Special Interest Group (SIG) elections

Members, Fellows and Specialist Associates who are members of the Special Interest Group can stand for election.

You don't need to be working as a consultant. You can stand for election if you're a trainee, SAS doctor or if you're retired, as long as you're a current Member, Fellow or Specialist Associate.

If you currently hold an elected position, you can't be re-elected to that position unless there's been a gap of one year or more. 

You can be elected to a different role on the same committee. For example, if you're an elected committee member you can't be re-elected to the same post straight away, but you can be elected to Financial Officer, Vice-Chair or Chair.

If you're currently co-opted to an elected position, e.g. to fill a vacancy, then you can stand for election to that same position.

The timetable for 2026 elections is as follows:

Information you'll need to provide

• The names, email addresses and membership numbers of your proposer and seconder, they must be Members or Specialist Associates.
• An election address (supporting statement) of appropriate word length. The word limit is 500 words for Chair and 200 words for Financial Officer.
• A photo to be used on election materials.
• You'll also be asked to confirm your good standing with your country's medical council and with regard to College membership fees.

Submitting your nomination

Nominations must be submitted through the Civica Election Services nomination platform by noon on 6 February 2026.

You can save your nomination and return to it at a later date. If you forget to complete, we'll send you a reminder when the deadline is approaching.

Once you've finished your nomination you can submit it and you'll receive email confirmation of your submission within 24 hours.

We strongly recommend that you save your nomination regularly, and that you submit several hours before the deadline so that any technical issues can be rectified before nominations close.

Please read our canvassing code (PDF) which sets out the rules on canvassing during elections.

Members, Fellows and Specialist Associates who are members of the Special Interest Group are eligible to vote in Special Interest Group elections.

If you're eligible to vote (please check eligibility section above), you'll automatically be included in the electorate.

The email address that you have registered with us as your default will be given to Civica Election Services, who'll send you an email with a link to the voting site.

Each link is unique so can’t be shared with others and the voting site can’t be found through a search engine. If you're having issues with your ballot email or you're eligible but haven't received the email, please contact elections@rcpsych.ac.uk.