---

name: connector-sec-edgar
description: Use when a lawyer, compliance professional, or due-diligence analyst needs to retrieve US public-company filings from the SEC's EDGAR database — including 10-K annual reports, 10-Q quarterly filings, 8-K current reports, S-1 registration statements, proxy statements, and beneficial ownership disclosures. Free public API; no authentication required. Triggers on requests involving US-listed company research, M&A due diligence on a US public entity, SEC disclosure review, or capital markets regulatory analysis.
license: MIT
metadata:
id: connector.SEC-EDGAR
category: connector
jurisdictions: [US, multi]
priority: P2
intent: [connector]
related: [connector-companies-house-uk, connector-ofac-sanctions, connector-eur-lex, connector-cocounsel-thomson-reuters]
source: Louis — HAQQ Legal AI (github.com/sboghossian/mini-claude-for-legal)
version: "1.0"

Connector — SEC EDGAR

What it does

EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) is the US Securities and Exchange Commission's online database of public company filings. Every US-listed company is required to file disclosure documents with the SEC, and all filings are publicly accessible through EDGAR.

The SEC EDGAR connector enables the legal-AI platform to:

• Retrieve public company filings by CIK (Central Index Key), company name, or ticker.
• Search filings by form type and date range.
• Extract specific sections from large filings (e.g., risk factors from a 10-K, or the material contracts exhibit list).
• Monitor for new filings by a specific company.

Setup / auth

No authentication required. The EDGAR HTTPS API and filing retrieval are public.

The SEC provides a dedicated REST API: data.sec.gov/api/:

• data.sec.gov/submissions/{CIK}.json — full filing history for a company.
• data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/ — structured financial data.
• efts.sec.gov/LATEST/search-index — full-text search.

For production use, the SEC requests that automated callers include a User-Agent header identifying the application and a contact email address. Failure to do so may result in IP-based rate limiting.

Rate limit: 10 requests/second recommended by the SEC; enforce in the connector.

Filing form types

Form	What it is	Use in legal practice
10-K	Annual report	Full business description, risk factors, financials, material contracts
10-Q	Quarterly report	Interim financials, litigation disclosures
8-K	Current report (material events)	Acquisitions, executive changes, bankruptcy, material contract entry
S-1 / F-1	IPO registration statement	Business description, financials, risk factors; pre-IPO due diligence
20-F	Foreign private issuer annual report	MENA-listed companies on US exchanges use this form
6-K	Foreign private issuer current report	Equivalent of 8-K for foreign issuers
DEF 14A	Proxy statement	Shareholder voting matters, executive compensation
SC 13D / 13G	Beneficial ownership >5%	Identify major shareholders; change of control signals
Form 4	Insider transactions	Director/officer stock purchases and sales
13F	Institutional holdings	Quarterly disclosure of > institutional managers

CIK lookup

Every EDGAR filer has a unique CIK (Central Index Key). CIK lookup by company name:

• API: https://efts.sec.gov/LATEST/search-index?q=%22company+name%22&dateRange=custom&startdt=2000-01-01&enddt=today&forms=10-K
• Or: https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?company=NAME&action=getcompany

For MENA companies listed in the US (e.g., an Israeli tech company on Nasdaq, a Gulf-domiciled SPAC), they file as Foreign Private Issuers using 20-F and 6-K forms.

Usage patterns

Pattern 1 — M&A due diligence on a US-listed target

User: "Pull the 10-K and latest 10-Qs for TechCorp Inc."
→ Connector looks up TechCorp's CIK
→ Retrieves the most recent 10-K (annual) and last two 10-Qs
→ Returns: business description, risk factors section, material contracts list, 
  pending litigation disclosures, and financial highlights
→ Flag any risk factors related to the buyer's jurisdiction or sector

Pattern 2 — 8-K monitoring for a counterparty

For ongoing transaction monitoring:

• Set up a scheduled task (via [[connector-scheduled-tasks]]) to check for new 8-K filings by a counterparty.
• Alert if an 8-K is filed describing a material event that could affect the counterparty's ability to perform (bankruptcy filing, regulatory action, change of control).

Pattern 3 — Cross-border M&A — MENA buyer, US target

For a GCC sovereign wealth fund or MENA PE firm acquiring a US-listed company:

• Retrieve the target's most recent 10-K for the business description and risk factors.
• Review the material contracts list (Exhibit 10 filings) for change-of-control clauses that trigger on the acquisition.
• Review the proxy statement for shareholder approval requirements.

Pattern 4 — Beneficial ownership analysis

User: "Who owns more than 5% of ABC Corp?"
→ Search EDGAR for ABC Corp's SC 13D and 13G filings
→ Return: list of >5% beneficial owners with their declared holdings and filing dates
→ Cross-reference owners against [[connector-ofac-sanctions]] if the transaction has US sanctions implications

Pattern 5 — Foreign private issuer research

For a Lebanese company traded on a US exchange:

• Retrieve the 20-F (annual report equivalent) — note that 20-F filings use different reporting standards than domestic 10-K filings (IFRS vs US GAAP).
• The 20-F risk factors section typically includes jurisdiction-specific disclosures about the home country's regulatory environment — useful for understanding political risk in MENA issuers.

MENA relevance

US capital markets have significant MENA intersections:

• GCC sovereign wealth funds (ADIA, PIF, QIA, Mubadala) hold US-listed securities and file 13F disclosures.
• MENA PE-backed companies pursuing US listings use F-1/20-F.
• US-listed companies with MENA operations disclose regional risk in their 10-K risk factors.
• Dual-listed companies (e.g., companies listed on both a MENA exchange and a US exchange) file both local regulatory disclosures and SEC filings.

When advising MENA clients on US capital markets transactions, EDGAR is a primary research tool. When advising US clients on MENA market entry, reviewing EDGAR filings of US-listed MENA-exposed companies provides competitive and regulatory intelligence.

Permissions & safety

• Public data only. All EDGAR content is public; no PII restrictions on the filings themselves (although they may contain names of individuals in a public-company context).
• Attribution. When returning EDGAR content, include the form type, filing date, and EDGAR accession number for citation.
• No financial advice. Information from EDGAR is for legal due diligence — never frame it as investment advice.
• Currency. EDGAR filings reflect the state as of the filing date. For fast-moving situations (e.g., a company undergoing restructuring), check for the most recent 8-K before relying on the 10-K narrative.

Failure modes

Failure	Cause	Resolution
CIK not found	Company name variation or ticker change	Try the EDGAR full-text search; search by ticker; check for former names
Filing too large	10-K files can exceed 100MB	Retrieve the index file first; then request specific exhibits by accession number
Rate limited	>10 requests/second	Implement rate limiter; queue requests
20-F filed in non-English	EDGAR requires English but some exhibits may be in original language	Note the language; link to the original exhibit

Related skills

• [[connector-companies-house-uk]]
• [[connector-ofac-sanctions]]
• [[connector-eur-lex]]
• [[connector-cocounsel-thomson-reuters]]