Prepare and Submit My Form ID Application for EDGAR Access

What is a Form ID and Who Must Submit It?

Form ID is the application for access to file on EDGAR.

You must complete and submit Form ID and submit related required documents if you are a company or individual who is:

• Seeking to open a new EDGAR account to file on EDGAR for the first time (a new EDGAR account number, known as a Central Index Key or CIK, will be issued) - or -
• An existing EDGAR account holder that does not have access to the account.

Paper Form ID applications are not accepted. Form ID must be completed online on the dashboard of the EDGAR Filer Management website, and related required documents must be uploaded through the dashboard, as explained here.

SEC staff reviews each Form ID; currently, staff requires an average of at least six business days (excluding federal holidays) to conduct Form ID reviews. Apply for access well in advance of any anticipated filing. Staff may have additional questions after your submission or you may need to correct errors in the submission, and it is not assured that staff will grant your application. Please plan accordingly!

For additional guidance, view the Applying for EDGAR access video.

Navigate to Form ID

Applicants must complete Form ID online on the EDGAR Filer Management website, available between 6:00 a.m. and 10:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays.

If you are authorized by the applicant to complete and submit Form ID on its behalf, log into the EDGAR Filer Management website with individual account credentials obtained from Login.gov and complete multifactor authentication. For instructions regarding how to obtain Login.gov credentials, see How Do I Obtain Login.gov Individual Account Credentials and the Obtaining Individual Account Credentials video.

On the dashboard, expand Apply for EDGAR Access.

Select New EDGAR account if the applicant entity or individual does not have an EDGAR account/CIK.

Select Existing EDGAR account if applying for access for a filer that already has an EDGAR account/CIK, and enter the CIK of the existing account.

Next, select one of the following:

• Filer lost electronic access to its existing CIK account.
• Applicant is the legal successor of the filer named on the existing CIK account but did not receive access from that filer.
• Broker-dealer or “paper filer” seeks electronic access for the first time in order to file electronically on EDGAR.

If you are applying for access to an existing EDGAR account, EDGAR will pre-populate certain sections of Form ID with information currently in EDGAR for the CIK.

When completing Form ID, filers can update information on the form to assist SEC staff in its review, however, doing so will not update information in EDGAR going forward for that account. Thus, if SEC staff grants Form ID, filers must thereafter update information for the corresponding EDGAR account through Retrieve/Edit Data on the EDGAR Filing website.

Registered broker-dealers can only correct information on Form ID related to account administrators. Broker-dealers must correct any other information by submitting a Form BD/A (amendment to Form BD) to FINRA’s Web CRD/Gateway system.

Applicants that seek to make submissions on EDGAR in more than one capacity—If an applicant seeks to make submissions as, for example, a filer as well as a filing agent, it must submit a different Form ID for each capacity in which it will submit filings. On each Form ID, the applicant must indicate the filing capacity for which it seeks access. For example, one Form ID must be submitted for the applicant as a filer making filings on EDGAR for its own account, and one Form ID must be submitted for the applicant as a filing agent that will make filings on EDGAR for its clients’ accounts. If granted, each Form ID will receive a unique EDGAR CIK account number and unique access codes.

Prospective serial companies that need EDGAR access should follow the instructions in How Do I Create Asset-Backed Securities (ABS) Issuing Entities.

Complete Form ID

Refer to the EDGAR Filer Manual (“Filer Manual”), Volume I and the General Instructions for Form ID to complete Form ID. The guidance in this How Do I supplements those instructions. Information is also available within the Form ID application by selecting the information icons.

Complete all required fields (fields that are not marked as optional). If you submit a Form ID that is missing information in the required fields, the application will be considered incomplete and you will not be able to submit it.

Form ID consists of six parts. You will see the numbers for each part at the top of the Form ID application. The guidance below is organized according to the six parts of the form.

Part 1 - Application for EDGAR Access

Applicant information

Indicate whether the applicant is an individual or company.

From the drop-down list of applicant types, carefully review and select the relevant applicant type. Consult How Do I Understand and Utilize EDGAR Applicant Types if necessary. If no other applicant type appears relevant, select filer.

