Other

Webmaster Frequently Asked Questions

May 19, 2021

List of Questions

Search questions with keywords:

General Questions

Is content on sec.gov free? Do I need permission to reuse EDGAR content?

All Government-created content on sec.gov and EDGAR public filing content are free to access and reuse. See Website Dissemination for our permissions policy.

Is any of the content not free to reuse?

Very little. Examples include stock art photos used to illustrate various sec.gov pages.

How can I use company filings to research companies and funds?

See Using EDGAR to Research Investments, which covers:

  • Form types
  • Financial Information and Results of Operations
  • Shareholder Meetings
  • Executive Compensation
  • Insider Transactions
  • Beneficial Ownership Interest
  • Business Combinations
  • Public Offerings
  • Securities-based Crowdfunding
  • Regulation A Offering
  • Foreign Private Issuers
  • Mutual Funds and ETFs
  • Exhibits

Can I get the List of 13(f) Securities in Excel?

By arrangement with S&P Global Market Intelligence, which manages CUSIP Global Services on behalf of the American Bankers Association, the SEC can only publish the quarterly 13(f) list in PDF format.

My name appears in an old enforcement order or release. Is it possible to remove the document so web searches on my name don’t return the sec.gov document at the top of the results list?

We don’t remove historical enforcement materials at public request or attempt to influence search result rankings. Enforcement documents from the beginning of sec.gov in 1995 remain available.

We’d like to know about links that are broken. Please email webmaster@sec.gov and let us know the url and where you found it.

I am trying to submit a complaint using your Tips, Complaints, and Referral system. Why am I getting errors?

Here are some tips to avoid errors:

  • If you are trying to copy and paste text into the Allegation Summary field on the first page, paste in plain text (try copying the text into Notepad then copy from there to paste into the Allegation Summary).
  • Do not use http:// or https:// in the Website field on the second page.
  • Try to use the least amount of symbols as possible throughout the fields in the form.

Who owns my mortgage?

Please see our Home Mortgage Loans Fast Answer.

I am no longer receiving GovDelivery email notifications for updated content. What happened?

First, check your spam or junk folder to see if our notifications are being sent there. If they are not there and you are using a company email account, contact your IT department to make sure the domain, “service.govdelivery.com” is whitelisted. If you are still not receiving notifications or you are using a personal email account, please email webmaster@sec.gov to look into the issue further.

I no longer wish to receive GovDelivery email notifications. How do I unsubscribe?

Click on the “Subscriber Preferences Page” button at the bottom of our email notification. From there, you can unsubscribe to our emails.

EDGAR Searches

The document displays okay on screen, but I am having problems printing it. What can I do?

EDGAR documents are usually formatted just for the browser screen, and printing can be problematic. Fonts can appear smaller or margins can fall off the right side of the printed page. You can try scaling up or down in your print menu to adjust the margins. Sometimes capturing the page as a PDF by using the full version of Acrobat yields workable results.

How do I find an exhibit or agreement listed in the Exhibits list of a filing?

Under Regulation S-K Simplification Rules passed in 2019, exhibit documents are easier to find, often by hyperlink. Reports or registration statements that list documents that are not included in the filing should include an explanation for the omission.

Historically, companies might not have included some documents listed as exhibits if they were not considered “material” for an investor.

How can I find EDGAR documents older than 1994?

EDGAR started in 1994/1995. Paper copies of filing documents prior to 1994 may be available by filing a Freedom of Information Act request at Requesting Public Documents. There are also private companies that for a fee provide copies in their archives of older EDGAR documents.

Can I search on Form D or Form 8-K items? How about items from other form types?

There is some functionality for searching on numbered items for some form types using the Boolean Archive search.

The following form-types use an “ITEM” element in the filing metadata:

1-U, 8-K, 8-K12B, 8-K12G3, 8-K15D5, ABS-15G, D, REGDEX (and the associated amended types with “/A”)

These are the allowed search values for the “items=xx” query by form type:

Form D – these numbers relate to Item 6, Federal Exemption(s) and Exclusion(s) Claimed.

Example: items=04.1 + 2019

04: Rule 504(b)(1) (not (i), (ii) or (iii))
04.1: Rule 504(b)(1)(i)
04.2: Rule 504(b)(1)(ii)
04.3: Rule 504(b)(1)(iii)
06b: Rule 506(b)
06c: Rule 506(c)
4a5: Securities Act Section 4(a)(5)
3C: Investment Company Act Section 3(c)
3C.1: Section 3(c)(1)
3C.2: Section 3(c)(2)
3C.4: Section 3(c)(4)
3C.5: Section 3(c)(5)
3C.6: Section 3(c)(6)
3C.7: Section 3(c)(7)
3C.9: Section 3(c)(9)
3C.10: Section 3(c)(10)
3C.11: Section 3(c)(11)
3C.12: Section 3(c)(12)
3C.13: Section 3(c)(13)
3C.14: Section 3(c)(14)

REDGEX was a corresponding form type prior to 2009. Some of these numbers also work with REGDEX.

