Award Nomination Form Template (US)
Updated on August 9, 2026
An award nomination form is submitted by someone other than the candidate: a colleague, manager, or member of the public puts a name forward for recognition. That's a materially different process from a self-submitted award application, because the nomination collects information about a person who may not know it's being submitted at all.
The common free version of this form is just a nomination text box that "automatically saves" for later collation. This template adds what that process actually needs: who is nominating, their relationship to the nominee, whether they have a conflict of interest, and a short data notice covering information collected about a third party.
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Award Nomination Form
This nomination is submitted to on for the .
Award criteria
- Judging criteria:
- Submission deadline:
Nominator
- Name:
- Role / department:
- Relationship to nominee:
Conflict-of-interest disclosure:
Nominee
- Name:
- Role / department:
Nomination narrative
Data notice
This nomination includes personal information about the nominee submitted by someone other than the nominee. will use this information for judging purposes, will retain it for , and will notify the nominee if they become a finalist or winner.
Nominator
Date:
Record who is nominating, not just who is nominated
A nomination is only as credible as its source. Recording the nominator's name, role, and relationship to the nominee lets a judging panel weigh the nomination appropriately — a nomination from a direct manager carries different weight than one from a peer or a client, and both are legitimate as long as the relationship is disclosed.
Ask about conflicts of interest directly
A manager nominating a direct report, or a nominator with a personal relationship to the nominee, isn't automatically disqualifying — but it should be disclosed so the judging panel can account for it. Asking the question directly on the form, rather than leaving it to be discovered later, keeps the process defensible.
Allow self-nomination as an explicit option, not a workaround
Some programs allow a candidate to nominate themselves through the same form; others don't. Stating the rule explicitly avoids the awkward case of someone technically completing a "nomination" form about themselves when the program never intended to allow that route.
Address the fact that the nominee hasn't necessarily consented
A nomination form collects personal information about someone who has not submitted it themselves and may not know it exists yet. That is a genuinely different privacy posture from a self-application, and matters most directly for organizations subject to the EU's GDPR, which requires fair and transparent processing even for personal data obtained from someone other than the person it's about.
This template adds a short data notice covering that situation, and a step for notifying the nominee if they're selected as a finalist or winner, rather than treating the nomination purely as an internal HR record until an announcement is made.
Handle multiple nominations for the same person
Popular candidates often receive more than one nomination in the same cycle. Deciding upfront whether multiple nominations are merged, tallied as a signal of support, or simply deduplicated to one entry avoids an inconsistent, ad hoc decision when it actually happens.
Separate the judging panel's conflicts from the nominator's
The nominator's conflict-of-interest disclosure covers only their own relationship to the nominee. A judging panel member can have an entirely separate conflict — being the nominee's manager, direct report, or having a personal relationship with them — and should recuse from scoring that nomination regardless of who submitted it or what the nominator disclosed.
Recording panel composition and any recusals for each award cycle is a small piece of process discipline that makes the eventual decision far easier to defend if a candidate who wasn't selected later questions the outcome.
Keep a record of how nominations were retained and disposed of
Because a nomination form holds personal data about someone who didn't submit it, it deserves a clear retention and disposal practice: how long unsuccessful nominations are kept, who can access them, and when they're deleted. A stated retention period — rather than nominations simply accumulating indefinitely in an inbox or shared folder — is both good data hygiene and a real answer if a nominee ever asks what information about them the organization is holding.
Don't let the number of nominations decide the outcome by itself
A candidate who happens to work with a large, vocal team will naturally attract more nominations than an equally deserving candidate on a small or quiet one. If the program's judging criteria weigh volume of nominations rather than the substance of the strongest nomination narrative, it quietly rewards team size and visibility over the achievement the award is supposed to recognize. Stating that nominations are judged on content, not count, keeps the process aligned with its actual purpose.
Section-by-section guide
- Nominator details
- Identifies who is submitting the nomination and their relationship to the nominee.
- Conflict of interest
- Asks the nominator to disclose any personal or reporting relationship that could affect impartiality.
- Nominee details
- Identifies the person being nominated.
- Nomination narrative
- The case for the nomination, matched to the published judging criteria.
- Self-nomination rule
- States whether a candidate may nominate themselves through this form.
- Data notice
- Explains that information about the nominee is being collected from a third party and how it will be used.
How to complete the nomination
- Add nominator details. Enter the nominator's name, role and relationship to the nominee.
- Disclose any conflict of interest. State any reporting or personal relationship that could affect impartiality.
- Add nominee details. Enter the name and role of the person being nominated.
- Write the nomination narrative. Explain the case for the nomination against the published judging criteria.
Frequently asked questions
Can someone nominate themselves using this form?
Only if the program explicitly allows it. This template includes a self-nomination toggle so the rule is stated on the form rather than left ambiguous.
Does a nominator need to disclose a personal relationship with the nominee?
Yes. A relationship — such as a manager nominating a direct report — doesn't disqualify the nomination, but disclosing it lets the judging panel weigh the nomination appropriately and keeps the process defensible.
Does the nominee need to know they've been nominated?
Not necessarily at the time of nomination, but the program should have a plan for notifying the nominee if they become a finalist or winner, and should be transparent that nomination data about them exists and how it's used.
What if the same person is nominated multiple times?
Decide the rule in advance — whether multiple nominations are merged, counted as a signal of support, or deduplicated — rather than deciding it ad hoc once it happens.
Is there a data-privacy issue with collecting information about someone who didn't submit the form?
It's a genuine consideration, particularly for organizations subject to GDPR, which expects fair and transparent processing of personal data even when it's collected from a third party rather than the person themselves.
Does the nominator's conflict-of-interest disclosure cover the judging panel too?
No — they're separate. A panel member should recuse themselves from any nomination where they have their own conflict, such as managing or reporting to the nominee, regardless of what the nominator disclosed about their own relationship to the candidate.
How long should we keep nomination records for candidates who don't win?
Set a stated retention period rather than letting nominations accumulate indefinitely. A clear retention and disposal practice is both good data hygiene and a concrete answer if a nominee later asks what information the organization holds about them.
Should the candidate with the most nominations automatically win?
No. Judge nominations on the substance of the strongest narrative against the published criteria, not on how many were submitted — otherwise the result rewards team size and visibility rather than the achievement the award is meant to recognize.
Related templates
Disclaimer
This template and guide are for general information only. They are not legal or data-protection advice, and no attorney has reviewed or approved them. Confirm your organization's own data-protection obligations for information collected about a third party before using this form.