For confidential submissions only

Certain companies may seek access to EDGAR to submit to SEC staff a draft registration statement (DRS) or draft offering statement (DOS) for confidential, non-public review. If the applicant is seeking EDGAR access to submit to SEC staff a DRS or DOS for confidential review, select Yes under the heading Only for Non-Public Draft Registration/Offering Statements (DRS/DOS). Otherwise, select No.

• Selecting Yes prevents a new CIK number and related EDGAR account information from becoming public on SEC.gov until after a public filing is made.
• Filers who qualify to submit draft offering statements under Regulation A must prepare and submit their draft offering statements using submission form types DOS and DOS/A.
• Issuers may submit correspondence related to DRS or DOS using the submission type draft registration statement letter or draft offering statement letter (DRSLTR or DOSLTR).
• Instructions on how to file a DRS and amendments can be found in the EDGAR Filer Manual Volume II, Section 7, Preparing and Transmitting EDGARLINK Online Submissions.
• DRS is filed through the EDGAR Filing website.
• Frequently asked questions regarding use of the process for emerging growth companies—as defined in the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act—are also available.

Applicant name

Enter the name of the applicant; in the case of a company, enter the name specified in its charter.

• The name must be in English and cannot exceed 150 characters.
• Upper case and lower-case letters are allowed, as well as digits 0-9.
• EDGAR accepts the following standard ASCII (text) characters: &- \ , / ! # $ ( ) : ; = @ ` { | } .

Consider additionally searching the EDGAR Company Database to see if the applicant name you would like to use has already been assigned to another EDGAR filer.

• If you attempt to create a new account that has the same name as an existing account, your Form ID will be suspended.
• See Common error messages generated during the Form ID process below for information on how to resolve duplicate names.

EDGAR conformance of applicant names

EDGAR may conform the applicant name you enter to the standards listed below. Avoid unwanted EDGAR modifications to the applicant name by considering these standards before you enter an applicant name.

• Only single spaces are allowed. EDGAR will automatically replace any embedded sequences of two or more spaces with a single space. Multiple consecutive leading or trailing blank spaces will also be replaced with a single space.
• EDGAR will remove the following words if they are the first word of the name—A, An, The.
• EDGAR will convert the following words in a company name to their capitalized abbreviation:
• • Company will be changed to CO.
  • Corporation will be changed to CORP.
  • Incorporated and incorporation will be changed to INC.
  • And will be changed to &.
    • Limited will be changed to LTD as long as the word limited does not appear as the first word in the company name or is not followed by the word partnership.
      
      Note that these text elimination and substitution rules are case-insensitive.

EDGAR also will apply the following standards to individual applicant names:

• Individual applicant names must use the format “last, first, middle.” Individuals should include their complete middle name to avoid the potential for a duplicate name error. Punctuation is not permitted for individual names, except for hyphenated names.
• EDGAR will convert junior to JR and senior to SR.

Part 2 - Company Information

Applicants that are not natural persons should complete this section.

• The filer’s tax or federal identification number (TIN) is the number issued by the Internal Revenue Service.
  • Do not enter anything here if you are applying for an EDGAR account for an individual. DO NOT ENTER A SOCIAL SECURITY NUMBER.
  • Applicants without a TIN, enter 00-0000000.
  • Foreign issuers that do not have a TIN or federal identification number, enter 00-0000000.
  • If you are in the process of applying for a TIN when you request EDGAR access, you may update the TIN information after your Form ID has been accepted and you have access codes. Updates can be made by accessing the EDGAR Filing website and selecting the Retrieve/Edit Data option.
• Companies that do not have a Legal Entity Identifier (LEI) are not required to obtain an LEI. Companies that have an LEI should provide it here.
• Doing business as name is an optional field. You do not need to enter a doing business as name (DBA).
• If your company name is not in English, you may enter the company name in the Foreign issuer name field. You may only enter the standard ASCII character set noted above, and foreign characters are not permitted.
• If the filer’s fiscal year does not end on the same date each year (e.g., falls on the last Saturday in December), enter the date the current fiscal year will end.
• Indicate whether the filer is in good standing in its state or country of incorporation. Generally, this means a company is legally authorized to do business in that state or country and has filed all required reports and paid all related fees to the relevant jurisdiction.
• Indicate whether the filer is a single-member company. This means that the company only has a single individual who acts as the sole equity holder, director, and officer (or, in the case of an entity without directors and officers, holds position(s) performing similar activities as a director and officer).