8-K, 8-K12B, 8-K12G3, 8-K15D5 (through 2004)

Example: items=5 and form-type=8-K12G + 2000-2002

1: Changes in control of registrant
2: Acquisition or disposition of assets
3: Bankruptcy or receivership
4: Changes in registrant's certifying accountant
5: Other events
6: Resignations of registrant's directors
7: Financial statements and exhibits
8: Change in fiscal year
9: Regulation FD Disclosure
10: Amendments to the Registrant’s Code of Ethics
11: Temporary Suspension of Trading Under Registrant's Employee Benefit Plans
12: Results of Operations and Financial Condition
13: Receipt of an Attorney's Written Notice Pursuant to 17 CFR 205.3(d)

8-K, 8-K12B, 8-K12G3, 8-K15D5 (since 2004; for a description of these 8-K items, see How to Read an 8-K.)

Example: items=(1.01 and 4.01) + 2010-2019

1.01: Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement
1.02: Termination of a Material Definitive Agreement
1.03: Bankruptcy or Receivership
1.04: Mine Safety - Reporting of Shutdowns and Patterns of Violations
2.01: Completion of Acquisition or Disposition of Assets
2.02: Results of Operations and Financial Condition
2.03: Creation of a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement of a Registrant
2.04: Triggering Events That Accelerate or Increase a Direct Financial Obligation or an Obligation under an Off-Balance Sheet Arrangement
2.05: Cost Associated with Exit or Disposal Activities
2.06: Material Impairments
3.01: Notice of Delisting or Failure to Satisfy a Continued Listing Rule or Standard; Transfer of Listing
3.02: Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
3.03: Material Modifications to Rights of Security Holders
4.01: Changes in Registrant's Certifying Accountant
4.02: Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements or a Related Audit Report or Completed Interim Review
5.01: Changes in Control of Registrant
5.02: Departure of Directors or Certain Officers; Election of Directors; Appointment of Certain Officers: Compensatory Arrangements of Certain Officers
5.03: Amendments to Articles of Incorporation or Bylaws; Change in Fiscal Year
5.04: Temporary Suspension of Trading Under Registrant's Employee Benefit Plans
5.05: Amendments to the Registrant's Code of Ethics, or Waiver of a Provision of the Code of Ethics
5.06: Change in Shell Company Status
5.07: Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
5.08: Shareholder Nominations Pursuant to Exchange Act Rule 14a-11
6.01: ABS Informational and Computational Material
6.02: Change of Servicer or Trustee
6.03: Change in Credit Enhancement or Other External Support
6.04: Failure to Make a Required Distribution
6.05: Securities Act Updating Disclosure
6.06: Static Pool
6.10: Alternative Filings of Asset-Backed Issuers
7.01: Regulation FD Disclosure
8.01: Other Events
9.01: Financial Statements and Exhibits

ABS-15G

Example: items=1.03 and form-type=ABS-15G + 2015-2019

1.01: Initial Filing of Rule 15Ga-1 Representations and Warranties Disclosure
1.02: Periodic Filing of Rule 15Ga-1 Representations and Warranties Disclosure
1.03: Notice if Termination of Duty to File Reports under Rule 15Ga-1
2.01: Findings and Conclusions of the Third Party Due Diligence Provider Obtained by the Issuer
2.02: Findings and Conclusions of the Third Party Due Diligence Provider Obtained by the Underwriter

1-U

Example: items=9.1 + 2019

1: Fundamental Changes
2: Bankruptcy or Receivership
3: Material Modification to Rights of Securityholders
4: Changes in Issuer’s Certifying Accountant
5: Non-reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statement or a Related Audit Report or Completed Interim Review
6: Changes in Control of Issuer
7: Departure of Certain Officers
8: Certain Unregistered Sales of Equity Securities
9.1: Other Events
9.2: Other Events (quarterly financials)

Note that there is some duplication of item numbers for 8-K and ABS-15G. You can use “and form-type=8-k” to add a Boolean expression to limit results to the form type you want to search.

Where can I find more information on how to request agency records?

See the FOIA Reference Guide.

I found a filing document residing on sec.gov/Archives using a public internet search. How do I find any other related documents from that filing, and how can I find all filings from that company?

