Reading SEC forms: 8-K, 6-K, 10-Q and more
How to Search SEC EDGAR: CIKs and Accession Numbers
How to search SEC EDGAR: find any filing by company or CIK, read an accession number, and write full-text searches with quotes, OR and exclusions that work.
What is SEC EDGAR search?
EDGAR is the SEC's public database of filings. Every company that files with the SEC has a permanent ID (the CIK), and every filing has a permanent ID (the accession number). Once you can read those two numbers, you can find, cite and share any filing without ambiguity.
EDGAR offers two kinds of search. Company search finds a filer and lists everything it has filed. Full-text search looks inside the documents themselves, across all companies, for filings since 2001. Most research questions use both: full-text search to discover which companies mention something, then company search to read the context.
Company search and the CIK
The CIK (Central Index Key) is a number of up to ten digits that EDGAR assigns to every filer: companies, funds, individual insiders, and filing agents. It never changes, even when a company changes its name or ticker. Apple's CIK, for example, is 320193, often written zero-padded as 0000320193.
Why the CIK matters more than the ticker:
- Tickers get reused and changed. A company that renames itself keeps its CIK.
- Insiders have CIKs too. A director who files a Form 4 (transaction codes explained) has a personal CIK, so you can list every company where that person has reported trades.
- URLs are built from it. A company's filing archive lives under a predictable path:
https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0000320193
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/
On a company's EDGAR page you can filter by form type, for example only 8-K or only 10-Q filings. Foreign issuers file 6-K and 20-F reports instead.
Anatomy of an accession number
An accession number has three parts separated by hyphens. Take Apple's annual report for fiscal 2024:
| Part | Value | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| Submitter CIK | 0000320193 | The entity that transmitted the filing |
| Year | 24 | Calendar year of submission (2024) |
| Sequence | 000123 | A sequence number for that submitter's filings, usually reset each year |
Here the first part is Apple's own CIK because Apple submitted its own 10-K. Many companies use a filing agent instead, and then the first ten digits are the agent's CIK, not the company's. So the prefix tells you who pressed submit, not whose filing it is. The company is identified separately in the filing's metadata.
The accession number also forms the filing's folder path, with the hyphens removed:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/320193/000032019324000123/
The filing index page
Every filing has an index page listing its documents and its key dates. For the Apple 10-K above, the index shows:
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Form type | 10-K |
| Filing Date | 2024-11-01 |
| Accepted | 2024-11-01 06:01:36 |
| Period of Report | 2024-09-28 |
Below the header is the document list: the main document, then exhibits (Exhibit 99.1 for a press release, Exhibit 10.x for agreements, and so on), then the XBRL data files. For a financing, the exhibits usually matter more than the main document. The three dates mean different things; the filing timestamps guide explains each one.
EDGAR full-text search operators that work
EDGAR full-text search covers the text of filings and their exhibits submitted electronically since 2001. Its syntax is small and worth learning exactly:
| You type | It finds |
|---|---|
warrant inducement | Documents containing both words, anywhere |
"going concern" | The exact phrase |
merger OR acquisition | Either word (OR must be capitalised) |
"registered direct" -underwritten | The phrase, excluding documents with the second word |
convert* | Words starting with that stem: convertible, conversion |
There is no AND operator because every word is already required. Wildcards work only at the end of a word and not inside quoted phrases.
You can then narrow by form type, filer, date range and the filer's state of incorporation or business location.
A worked EDGAR full-text search
Suppose you want small companies that disclosed both a going concern doubt and a registered direct offering in recent quarterly reports. A first attempt:
"going concern" "registered direct"
with the form filter set to 10-Q and the date range set to the last year. Hypothetically, that returns 1,400 documents. Adding "placement agent" narrows it to 600. Switching the form filter to 424B5 instead finds the prospectus supplements for those deals rather than the quarterly reports describing them (how to read a 424B5).
Two cautions apply. First, full-text search returns one hit per matching document, so a filing whose main document and exhibit both match can appear twice. Count distinct accession numbers, not rows. Second, a phrase can appear in a risk factor that describes something that did not happen ("we may need to conduct a registered direct offering"), so open the hit before concluding anything.
Where EDGAR search runs out
EDGAR knows what a filing says, not much about the company behind it. It cannot filter by market cap, price, float, exchange or sector, and it does not join filings to trading data. Answering "which sub-$100 million companies filed a 424B5 this week?" takes EDGAR plus a separate source of company data.
How Signal8's filing search complements EDGAR
- The live SEC filings feed follows EDGAR full-text search's grammar: every unquoted word must appear, quotes make a phrase, OR matches either term, and a leading hyphen excludes a word. It adds one-click form bundles (material events, financial results, capital raises) and shows each filing's acceptance time in Eastern time.
- Each company page links that company's filings, for example AAPL's filings tab, alongside price, news and financials.
- The Signal8 MCP server lets an AI assistant search filings and read their exhibits by accession number.
