EDGAR Business Office staff explanations of commonly used terms, acronyms, and abbreviations in the EDGAR Filer Manual

Updated March 2022

This glossary consists of explanations by the staff of the EDGAR Business Office of commonly used terms, acronyms and abbreviations found in the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volumes I and II.  It is not a rule, regulation, or statement of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”).  The Commission has neither approved nor disapproved its content.  As with other staff statements, this glossary has no legal force or effect; it does not alter or amend applicable law; and it creates no new or additional obligations for any person. Explanations may refer to particular statutes for the user to consider, and the user may wish to consult any rules or regulations promulgated by the SEC implementing those statutes.

Note that definitions of the term “person” may differ among statutes, and the user should consult those statutes and any relevant rules and regulations in determining the appropriate definition.

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Acceptance review

Procedural checks performed by EDGAR to determine whether a filing meets certain minimum filing requirements. The requirements may relate to the composition and completeness of the submission package, as well as to the particular type of filing being made.

Accepted

An accepted filing is one that has successfully passed acceptance review.

Access codes

The three codes—CIK confirmation code (CCC), password, and password modification authorization code (PMAC)—that must be generated to log in to EDGAR.

Accession number

A unique reference number generated by the EDGAR system for each submission that can be used to inquire about the status of the submission. This number does not mean that EDGAR has accepted the submission.

American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)

ASCII is the standard code developed in the United States for information interchange among data processing systems, data communications systems, and associated equipment.

Applicant type

“Applicant” refers to the individual or company that needs to file with the SEC. Applicant types include, for example, “filer,” “filing agent,” and “transfer agent.” For a complete list of applicant types, including definitions, see the Understand and utilize EDGAR applicant types section of the How Do I guide.

ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange)

ASCII is the standard code developed in the United States for information interchange among data processing systems, data communications systems, and associated equipment.

ASCII/SGML

EDGAR’s term for Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) documents in ASCII format.

Associated person—Municipal Advisor

Any person that meets the definition of an “associated person” as defined in the Instructions for the Form MA Series.  (Please also see the Instructions for the Form MA Series for its definition of “person.”)

Associated person—Broker-Dealer

Any person that meets the definition of “person associated with a broker or dealer” as defined in Section 3(a)(18) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(18)).
(Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

CCC (CIK Confirmation Code)

An eight-character code that EDGAR uses in conjunction with the CIK that is unique to a filer.

CIK (Central Index Key)

A unique number that the SEC assigns to each EDGAR filer and that is associated with the filer’s EDGAR filing account.

Class (contract) identifier

Unique identifier assigned by the SEC to each class (contract) of an investment company. The format is a 'C' followed by nine digits.

Confidential

Refers to portions of documents not made public, pursuant to SEC rules.

Confirming copy

An electronic copy of a paper filing. In this instance, the paper filing is considered to be the official copy and the confirming copy is an electronic duplicate.

Correspondence submission (CORRESP)

A submission type EDGAR participants may use to submit nonpublic information, generally correspondence, to SEC staff. Correspondence submissions are not disseminated immediately, however, SEC staff may release all or portions of these documents electronically if they relate to the staff’s review process.

Data field

An element in a submission data entry form.

Document

Generic term for the various forms, reports, schedules, exhibits, items of correspondence, etc., that comprise submissions to EDGAR. A document is a discrete unit of text. One or more documents comprise an electronic submission. Examples of documents include a registration statement, a Form 10-Q, a cover letter, or an exhibit as a separate document within a submission.

Document header

A header used within an EDGAR submission to indicate, by the appropriate use of tags and tag values, the document type, and, in some cases, the description of the document. EDGAR constructs document headers for each separate document contained within a submission.

Document type

This identifies the type(s) of document submitted to the SEC. For example, a submission that consists of a single document would have a document type equal to its submission type (e.g., 10-K). In contrast, a submission that consists of multiple documents would have different document types for each document (e.g., a submission on Form N-1A with multiple exhibits would have document types N-1A, EX-99.a CHARTER, EX-99b BYLAWS, etc.).

EDGAR

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) means the computer system for the receipt, acceptance, review and dissemination of documents submitted in electronic format to the Commission. See Rule 11 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.11).

EDGAR Filer Manual

The  manual that sets forth the requirements for access to EDGAR and electronic submissions. See Rule 11 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.11) and Rule 301 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.301).

Electronic filing

One or more electronic documents filed under the federal securities laws that are transmitted or delivered to the Commission in electronic format. See Rule 11 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.11).

Electronic submission

Any document, such as a filing, correspondence, or modular submission, or any discrete set of documents, transmitted or delivered to the SEC in electronic format. See Rule 11 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.11).