Part 3 - Prospective Account Administrator Information

All applicants must complete this section.

Account administrators are individuals authorized by the applicant to manage the applicant's EDGAR account on EDGAR should the Form ID application be granted.

• Individuals and single-member companies are only required to list one account administrator on Form ID, but all other filers are required to list two account administrators. All applicants are encouraged to list two account administrators to avoid potential interruption in management of the account should a sole account administrator become unavailable.
• If a prospective account administrator is not the applicant (in the case of an individual applicant) or an employee of the applicant or its affiliate (in the case of a company applicant), then provide the full name of the prospective account administrator’s employer and the employer’s CIK, if any. In addition, you must attach a notarized power of attorney authorizing the individual as an account administrator to manage the applicant’s EDGAR account.
• The first account administrator listed on Form ID will be considered the applicant's EDGAR point of contact ("EDGAR POC") if the Form ID application is granted. This person will be the primary point of contact for SEC staff to reach the filer with questions or issues regarding the account.
• The email addresses provided for account administrators will be used by EDGAR for identification and notification purposes, including invitations and notifications regarding account permissions, account confirmation deadlines and reminders, and other EDGAR-related information. These email addresses will also be visible to others on the EDGAR Filer Management dashboard.
• If the Form ID application is granted by SEC staff, the filer must keep account administrator information current on the EDGAR Filer Management dashboard.

Part 4 - Billing Information

Company applicants and filing agents must complete this section.

• Identify the individual who should receive account information and/or billing invoices and who can respond to SEC staff questions including but not limited to those regarding account activity statements, account receivable letters, refunds, and dormant account notifications.
• If the Form ID application is granted by SEC staff, the filer must keep billing information current on Retrieve/Edit Data on the EDGAR Filing website or the filer’s account statements may be returned to SEC staff as undeliverable.

Part 5 - Signature

All applicants must complete this section.

Enter the name and title of the authorized individual signing Form ID. The name and title entered should match the name and title of the authorized individual who signs Form ID, and whose signature is notarized, on the Form ID authenticating document, as discussed in Part 6.

“Authorized individual” to sign Form ID—Form ID must be signed by an “authorized individual” as that term is defined in the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I. Please review this EDGAR Filer Manual provision to ensure you will have the correct person sign Form ID and you enter the correct information here.

• An authorized individual of the applicant may authorize someone else through a notarized power of attorney (POA) to sign the Form ID on the applicant’s behalf.
• If the Form ID is signed by someone who has a POA from an authorized individual, then the notarized POA document must accompany the notarized Form ID application.
• For questions about the required title of the person signing Form ID, consult the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I, Section 3(a). For example, if the applicant is a company, a duly authorized individual (such as a CEO, CFO, partner, corporate secretary, officer, director, or treasurer) must sign the Form ID.

Part 6 - Documents

All applicants must complete this section.

All filers must upload here a notarized Form ID authenticating document to EDGAR as a PDF attachment submitted with the Form ID. See the instructions below and the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I for more information about the Form ID authentication document. Other documents to be uploaded in certain circumstances include:

• Prospective account administrator(s) not employed by the applicant, including filing agents and other third parties acting on behalf of the applicant, must upload to EDGAR a notarized Power of Attorney (POA) clearly indicating that an authorized individual of the applicant, as defined in the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I, gives the individual(s) named as prospective account administrator(s) the authority to act as the applicant's account administrator(s) and manage the applicant's EDGAR account.
• If an applicant for access to an existing CIK account asserts it assumed legal control of the filer listed on the existing account but did not receive EDGAR access information from the filer, the applicant must upload to EDGAR documents that clearly establish the applicant's authority over the company or individual whose name currently is listed in EDGAR on the existing CIK account. See the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I for more information.

