EDGAR, the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, accepts filing of data in statutory forms by companies and others mandated to do so with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Its purpose is to increase the fairness and transparency of the capital market for the benefit of investors by the dissemination of time sensitive information filed with the agency. The EDGAR database has been made user friendly to enable convenient and fast searching.
At present, all public domestic companies are required to make their filings on EDGAR online, other than filings permitted on paper due to a hardship exemption. Third-party filings concerning these public domestic companies, such as tender offers for purchase of stocks of the target company directly from its shareholders and announcements in Schedules 13D of the buyer regarding purchase of more than 5% of any class of such a company’s shares, are also required to be filed on EDGAR.
However, some documents are not yet allowed to be filed electronically, and consequently are not available on EDGAR.
The filing of other documents on the EDGAR like notice of sale of securities are optional and accordingly may or may not be available on the EDGAR.
Companies, except mutual funds or investment companies usually need not file their annual report to members on the EDGAR with the SEC.
Since the 4th of November 2002, all foreign companies and foreign governments are required to file their documents with the SEC on EDGAR. Earlier, electronic filing by foreign companies was voluntary.
EDGAR Filer Manual can be downloaded for assistance of individuals and entities, who use EDGAR to submit filings to the Securities and Exchange Commission.
In the section on ‘ Latest Filings’ on the EDGAR database, most recent SEC filing on the EDGAR system from all SEC filers, including individuals, paper filers and electronic filers are available.
On Historical EDGAR archives earlier filings are available.