Entity

A person that has applied for and been granted access to make electronic submissions on the EDGAR system. A “person” in this context typically can be an individual, sole proprietorship, or any partnership, corporation, trust, limited liability company (LLC), limited liability partnership (LLP), or other organization.) Each entity has its own Central Index Key (CIK). Some legal entities may have more than one CIK if they serve in more than one filing role, for example, if a filing agent also has an arm of the company that does training and acts as a training agent.

Exchange Act

The Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78a et seq.).

Extensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL)

An XML-based markup language used for standardized reporting of business information, especially that information relating to a company’s financial performance.

Extensible Markup Language (XML)

A simple, very flexible text format derived from SGML for efficient submission of information.

File number

A number assigned by the SEC to registrations, applications, and reports.

Filer

A person on whose behalf an electronic filing is made (that does not fall within a more specific EDGAR applicant type such as “filing agent” or “transfer agent”).  (A “person” typically can be an individual, sole proprietorship, or any partnership, corporation, trust, limited liability company (LLC), limited liability partnership (LLP), or other organization.)

Filer-constructed submissions

Submissions prepared by filers or their agents without the use of the EDGAR filer interface. For further information, see the Submit online forms section of the How Do I guide.

Filing agent

A financial printer, law firm, or other person that uses its own EDGAR access codes to submit a filing or portion of a filing on behalf of a filer. (A “person” typically can be an individual, sole proprietorship, or any partnership, corporation, trust, limited liability company (LLC), limited liability partnership (LLP), or other organization.)

Filing type

A type of submission pursuant to the federal securities laws (e.g., Form 10-K, Form 10-Q, preliminary proxy statement, etc.).

FINRA (Financial Industry Regulatory Authority)

A self-regulatory organization, as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26)), which regulates member broker-dealers. 

Form ID

The Uniform Application for Access Codes to file on EDGAR, an online form that individuals and companies must complete to request access to EDGAR. The completed online form must be signed by an authorized individual and notarized, and uploaded as part of the application process.

Form SE

The form used for submission of paper format exhibits by electronic filers.

Form TH

The form used to notify the SEC that the filing is being made in paper pursuant to a temporary hardship exemption, as specified by Rule 201 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.201).

Form type

A distinct type of document pursuant to the federal securities laws, e.g., Form 10-K or Form S-1. Form types may have several variants (e.g., an initial filing or an amendment). For EDGAR, each variant is recognized by a specific name, referred to as a submission type (defined below).

Funding portal

Any person that meets the definition of “funding portal” in Section 3(a)(80) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(80). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

Grouped tags

Tags (fields) that must appear together. Tags that must follow the lead tags are shown with the same number plus a numerical designation (e.g., 5.1, 5.2, etc.). Please only use the grouped tags that are applicable to the filing; be aware that not all possible grouped tags may apply.

Header

The basic information required to precede the text of each electronic submission and document submitted through EDGAR. Submission headers provide identifying information about the
submission (e.g., the submission type of the principal document and the identity of the electronic filer).

HTML

HyperText Markup Language, a simple markup language used to create documents that are portable from one platform to another. It consists of tags that describe data elements within the submission.

Inline XBRL

A format that allows filers to embed XBRL data directly into an HTML document, eliminating the need to tag a copy of the information in a separate XBRL exhibit.

Institutional investment manager (Form 13F filer)

A person that is required to file a Form 13F under Section 13(f) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78m(f)(6)(A)). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

Interactive data file

Machine-readable computer code that presents information in eXtensible Business Reporting Language (XBRL) electronic format pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR §232.405) and as specified by the EDGAR Filer Manual. When a filing is submitted using Inline XBRL as provided by Rule 405(a)(3) of Regulation S-T (17 CFR §232.405(a)(3)), a portion of the interactive data file is embedded into a filing with the remainder submitted as an exhibit to the filing.  See Rule 11 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.11).

Investment Company Act

The term Investment Company Act means the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (15 U.S.C. 80a-1 et seq.).

Investment company, business development company or insurance company separate account

A person that meets the definition of “investment company” in Section 3 of the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended (see 15 U.S.C. 80a-3), or otherwise registers an offering of its securities on a registration form adopted by the SEC under such Act, including management companies, face-amount certificate companies, unit investment trusts, business development companies, and insurance company separate accounts (including any separate account which would be required to be registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 except for the exclusion provided by Section 3(c)(11) of such Act and which files a registration statement on Form N-3 or Form N-4). (Please see Section 2(a)(28) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 80a-2(a)(28)).)

