Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval

{{Short description|Securities and Exchange Commission database}}

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) is an internal database system operated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that performs automated collection, validation, indexing, and accepted forwarding of submissions by companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the SEC. The database contains a wealth of information about the commission and the securities industry which is freely available to the public via the Internet.{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Article/whatwedo.html|title=SEC.gov - What We Do|website=www.sec.gov}}

In September 2017, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton revealed the database had been hacked and that companies' data may have been used by criminals for insider trading.{{Cite news|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/janetwburns/2017/09/21/sec-reveals-that-hackers-may-have-used-edgar-data-for-illegal-trades/|title=SEC Reveals Its EDGAR Database Was Hacked, Maybe Used For Illegal Trades|last=Burns|first=Janet|work=Forbes|access-date=2017-09-21|language=en}}

History

Development began in 1993,{{Cite journal|last=Gerdes|first=John|date=2003-04-01|title=EDGAR-Analyzer: automating the analysis of corporate data contained in the SEC's EDGAR database|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0167923602000969|journal=Decision Support Systems|language=en|volume=35|issue=1|pages=7–29|doi=10.1016/S0167-9236(02)00096-9|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180624204153/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0167923602000969|archive-date=2018-06-24}} [http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.471.1923&rep=rep1&type=pdf Alt URL] and companies were phased in to EDGAR filing over a three-year period, ending 6 May 1996.[https://www.sec.gov/edgar/aboutedgar.htm Important Information About EDGAR]. Retrieved January 10, 2017.

Filings

Not all SEC filings by public companies are available on EDGAR. As of that date, all public domestic companies were required to submit their filings via EDGAR, except for hardcopy paper filings, which were allowed under a hardship exemption. Third-party filings with respect to these companies, such as tender offers and Schedule 13D filings, are also filed via EDGAR.

The vast majority of documents are now filed electronically, with over 3,000 filings per day.{{when|date=August 2024}}

On November{{nbsp}}4, 2002, the SEC required all foreign companies and foreign governments to file their documents via EDGAR. Prior to that time, electronic filing by foreign companies also was voluntary.

Actual annual reports to shareholders (except in the case of mutual fund companies) need not be submitted on EDGAR, although some companies do so voluntarily. However, the annual report on Form 10-K is required to be filed on EDGAR. As of May{{nbsp}}25, 2025, there were over 17 million filings to EDGAR.{{cite web|url=https://research.secdatabase.com/Filing/SearchResult |title=All SEC Filings Filed to EDGAR|publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date=May 25, 2025}}