SEC Filings / Core forms
EDGAR Search Basics: CIKs, Accession Numbers and Full-Text Search
How to find any SEC filing on EDGAR, read a CIK and an accession number, write full-text searches that work, and where Signal8's filing search fits in.
5 min readLast verified
The short version
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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 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.
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
Terms in this guide
- Form 8-K
- The SEC current report a public company files, generally within four business days, to disclose specified material events such as agreements, offerings, executive changes and listing notices.
- Form 10-Q
- 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 depending on filer status.
- Going concern warning
- A disclosure that there is substantial doubt about a company's ability to continue operating and meet its obligations for one year after its financial statements are issued.
- Registered direct offering
- A sale of newly issued shares to a small group of investors arranged by a placement agent, made off an effective shelf registration so the shares are freely tradeable at closing.
- Form 424B5 prospectus supplement
- 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
- 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.
Put it to work
Try it on Signal8
See this in live data with Live SEC filings feed.
Also useful: Company research pages · Signal8 MCP server
Related guides
6 min read
Filing Timestamps: Acceptance Time, Filing Date and Period of Report
The three dates on every SEC filing, the 5:30 p.m. ET cutoff and its 10 p.m. exceptions, and why acceptance time matters for reading news.
6 min read
8-K Item Codes Explained: What Each Item Number Means
A field guide to Form 8-K item numbers, from 1.01 material agreements to 9.01 exhibits, and the four-business-day filing rule behind them.
6 min read
10-Q and 10-K: The Five Sections to Read First on a Small Cap
A reading order for small-cap quarterly and annual reports, from liquidity and going concern to the equity note, plus filing deadlines by filer status.
7 min read
6-K, 20-F and 40-F: How Foreign Private Issuers Report to the SEC
Why foreign companies file 6-Ks instead of 8-Ks, what the 20-F and 40-F annual reports contain, and how to read a 6-K that has no item numbers.
Educational content only. Signal8 is not a broker-dealer or investment adviser, and nothing here is a recommendation to buy or sell any security.