Investment company type

Information required on the Series and Classes (Contracts) Information page on the EDGAR Filing website indicating whether an investment company’s last effective registration statement was filed on Form N-1, N-1A, N-2, N-3, N-4, N-5, N-6, S-1, S-3, or S-6.

Large trader

A person that is a “large trader” as defined by Rule 13h-1(a)(1) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. See 17 CFR 240.13h-1(a)(1). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

LTID (Large Trader Identification Number)

Identification number used to track large traders pursuant to Rule 13h-1 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.13h-1).

Lockbox

The term used to describe the arrangement with the U.S. Treasury-designated depository to collect and deposit checks, money orders, cash, and wire transfers to an SEC account at the
depository.

Master segment

In EDGAR, a segment, referred to as a subordinate segment, is a document (partial or whole) that is to be included in a submission once EDGAR has processed it. The master segment is the final submission transmitted to EDGAR that incorporates all the previously submitted subordinate segments.

Modular submission

An electronic submission that contains one or more documents, or portions of a document, submitted for storage in the non-public EDGAR data storage area for purposes of subsequent inclusion in one or more electronic filings pursuant to Rule 501(a) of Regulation S-T. See 17 CFR 232.501(a) and Rule 11 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.11).

Module

A partial or complete document that is intended to be included in an electronic submission. Filers submit modules to EDGAR as module documents in module submissions. Modules are stored in a non-public data storage area of EDGAR. Filers can incorporate modules into multiple subsequent submissions. Up to 10 modules may be stored for a single CIK on EDGAR. Storage is limited to a total of one megabyte per CIK, with a maximum of one megabyte for a single module.

Municipal advisor

A person that is a “municipal advisor” as defined in Section 15B(e)(4) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78o-4(e)(4)). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

Municipal advisory firm

Any organized entity that is a municipal advisor, including sole proprietors.

Named transfer agent

A named transfer agent, as defined in Rule 17Ad-9(j) under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 (17 CFR 240.17Ad-9(j)), means a registered transfer agent that has been engaged by an issuer to perform transfer agent functions for an issue of securities but has engaged a service company (another registered transfer agent) to perform some or all of those functions.

Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization (NRSRO)

Any person that is a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(62)). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

Non-investment company applicant

A person submitting an application for an order seeking an exemption under the Investment Company Act of 1940, as amended. (Please see Section 2(a)(28) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 80a-2(a)(28)).)

Non-public

Information that is not immediately, or ever, disseminated publicly. For example, correspondence is non-public information, however, SEC staff may release all or portions of these documents if they relate to the staff’s review process.

NRSRO (Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization)

Any person that is a “nationally recognized statistical rating organization” as defined in Section 3(a)(62) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(62)). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

Official filing

Any filing that is received and accepted by the SEC, regardless of filing medium and exclusive of header information, tags, and any other technical information required in an electronic filing. Note that the electronic identification of investment company type and inclusion of identifiers for series and class (or contract, in the case of separate accounts of insurance companies) as required by Rule 313 of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.313) are deemed part of the official filing.

Passphrase

A security code used in conjunction with the CIK to generate a set of EDGAR access codes. The passphrase and CIK must be entered correctly to generate new or replacement EDGAR access
codes. The passphrase is unique and distinct from the password. The passphrase cannot be used to log in to any of the EDGAR websites.

Password

A 12-character code used to log into the EDGAR system and change the CCC. EDGAR uses the password in combination with a CIK to identify the entity making a submission. The password, along with the CCC and PMAC, are referred to as the EDGAR access codes. 

Password Modification Authorization Code (PMAC)

An 8-character code used to change the password. The PMAC, along with the CCC and password, are referred to as the EDGAR access codes. 

Person

An individual, sole proprietorship, or firm. A firm includes any partnership, corporation, trust, limited liability company (LLC), limited liability partnership (LLP), or other organization.

PMAC (Password Modification Authorization Code)

An 8-character code used to change the password. The PMAC, along with the CCC and password, are referred to as the EDGAR access codes. 

Registrant

An issuer of securities for which a Securities Act registration statement is required to be filed and/or an issuer of securities with respect to which an Exchange Act registration statement or report is required to be filed and/or an investment company required to file an Investment Company Act registration statement or report.

Securities Act

The Securities Act of 1933, as amended (55 U.S.C. 77a et seq.).

