Observe Data and Process Filing Limits

June 4, 2024

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Be Mindful of ASCII Limits

If you save your documents as .txt files (ASCII),

  • Save as plain text in Microsoft Word and check the line break option.
  • Each line must not exceed 80 characters including spaces.
  • To create a visual guideline for line breaks, add a place keeper (such as a *, after 80 characters) and then press shift for each line.
  • The font must be Courier or Courier New, font size 12.
  • Make the margins at least 1 inch on the right and left.

For instructions on how to construct ASCII-formatted documents, refer to the EDGAR Filer Manual Volume II, Section 5, Constructing Attached Documents and Document Types.

Be Mindful of PDF Restrictions

EDGAR will reject PDF or other submissions that contain hyperlinks to documents outside of EDGAR or other executable code. Any uniform resource locator (URL) must be in plain text unless it references another EDGAR submission.

EDGAR considers the following to be acceptable official PDF documents:

  • The PDF authenticating documents that accompany the applications for EDGAR access, update passphrase, convert paper only filer to electronic filer, and access for new serial companies.
  • The following submission form types and their variants: 13H, 40-33, 497AD, 40-17G, 40-17GCS, 40-24B2, MA, MA-I, NRSRO-UPD, NRSRO-CE, NRSRO-FR, NRSRO-WCLS, NRSRO-WREG, and X-17A-5.
    • EDGAR will continue to allow ASCII and HTML as the primary document for submission form types 40-33, 40-33/A, 497AD, 40-17G, 40-17G/A, 40-17GCS, 40-17GCS/A, 40-24B2, 40-24B2/A, X-17A-5 and X-17A-5/A.
  • The following exhibits of submission form types DOS, 1-A, 1-K, 1-SA, 1-U, and their variants: EX1A-13 TST WTRS, EX1K13 TST WTRS, EX1SA-13 TST WTRS, and EX1U-13 TST WTRS.
  • The following Regulation Crowdfunding submission form types: C, C/A, CAR, C-AR/A, C-TR, CFPORTAL, CFPORTAL/A, and CFPORTAL-W.
  • Exhibits ATS-N EX-1 SCHD A BD, ATS-N EX-2 SCHD B BD, ATS-N EX-3 REDLINE, ATS-N EX-4 AGG STATS, and ATSN EX-5 CATG MTRC for Form ATS-N.
  • Exhibit EX-96 of form types S-1, S-1/A, S-3, S-3/A, S-4, S-4/A, S-4 POS, POS AM, F-1, F-1/A, F-3, F-3/A, F-4, F-4/A, F-4 POS, 10-12B, 10-12B/A, 10-12G, 10-12G/A, 10-K, 10-K/A, 20-F, 20-F/A, 20FR12B, 20FR12B/A, 20FR12G, 20FR12G/A, 1-A, 1-A/A, and 1-A POS.

In addition, official documents for these exhibits are accepted in ASCII and HTML formats.

You may submit the PDF version of your filing as an unofficial document attachment to your assembled submission.

EDGAR must, however, receive all official documents in either ASCII/SGML format or HTML format (with optional JPG or GIF graphic support files) or the submission will be suspended.

Be Mindful of File Size Limits—200 MB in Most Instances/600 MB for Certain Forms

Your file submission size—including all attached documents—must not exceed 200 MB for all form types except: If your document attachment is larger than the size limit, split the document into two or more documents. If you are a filing a 10-K—for example—attach page 1 of 2 of the document and then file an amendment, 10-K/A, with page 2 of 2 at the top.

  • Form types ABS-EE, ABS-EE/A, NPORT-NP, NPORT-NP/A, NPORT-P, and NPORT-P/A which may not exceed 600 MB.
  • A combined 10-D/ABS-EE submission must not exceed 800 MB, with 600 MB for the ABS-EE submission and 200 MB for the 10-D submission (and their respective amendments).

HTML Header Tags—What Are They?

The header tag element of your HTML document represents a container for introductory content. The tagging language is a powerful data representation method that enhances the method of displayed public information.

Due to some formatting restrictions, EDGAR will accept only a subset of the HTML 3.2/4.0 tagging standard. For more information—including a reference table with the list of acceptable HTML document header tags—refer to the EDGAR Filer Manual Volume II, Section 5, Constructing Attached Documents and Document Types.

Data Entry Fields

All EDGAR filings submitted using EDGAR templates contain fields to manually enter your company information. If you are amending a previous filing, enter your CIK and CCC—as well as the accession number of the submission—to populate the existing data.

If you are creating a new filing and wish to create new data, delete “form data” from the delete browsing history option under your browser tools (refer to Check my browser settings for EDGAR for instructions).

Exhibits / Attached Documents

Many EDGAR filings include attached documents that are labeled according to their content; these are known as exhibits. You must accurately and clearly label all of your exhibits. If you have multiple exhibits of a certain type (for example, three different Exhibits 99), then you must name them sequentially as they should be considered (for example, Exhibit 99.1, Exhibit 99.2, and Exhibit 99.3). You can find more information about exhibits—including a detailed list of acceptable exhibit types—in the EDGAR Filer Manual Volume II, Section E.4, Submission and/or Document Types.

Organizational Charts

If you choose to attach a document consisting of an organizational chart to your 13-H filing, it must be uploaded as a readable PDF document with scanned images that have been parsed for character recognition to pass EDGAR validation. Step-by-step instructions are available at Prepare, save, and attach an org chart.

Printing

If you would like to print a form prior to submitting, click the print button in the form and choose a blank form or the current form with your form data.

Printing errors (such as opening a blank form) may be due to configuration issues. Follow the instructions above for trouble-shooting technical issues in Section 2, Configuring Google Chrome and Internet Explorer browsers for EDGAR.

The form may also be printed after it has been submitted, reviewed, and disseminated on SEC.gov.

Saving form data (.eis files)

You can save a form in progress on your computer by using the save button. The form will be saved as an .eis file, which is a file format specific to EDGAR. Make sure you save this file with the same name and .eis convention since changing the file name may corrupt the file.

Last Reviewed or Updated: Oct. 31, 2024