View source for Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval

{{Short description|Securities and Exchange Commission database}}
{{other uses|Edgar (disambiguation)}}

{{more citations needed|date=January 2017}}
'''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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.sec.gov/Article/whatwedo.html|title=SEC.gov - What We Do|website=www.sec.gov}}</ref>

In September 2017, SEC Chairman [[Jay Clayton (attorney)|Jay Clayton]] revealed the database had been hacked and that companies' data may have been used by criminals for insider trading.<ref>{{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}}</ref>

==History==
Development began in 1993,<ref>{{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]</ref> and companies were phased in to EDGAR filing over a three-year period, ending 6 May 1996.<ref>[https://www.sec.gov/edgar/aboutedgar.htm Important Information About EDGAR]. Retrieved January 10, 2017.</ref>

== Filings ==
Not all [[SEC filing]]s 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 offer]]s 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 report]]s 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.<ref name="SEC-EDGAR-Filings-Since-1994">{{cite web|url=https://research.secdatabase.com/Filing/SearchResult |title=All SEC Filings Filed to EDGAR|publisher=secdatabase.com |access-date=May 25, 2025}}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Securities and Exchange Commission]]
* [[Central Index Key]]
* [[Electronic Municipal Market Access]] system (EMMA), providing disclosure information for the [[municipal securities]] market
* [[Form N-1A]]
* [[List of company registers]]

===Other countries' equivalents to EDGAR===
* [[Federal Public Service Economy (Belgium)]]
* [[SEDAR]], Canada
* [[Central Business Register (Denmark)]]
* [[Companies Registration Office (Ireland)]]
* [[Kamer van Koophandel]], Netherlands
* [[Brønnøysund Register Centre]], Norway
* [[Comisión Nacional del Mercado de Valores]], Spain
* [[Companies House]], United Kingdom
* [[Securities and Exchange Board of India]], India
* [https://financialreports.eu FinancialReports], Europe

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{Official website|https://www.sec.gov/submit-filings}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Internet properties established in 1996]]
[[Category:1996 establishments in the United States]]
[[Category:U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission|EDGAR]]
[[Category:Government databases in the United States]]