You can get to the Filing Details page for a filing on sec.gov from the url path of any component document. For example, if you find this exhibit document from a search:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/909494/000143774919004069/ex_136497.htm

the filing detail page – including a link to the parent CIK for all filings from that company – is available at:

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/909494/0001437749-19-004069-index.htm

Add dashes between digits 10/11 and 12/13 of the “accession number” part of the path near the end of the url (000143774919004069) and add “-index.htm” at the end.

Can I search by IRS Employer Identification Number (EIN)?

Yes, EIN is contained in filing headers and can be searched using the EDGAR Full Text Search. For example:

https://www.sec.gov/edgar/search/#/q=%252274%25202099724%2522&dateRange=all

If you know the company and want to find its EIN, it is included in the expandable “Company Information” header of the Company Landing page for entities that file 10-Q quarterly and 10-K annual reports. A company’s landing page can be found using the Company Search.

 The Financial Statement Data Set also contains the EIN in the “ein” field.

Where do I locate a bank’s filings that I am not finding on EDGAR?

A very few FDIC-supervised depository institutions with a class of securities registered under the Securities Exchange Act make SEC filings to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. See: FDIC’s Securities Exchange Act Filings and list of these banks.

I don’t see Form ADV on EDGAR. Can I download Investment Adviser data?

Form ADV filings are available through Investment Adviser Public Disclosure. They are not searchable on EDGAR.

These three Form ADV data resources may also be helpful:

Data Resources and Services

Where can I find your data sets?

See SEC Data Resources for a listing of our various data sets and services.

When is your Fails-to-Deliver Data updated?

See the Fails-to-Deliver Data index to access data files that are updated twice a month on this schedule:

  • The first half of a given month is available at the end of the month.
  • The second half of a given month is available at about the 15th of the next month.

Security

Why am I seeing a Privacy Enhanced Message header in old EDGAR filings?

Prior to 2000, SEC public company filings included a Privacy Enhanced Message header. However, the security functionality was never implemented, and the "privacy" header was eventually eliminated. This is a public document and can be freely accessed.

Are the EDGAR directories on sec.gov intentionally open?

Directory browsing is allowed for the Central Index Key (CIK) child directories of /Archives/edgar/data/. These contain publicly-available documents from disclosure filings that companies, individuals, and funds make to the SEC. Note that the /data/ directory cannot be directly browsed because of the tens of thousands of CIK subdirectories.

These documents can be accessed through our various EDGAR searches. See Accessing EDGAR Data for more information on EDGAR documents directory structure on sec.gov.

I see some strange characters in my search results. Is your underlying code exposed?

The “Complete dissemination text file” can contain uuencoding for digital content and html and xml markup coding. This may look strange and be meaningless to many users, but there is no security concern.

Developers

I am getting an "Undeclared Automated Tool" error message. How do I declare my user agent?

See programmatic downloads below.

Do you provide API data services?

Submissions by company and extracted XBRL data are available via RESTful APIs on data.sec.gov, offering JSON formatted data.

Why am I receiving an “Access Denied” message?

Please contact webmaster@sec.gov with a screenshot or the text of the error message. Include your IP address so we can attempt to better assist you.

I want to programmatically download EDGAR filings. Can you help with coding guidance?

We do not offer technical support to programmatically download filings. We allow scripted access to sec.gov content and have some resources for developers:

Note that our current maximum access rate is 10 requests per second. This is carefully monitored to preserve equitable access for all users. See: Internet Security Policy.

Please declare your user agent in request headers:

Sample Declared Bot Request Headers:

User-Agent:

Sample Company Name AdminContact@<sample company domain>.com

Accept-Encoding:

gzip, deflate

Host:

www.sec.gov

What is the lag time between the filing acceptance time from the EDGAR Filer System and availability of the documents on sec.gov?

Filings are often available on sec.gov within 1-3 minutes of the EDGAR system timestamp. The lag time can increase significantly with high server load. We don’t guarantee and cannot predict this lag.

How do I get filings as quickly as possible when they are first available on sec.gov?

Our Latest Filings search and associated RSS are the best resources for getting as close to real time availability as possible. These resources are heavily accessed. To maintain equitable access for all users, please see Internet Security Policy. See also the subscription option to the EDGAR Public Dissemination Service.

Can I get email alerts for company filings?

We don’t offer an email notification service for EDGAR filings. However, dynamic RSS is available for some searches. See: RSS Feeds.

Note that we do have an email notification service for non-EDGAR content. You can sign up for E-mail Updates on the sec.gov home page.

Do you have a file that maps company ticker / CIK / company name?

