 What is a petition? A petition is a way for you to make the Scottish Parliament aware of an issue and request action on what you want us to do about it and why. The petition's process is open, accessible and encourages participation. There's no age limit to who can submit a petition and you only need one signature. It can be submitted in any language and we have a template to assist with layout. You can do a hard copy petition using the template or you can use the online system which can help you gather support. Proposed petitions will be considered by the Public Petitions Committee clerking team. The committee is made up of seven members of the Scottish Parliament who decide what to do with every petition lodged. What's your issue? Think about what you want to say. Ask yourself whether the issue you want to raise is something the Parliament can do something about. Petitions should be relevant at a national level not just a personal or local one. Have you spoken to your MSB or local councillor? The clerks to the Petitions Committee are there to assist you, give advice about the process and how to word your petition. Create a petition. The easiest way to submit your petition is by using the online system. You will need to register and create an account then you'll be able to start preparing your petition. There are help buttons to guide you or you can contact the clerks. Once you have prepared your petition and submitted it you should get a confirmation email. One of the clerks will then review it and may come back to you via the online system with any comments or suggestions for additional information that you might want to include. The clerks' role is to help you put together the best petition to go before the committee for discussion. Once the wording has been approved you can choose whether you want to have your petition hosted online to gather support or comments before it's formally lodged with the Scottish Parliament. You can publish the link to your petition on social networking sites such as Twitter or Facebook. Don't worry, once your petition is ready to go before the committee for discussion you don't have to do anything as the clerks will arrange this. You're kept fully informed at every stage. The committee meets fortnightly, the meetings are in public and you can go and watch in person or live over the internet using the Parliament's TV channel. You may even be invited to speak to your petition at a formal committee meeting. The committee will consider your petition and decide what action it wishes to take. The committee may write to any key bodies about the issues you raise, for example the Scottish Government, local councils or health boards. Once responses are received these will be copied to you and you'll be given the chance to respond in writing. Your petition and any views received will then go back to the committee for further discussion on what action to take. Some petitions are passed to the relevant subject committee at the Scottish Parliament and some petitions may be debated by the whole Parliament. It'll be for the committee to decide. Many petitions have brought about changes in the law, in the policies of the Scottish Government or other public bodies or led to a change in a decision but just raising awareness of an issue could be a success in itself. So a recap of the main steps. Think about what you want to say, create a petition using the online system, consider any advice from the clerks, decide whether you wish to collect signatures and comments online before your petition is formally lodged.