- If you want this research done for free, free dilution research tools shows how far EDGAR and the latest 10-Q go on their own. For filing data by API, Financial Modeling Prep vs Polygon compares two vendors' SEC filing endpoints.
FAQ
What is a CIK number?
A CIK, or Central Index Key, is the permanent identifier the SEC assigns to every EDGAR filer, including companies, funds, individual insiders and filing agents. It does not change when a company changes its name or ticker, which makes it a more reliable way to find a company's filings than the ticker symbol.
How do I read an SEC accession number?
An accession number such as 0000320193-24-000123 has three parts. The first ten digits are the CIK of whoever submitted the filing, which may be the company or a filing agent. The next two digits are the year of submission. The last six digits are a sequence number for that submitter's filings, usually restarting each year.
How far back does SEC EDGAR full-text search go?
EDGAR full-text search covers filings submitted electronically since 2001, including their exhibits. Older filings are still available through company search and the EDGAR archives, but their text cannot be searched through the full-text tool.
Why does the same filing appear twice in full-text search results?
Full-text search returns one result per matching document, and a filing is made of several documents: the main form plus exhibits. If your search terms appear in both the main document and an exhibit, the filing appears more than once. Count unique accession numbers to count filings.
See it on DilutionScan
Companies DilutionScan covers, with the instruments read from their SEC filings. Open one to see each instrument and the filing it came from.
- GNSGenius Group Limited8 warrant series, 1 convertible, 1 ATM program, 3 shelf registrations and 2 completed offerings on file
- SMXSMX (Security Matters) Public Limited Company Ordinary Shares10 warrant series, 8 convertibles, 2 equity lines, 4 shelf registrations, 4 S-1 registrations and 2 completed offerings on file
- MLGOMicroAlgo, Inc. Ordinary Shares2 warrant series, 5 convertibles and 2 shelf registrations on file
- HOLOMicroCloud Hologram Inc. Ordinary Shares2 warrant series, 1 convertible, 3 shelf registrations and 2 completed offerings on file
Terms in this guide
- Form 8-K
- A Form 8-K is the SEC current report a public company files, generally within four business days, to disclose material events such as agreements, offerings, executive changes and listing notices.
- Form 10-Q
- A Form 10-Q is the quarterly report a US public company files for each of its first three fiscal quarters, with unaudited financial statements, due 40 or 45 days after quarter end.
- Going concern warning
- A going concern warning is a disclosure of substantial doubt about a company's ability to keep operating and meet its obligations for one year after its financial statements are issued.
- Registered direct offering
- A registered direct offering is a sale of new shares to a small group of investors, arranged by a placement agent off an effective shelf, so the shares are freely tradeable at closing.
- Form 424B5 prospectus supplement
- A 424B5 is a prospectus supplement filed under SEC Rule 424(b)(5) to document a specific offering made off an effective shelf, stating the securities sold, the price and the use of proceeds.
- Form 4
- Form 4 is the SEC filing that officers, directors and holders of more than 10% must make within two business days to report a change in their holdings of the company's securities.
Sources
- SEC accession 0000320193-24-000123 Apple Inc. 10-K, filing date 2024-11-01, accepted 2024-11-01 06:01:36, period of report 2024-09-28
Related guides
- SEC Filing Times: Acceptance Time vs Filing DateSEC filing times explained: acceptance time vs filing date vs period of report, the 5:30 p.m. ET EDGAR cutoff and its 10 p.m. exceptions, and why it matters.
- 8-K Item Codes Explained: Items 1.01 to 9.018-K item codes explained: what Items 1.01, 2.03, 3.01, 3.02, 5.02 and 9.01 mean, the four-business-day rule, and the item combinations that flag a financing.
- How to Read a 10-Q and 10-K: Five Sections FirstHow to read a 10-Q or 10-K on a small cap. The five sections that show cash runway, going concern doubt and potential dilution, plus filing deadlines.
- Form 6-K, 20-F and 40-F: Foreign Issuer FilingsForm 6-K, 20-F and 40-F explained: why foreign private issuers file 6-Ks instead of 8-Ks, when a 20-F is due, and how to read a 6-K with no item numbers.
- How to Find a Company's Latest 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K FilingsHow to find a company's latest 10-K, 10-Q and 8-K on SEC EDGAR or Signal8, tell filing date from period, spot amendments, and know when the next one is due.
- 8-K vs 10-K: Event Report Within Four Business Days or the Audited Annual ReportAn 8-K reports one event within four business days; a 10-K is the audited, certified annual report. How they differ and how one event shows up in both.
Check any ticker for dilution
DilutionScan reads each covered company's SEC filings and lists its warrants, convertibles, ATM programs, shelves and S-1s on one page, with a dilution rating and cash runway.
This guide is from the Signal8 Academy, the research team behind DilutionScan. Educational content only. DilutionScan and Signal8 are not broker-dealers or investment advisers, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.