Form ID Authenticating Document

Follow these steps to create and upload the Form ID authenticating document.

1. Save and print Form ID

   Save the completed Form ID in EDGAR by clicking the Save & Download button located at the bottom left of Part 6 of Form ID.

   After you have saved the Form ID, print it by selecting the Review & Print button at the bottom right of Part 6 of Form ID. You can verify that all information is accurate through the print preview screen. If you would like to correct information you previously entered, please select the edit button to the right of the relevant part of Form ID to which you would like to make corrections.

2. Sign and notarize

   You must have the Form ID application signed by the “authorized individual” of the applicant – as that term is defined in the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I, which should be the same person listed in Part 5 of Form ID as the signatory –and notarized. The signed and notarized copy of your Form ID is referred to as the Form ID authenticating document. It helps to protect filers by providing assurance that Form ID submissions are authentic and legitimate.

   Ensure that the Form ID authenticating document includes the following information:

   • Signature of authorized individual.
   • Printed name of authorized individual who signed the document (should be the same name as the person entered in Part 5 of Form ID as signatory).
   • Title of authorized individual who signed the document (should be the same title as entered in Part 5 of Form ID for signatory).
   • The printed name and title should match the signature information for the authorized individual; it should not be the information for the notary.
   • Notary signature and seal. The notary should not be the same individual as an account administrator. For information concerning electronic or remote online notarization, see the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I.
     
     Foreign filers who do not have access to a U.S. notary public may use the foreign local equivalent of a notary public or obtain notarization by a remote online notary recognized by the law of any state or territory in the U.S. or the District of Columbia. Please consult the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I.

3. Save as a PDF

   If your Form ID authenticating document is in paper format, scan and save it locally as a PDF file.

   If signature and notarization are completed electronically, ensure that the authenticating document is in PDF format.

   File names for the Form ID authenticating document PDF must adhere to all the following restrictions:

   • 32 characters or less, including the file extension.
   • All characters must be lowercase.
   • File name must start with a letter (a-z) and not contain spaces.
   • May contain digits 0-9.
   • May have up to one period (.), one hyphen (-), and one underscore character (_).

4. Upload the PDF Form ID authenticating document

   Return to the dashboard of the EDGAR Filer Management website to upload your PDF Form ID authenticating document.

   Select Apply for EDGAR Access and then select Resume and submit application from previously saved and downloaded (.eis) file to retrieve your saved Form ID application.

   Browse for the relevant previously saved and downloaded Form ID application .eis file and upload it. The restored file will then pre-populate with all previously entered information.

   Select Part 6 of Form ID and upload your Form ID authenticating document PDF.

   Select Validate & Add Document.

Attach Form ID Authenticating Document and Other Relevant Documents

Follow the same process described above to attach a notarized power of attorney (POA) document and any additional documents such as cover letters, exhibits, or correspondence. Attachments must conform to the file naming standards listed above and must have an extension of .htm, .txt, or .pdf.

• PDF attachments must not contain active content (actions, embedded JavaScript, etc.), external references (destinations, hyperlinks, etc.), passwords or document security controls. Refer to the EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume II, Chapter 5, for EDGAR standards for PDF documents.

The maximum size of a Form ID submission, including all attachments, must not exceed 200 MB.

Submit Form ID and Attachments for SEC Staff Review

You may submit your Form ID, Form ID authenticating document, and any related required documents from 6:00 a.m. until 10:00 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except federal holidays. Form ID cannot be submitted outside of these hours.

Note that EDGAR allows you to save and restore a partial or complete Form ID application to work on at a later point in time.

To submit your completed Form ID application, click Review & Print and then Submit. Confirm that you wish to proceed with the submission.

• Record your accession number ( 9999999996-**-******), a unique number generated by EDGAR for each electronic submission. Although this number does not mean that EDGAR has accepted your submission, it is a reference number that can be used to inquire about the status of your Form ID application. You will receive a confirmation email with the accession number.
• Note that the Close button will close the current data entry session and return you to the dashboard. Any data entered or attachments uploaded will be discarded if you leave the data entry session for Form ID without saving.

