How to search SEC EDGAR for filings (2026)
Knowing how to search SEC EDGAR turns a company's public filings from a rumour into something you can read for yourself. EDGAR is the Securities and Exchange Commission's free filing database, and nearly every US disclosure, from annual reports to institutional holdings, lands there first. This guide walks through how to search SEC EDGAR by company and by keyword, and flags the date limits worth knowing. It is not investment advice.
Definition
SEC EDGAR
is the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, the SEC's free public database of US securities filings. Companies and investors file disclosures such as 10-Ks, 10-Qs, S-1s, and 13Fs there, and anyone can search and read them at no cost. Source: SEC EDGAR.
How to search EDGAR by company
The most common path is to start from the company.
- Go to the EDGAR site at sec.gov and open the company search.
- Enter the company name or ticker. EDGAR resolves it to the company's central index key, or CIK, which is its unique identifier in the system.
- Open the filing history to see every document the company has filed, newest first.
- Filter by form type to jump to a specific report, such as a 10-K or an 8-K.
This is the fastest way to read the annual 10-K or the latest quarterly 10-Q for a single company.
How to use EDGAR full-text search
When you do not know which company filed something, use the full-text search instead. It searches the words inside filings, so you can look for a phrase, a person, or a fund name across many companies at once. This is how you find, for example, every filer that mentioned a particular security. One limit matters: the full-text index covers filings from 2001 onward.
From 2001
How far back EDGAR full-text search indexes filing contents
Source: SEC EDGAR
Which filings can you find on EDGAR?
Most US disclosures sit on EDGAR, including:
- Company reports: the 10-K, 10-Q, and 8-K
- IPO registrations: the S-1
- Ownership disclosures: the 13F and insider Form 4
The limits of raw EDGAR
EDGAR is the primary source, but it hands you the raw document. It does not decode a 13F into named holdings, track changes across quarters, or show where independent filers overlap. Doing that by hand across many filings is slow. For that reason many people read EDGAR for the primary document and use a tracker to follow filers over time. See how a 13F tracker sits on top of the same public data.
Flock reads these filings and keeps each one dated and linked back to its EDGAR source, so you can always check the original. What any of it means for your money is your call to make.
Frequently asked questions
What is SEC EDGAR?
EDGAR is the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, the public database where US companies and investors file their required disclosures. It is free to search and holds filings such as 10-Ks, 10-Qs, S-1s, and 13Fs. Source: SEC EDGAR.
Is SEC EDGAR free to use?
Yes. EDGAR is a free public service run by the SEC. There is no account or fee required to search for a company and read its filings. Source: SEC EDGAR.
How far back does EDGAR full-text search go?
EDGAR's full-text search covers filings from 2001 onward. Older filings still exist in the system and can be found through a company's filing history, but the keyword search indexes documents from 2001. Source: SEC EDGAR.
Can I search EDGAR by filing type?
Yes. You can filter a company's filings by form type, such as 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, or 13F, to jump straight to the report you want rather than scrolling the full history. Source: SEC EDGAR.
Flock tracks these filings, sourced, dated, and linked back to the original. See what smart-money entities disclosed, without the guesswork about what it means.
Disclosures shown are public regulatory filings. Data may be delayed or incomplete. Smart-money entities may no longer hold positions shown. Not investment advice.