Can individuals submit nominations for the Nobel Peace Prize?
Executive summary
Individuals cannot validly nominate themselves for the Nobel Peace Prize; the right to submit nominations is reserved to specified categories such as members of national assemblies, university professors in certain fields, past laureates and similar qualified persons, and nominations must arrive by January 31 [1] [2]. The Norwegian Nobel Committee received 338 valid candidates for 2025 — 244 individuals and 94 organizations — illustrating that nomination is common but tightly regulated [3] [1].
1. Who may submit nominations — the formal gatekeepers
The Nobel statutes set out categories of eligible nominators rather than allowing an open public application process. Eligible nominators include members of national assemblies and governments, current heads of state, university professors in history, social sciences, law and philosophy, directors of peace and foreign-policy institutes, members of international courts, and former Nobel laureates, among others; each year the Norwegian Nobel Committee issues invitations to these qualified persons to submit names [4] [5]. The Nobel Committee explicitly states that “anyone can be nominated,” but the right to make a valid nomination is reserved to those groups listed in the statutes [6] [4].
2. Can an individual nominate themselves? No — and the committee says so plainly
The Nobel Peace Prize process does not accept self‑nominations. Nobel officials state that “no, a personal application for an award will not be considered,” and the statutes make no provision for self‑nominations or public applications [1]. Reporting and FAQ material from Nobel organisations reiterate that nominations must come from the designated categories of nominators; the committee also warns that simply being named in speculation or publicity does not equate to an official nomination by a qualified nominator [2] [1].
3. Deadlines, secrecy and formalities — why timing and format matter
Nominations must be submitted by January 31 for the prize awarded that year; the process typically opens in mid‑October when the submission form is posted and closes on that deadline [7] [1]. Submissions are preferably made through an online form. The statutes also impose a strict 50‑year secrecy rule: nomination records are kept confidential and only released half a century after the prize is awarded, which prevents public verification of who nominated whom in the short term [3] [2].
4. Public confusion vs. official process — how nominations leak into public debate
Because the committee’s records are secret for 50 years, public claims about nominations often come from the nominators themselves, the nominees’ teams, or media reporting — not from the Nobel Committee. That fuels confusion: people commonly say “X was nominated,” but nomination carries no official endorsement by the committee and may be used by parties for political publicity [1] [2]. News outlets covering the 2025 process repeatedly noted lists of nominees and public nominations by politicians, but the official register and its rules remain the authoritative reference [3] [8].
5. What the 2025 figures tell us about the system
The Norwegian Nobel Institute registered 338 candidates for the 2025 prize — 244 individuals and 94 organizations — a year‑on‑year rise from 286 the previous year [3] [1]. These numbers show broad global engagement from eligible nominators but do not indicate committee preference: the committee reviews all valid nominations, shortlists a smaller set for outside analysis, and then deliberates through the summer before deciding [7] [2].
6. Limits and caveats in current reporting
Available sources do not mention any mechanism by which ordinary private citizens can validly submit a nomination or convert a public petition into a recognized nomination; the listed nomination categories remain the only route to a valid submission [1] [4]. Media stories sometimes conflate public declarations of support with formal nominations; the Nobel Institute cautions that publicity around a name is not the same as a legally valid nomination [2].
7. Practical advice and implicit incentives
If you want someone considered, the practical route is to persuade a qualified nominator — an MP, a relevant professor, a past laureate or institute director — to submit the name before January 31. That approach explains why advocacy campaigns often target politicians and academics rather than relying solely on public petitions [4] [7]. Be aware that nominators sometimes publicize their own submissions for political or reputational purposes, which can serve the nominee more as publicity than as an endorsement by the Nobel Committee [2].
Limitations: This analysis relies solely on the cited Nobel and news sources provided; available sources do not mention any recent change to allow self‑nomination beyond the statutory categories cited above [1] [2].