Only one applicant per Form ID is allowed.

EDGAR’s Save & Download functionality offers a way to restore and submit multiple Form ID applications for applicants with similar information but different names.

What to Expect After Form ID Is Submitted

After a filer submits Form ID for SEC staff review, an email will be sent to the individual(s) listed as account administrator(s) on the Form ID that will include an accession number, a unique number generated by EDGAR for each electronic submission. An accession number only confirms receipt of the Form ID submission, not that the submission was accepted or granted by SEC staff.

• This is the same number that popped up on your screen after you selected Submit.
• Refer to the accession number if necessary to contact SEC staff about this Form ID.

You will then receive an email confirming that SEC staff either accepted (granted) or rejected (suspended) your submission.

• If EDGAR or SEC staff detects an error in your submission, you will receive an email stating that your Form ID was suspended. The message will state the specific error that caused the submission to be suspended. Please fix the errors and resubmit the Form ID.
• If you submit a Form ID for an applicant with a name that is a duplicate of the name on an existing EDGAR account, your Form ID will be suspended and you will be notified by email. See below for more information regarding how to resolve issues caused when your applicant name is a duplicate of an existing named EDGAR account.

Common Error Messages Generated During the Form ID Process

Invalid file name. This error message refers specifically to the file name, not the file path where the document is located that is sometimes visible in EDGAR when a filer uploads their document.

• To comply with EDGAR’s file naming standards, the file name must be in all lower case letters and/or digits without any spaces. The name must be 32 characters or less and begin with a letter (not a number). More than one hyphen, underscore or period will result in an invalid file name.
• Ensure you have correctly named the file and rename it if necessary.

Invalid PDF tag/your PDF contains unrecognizable text. This error message is generated when the PDF contains unrecognizable text. First, verify the file name adheres to the file naming standards listed above and CORRESP is selected for file type. Make sure the PDF document does not contain any active content (embedded JavaScript), external references (destinations, hyperlinks, etc.), or passwords/document security controls.

• If you continue to receive the error, open the document in Adobe and complete the steps below to reformat the PDF as an image.
• In Adobe Acrobat—select File > Print. In the printer window, select Adobe PDF or any other PDF printer from the printer list and select Advanced. In Advanced Print Setup, click the box Print as Image and select OK. Select Print. The Save As window will appear; make sure you save the document within the file name guidelines and include a digit or letter that is distinct from the previous file name (to ensure you select the most current PDF to upload). Return to the Form ID application and resubmit the form with the new, reformatted PDF.

The name you have selected is a duplicate of an existing name that has already been assigned to another EDGAR filer.

• Check the EDGAR Company Database to search for the other filer that has this name. If the name you would like to use matches the name assigned to another individual or company, consider reviewing the filing history for the CIK to determine whether you have previously made filings using that CIK or whether that CIK belongs to an entity that is unrelated to you.
  • When determining whether the listed address matches what you would expect to see for an individual filer, consider that individual filers who are officers or directors may list an address associated with the company for which they are an officer or director.
• If you previously used another CIK and no longer have access codes, you should not seek to create a new CIK. Instead, you should reset the access codes to the existing CIK by following the instructions in How Do I Understand and Utilize EDGAR CIKs, Passphrases, and Access Codes.
• If the other CIK that has the same name as your selected name is unrelated to you, you should resubmit the Form ID and attach a letter or memorandum declaring that your filer is a new, unique entity that is not affiliated with the other filer’s CIK. When you resubmit Form ID, you should also change the applicant’s name to distinguish it from the existing CIK (such as adding the state of incorporation for a company, or a middle name for an individual). For example, if a CIK has already been issued for a company named “ABC Company” that is incorporated in Delaware and your company has the same name but is incorporated in Massachusetts, then you may want to title your CIK “ABC Company /MA.”
  • Company filers with older filing histories are expected to provide supporting documentation clearly indicating that the company is the same or a different legal entity as an existing CIK.