Yes, two files are available:

  • ticker.txt: tab-delimited text file (ticker.txt) for ticker / CIK. This file provides the ticker search functionality for the Company Search Fast Search. We periodically update the file but do not guarantee accuracy or scope.
  • company_tickers.json: json file for ticker/CIK/Company name associations. These associations provide the typeahead lookup and search functionality for the home page EDGAR search. The company names are EDGAR conformed names. We periodically update the file but do not guarantee accuracy or scope.

How can I search by filer status, for example “smaller reporting” or “large accelerated” filer?

EDGAR searches do not have the capability to filter by filer status, but you can use the Financial Statement Data Sets. The SUB data set includes an “afs” element that could allow you to filter by filer status:

Filer status with the SEC at the time of submission: 1-LAF=Large Accelerated, 2-ACC=Accelerated, 3-SRA=Smaller Reporting Accelerated, 4-NON=Non-Accelerated, 5-SML=Smaller Reporting Filer, NULL=not assigned.

Is there documentation about the meaning and structure of submission “header” elements?

Please see the EDGAR PDS Technical Specification. This describes the header tag elements and document text tag elements. See especially 3.3 EDGAR Header and Document Tag Definitions.

How can I understand EDGAR Timestamps?

The EDGAR Filer System assigns various timestamps to the filing when approved. You can see these in the top header part of the “Complete submission text file.” For example:

[…]
<ACCEPTANCE-DATETIME>20190311165759
[…]
CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: 20181231
FILED AS OF DATE: 20190311
DATE AS OF CHANGE: 20190311

Consult EDGAR PDS Technical Specification for definitions of these timestamps.

  • CONFORMED PERIOD OF REPORT: End date of reporting period of filing.
  • FILED AS OF DATE: EDGAR assigned official filing date, or post acceptance new filing date (Post Acceptance Correction).
  • DATE AS OF CHANGE: Date when the last Post Acceptance occurred.
  • Acceptance Date: Date the submission was accepted by EDGAR. Format is YYYYMMDD
  • Acceptance Time: Time (EST) at which the submission was accepted by EDGAR. Format is HHMMSS

There is no timestamp to indicate when filing content is first available on sec.gov.

When will the XBRL taxonomies be updated?

Please monitor the SEC's EDGAR page at https://www.sec.gov/info/edgar.shtml for news of changes to accepted taxonomies. In addition, you may sign up to receive announcements from the Office of Structured Disclosure, by email at https://www.sec.gov/structureddata/news or via RSS feed at https://www.sec.gov/structureddata/article/announcement.rss.

Does the accession number pattern have any meaning?

0001193125-15-118890 is an example of an "accession number," a unique identifier assigned automatically to an accepted submission by the EDGAR Filer System. The first 10 digits (0001193125) comprise the Central Index Key (CIK) of the entity submitting the filing. This could be the company or a third-party filer agent. Some filer agents without a regulatory requirement to make disclosure filings with the SEC have a CIK but no searchable presence in the public EDGAR database (they have no filing documents in the public database). The next 2 digits (15) represent the year. The last series of digits comprise a sequential count of submitted filings from that CIK. The count is usually, but not always, reset to 0 at the start of each calendar year.

Full-Text Search

Note: Only the EDGAR Full-Text Search indexes the text content of filings. Other EDGAR searches, including the Company Search, index only filing header metadata.

Can I search for Hedge Funds in Form D filings? Can I search xml content?

The Full-Text Search indexes the content of xml elements, but doesn’t associate the element names. For example, you can search on “hedge fund” AND “pooled investment fund” + Form D.

- <industryGroup>
<industryGroupType>Pooled Investment Fund</industryGroupType>
- <investmentFundInfo>
<investmentFundType>Hedge Fund</investmentFundType>
<is40Act>false</is40Act>
</investmentFundInfo>
</industryGroup>

Why isn’t my Boolean search working?

Remember to use ALL CAPS for the Boolean operators. Enclose the search phrase in quotes for exact-phrase matching. See the Full-Text Search FAQ for more tips. Note that some common words (known as “stop words”) like the, is, at, which, and on are not indexed.

Can I filter out Exhibits from the search results?

You can try adding “NOT Ex-“ to the end of the Search For Text field. This will exclude the exhibits because the exhibit html titles start with “EX-.“ Note, however, that it will also exclude any filing documents that contain “ex-.“

Filers

All filer questions related to the filing process should be directed to Filer Support staff.

Why is my filing not displaying properly on sec.gov?

Please email webmaster@sec.gov if your publicly-disseminated document is not displaying as expected on sec.gov. Please indicate the URL and CIK. If the presentation issue involves XML, XBRL, or iXBRL, please also email structureddata@sec.gov.

Why is our company ticker not working with the Company Search, or showing an incorrect association?

Please email webmaster@sec.gov with the ticker and Central Index Key (CIK) association.

Modified: April 15, 2024
Return to Top