, totalling over $95,000 in aggregate filing penalties.

Annual Audit Process and Corrective Actions

The Lobbying Bureau selects lobbyists at random annually for an audit of the previous year’s reports. As in 2024, 45 lobbyists were randomly selected for audits in 2025. These audits resulted in 69 findings that required corrective actions, ranging from incorrect reporting of lobbyist employee addresses to a failure to upload lobbying retainer agreements. Audits in New York City can sometimes be a lengthy process since these audits involve a meeting with the Bureau and representatives from the selected lobbyist or client to discuss the Bureau’s findings, and what actions, if any, are needed to correct incorrect or inaccurate information on their filings.

Need Compliance Help? Get In Touch!

Looking to lobby in New York City or other local jurisdictions? MultiState can help you meet local lobbying compliance requirements in dozens of jurisdictions around the country. Read more about our Compliance Services here, or get in touch here.