"I put in a nomination this afternoon," Mr Elliott told reporters shortly before the deadline passed on Wednesday.
He confirmed he would be seeking the northwest Sydney seat of Castle Hill, but it could be a tight race for him to represent the Liberals in a safe seat for the party.
Asked how confident he was about securing the nomination on Wednesday, Mr Elliott kept his cards close to his chest.
"I'm just a suburban dad trying to right a few wrongs mate," Mr Elliott said.
The nomination came after Mr Elliott sorted out an issue with his Liberal party membership, which lapsed for several weeks after he missed a payment.
The lapse came because a credit card was suspended due to fraud, he told media.
Mr Elliott's current seat of Baulkham Hills was abolished in a redistribution, forcing him to seek preselection elsewhere for the March election, when the coalition government will seek a historic fourth term.
Current upper house Liberals Natasha Maclaren-Jones and Natalie Ward put up their hands to replace retiring lower house MP Rob Stokes (Pittwater) and speaker Jonathan O'Dea (Davidson) respectively.
An upper house vacancy appears unlikely to be filled by Mr Elliott following his nomination in Castle Hill.
He has called the current member for Castle Hill, Ray Williams, a friend and said he didn't want to run against him.
Mr Williams will be contesting Kellyville, a newly created seat that takes in much of Mr Elliott's current Baulkham Hills seat.
33°C