SDR (Security-Based Swap Data Repository)

Any person that is a “security-based swap data repository” as defined in Section 3(a)(75) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(75)). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

Security-based swap dealer and major security-based swap participant

Any person that is a “security-based swap dealer” or a “major security-based swap participant” as each term is defined in Sections 3(a)(67) and (71) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(67) and (71)). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

Security-based swap execution facility

A trading system or platform that is a “security-based swap execution facility” as defined in Section 3(a)(77) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(77)).

Segment

A portion of a filing, submitted separately, which may be combined with other segments up to six business days later to make a single complete filing.

Segmented filing

An electronic format document assembled from segments previously submitted to the non-public EDGAR data storage for one-time inclusion in an electronic filing pursuant to Rule 501(b) of Regulation S-T (17 CFR 232.501(b)).

Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO)

Any person that is a “self-regulatory organization” as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26)).  (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)  A list of SROs is provided on the SEC.gov website.

Serial company

A company created as a result of a parent company filing a Form 424H—using a serial tag—with the SEC.

Series identifier

Unique identifier assigned by the SEC to each series of an investment company. The format is an “S” followed by nine digits.

SGML (Standard Generalized Mark-up Language)

An openly-documented and freely-implementable international standard for semantic markup of textual documents in a manner that permits the separation of the underlying content from the formatting instructions for display or printing.

SRO (Self-Regulatory Organization)

Any person that is a “self-regulatory organization” as defined in Section 3(a)(26) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(26)).  (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)  A list of SROs is provided on the SEC.gov website.

Standard Generalized Mark-up Language (SGML)

An openly-documented and freely-implementable international standard for semantic markup of textual documents in a manner that permits the separation of the underlying content from the formatting instructions for display or printing.

Submission

A submission is the fundamental unit of information that is transmitted to EDGAR for receipt, validation, and acceptance. It is the conveyance of a document or series of documents to the SEC.

Submission type

The specific name by which EDGAR recognizes the variants of submissions with the SEC (e.g., for Form Type S-3—the registration statement relating to dividend reinvestment plans—EDGAR recognizes the submission types S-3, S-3/A (for amendments), S-3ASR (for automatic shelf registration of securities of well-known seasoned issuers)). Other examples include modules and correspondence.

Suspended filing

Filings that have not successfully passed EDGAR’s acceptance review are placed in a suspended status indicating fatal errors within the submission. Suspended filings are not publicly viewable and will be deleted in six business days. If an EDGAR filer receives notice that a filing has been suspended, the fatal errors must be corrected and the filing must be re-transmitted.

Suspense message

Notification from the SEC that an electronic submission has not met the minimum filing requirements and been suspended by EDGAR. Suspense messages are emailed to filers and all email addresses listed on the notification page, unless the filer has opted out of such notifications.

Tag

An identifier that highlights specific information to EDGAR that is in the format required by the EDGAR Filer Manual.

Taxonomy

Electronic dictionary of business reporting elements used to report business data. A taxonomy is composed of an element names file (.xsd) and relationships files directly referenced by that schema. Together the set of related schemas and relationships files constitute a taxonomy. Information on the current taxonomies supported for the SEC’s interactive data programs is available from the Office of Structured Disclosure in the Division of Economic and Risk Analysis.

Technical specifications

Guidance published by the SEC that allows companies to create software or format output compatible with the EDGAR system.

Test filing

A submission made to EDGAR to test the ability to create a filing in an EDGAR-acceptable format. EDGAR sends the results of a test filing acceptance review to the filer via acceptance or suspense messages. A test filing cannot be changed to a live filing.  Test filings are temporary filings that are automatically deleted from EDGAR after they are accepted or suspended.

Training agent

Any person that will be sending only test filings in conjunction with training other persons.

Transfer agent

Any person that is a “transfer agent” as defined in Section 3(a)(25) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. See Section 3(a)(25) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(25)). (Please see Section 3(a)(9) of that statute for its definition of “person.” (15 U.S.C. 78c(a)(9)).)

Transmission

A set of one or more submissions sent electronically to EDGAR during an online session.

Trust Indenture Act

The Trust Indenture Act of 1939, as amended (15 U.S.C. 77aaa et seq.).

Type 1

A module or segment that contains a portion of a document that is positioned within a submission using the <MODULE> or <SEGMENT> tags.

Type 2

A module or segment that contains an entire document, or documents, positioned at the end of a submission much like an appendix.

Value

Information that is supplied by the filer and inserted in a data field. For example, the “name” data field would indicate the name of the person to be contacted who could answer questions about a particular filing.

XBRL (Extensible Business Reporting Language)

An XML-based markup language used for standardized reporting of business information, especially that information relating to a company’s financial performance.

XML (Extensible Markup Language)

A simple, very flexible text format derived from SGML for efficient submission of information.