EDGAR Next Frequently Asked Questions

Dec. 17, 2024

The EDGAR Business Office has compiled answers to certain frequently asked questions (FAQs) regarding EDGAR Next. If you have a question that is not addressed here, please send an email to EDGARNext@sec.gov.

Note that the terms “EDGAR filer” and “filer” are used interchangeably in these FAQs.

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Enrolling in EDGAR Next

Question 1: What is enrollment?
Answer 1: Enrollment is a streamlined process that allows EDGAR filers to transition to EDGAR Next without completing Form ID, notarizing documents, or presenting a power of attorney to SEC staff. Moreover, enrollment requests are typically processed and effective the same day they are submitted, and enrolled filers may access the optional EDGAR application programing interfaces (APIs).

Each filer may only enroll once. Therefore, each filer should coordinate carefully with all entities and individuals that may currently be filing on its behalf as soon as possible to determine which entity or individual the filer will authorize to enroll it.

To enroll in EDGAR Next, certain information must be presented to SEC staff on the dashboard of the EDGAR Filer Management website. Please refer to the FAQs below for more details and the Enrolling in EDGAR Next instructional video.

Question 2: Does every EDGAR filer have to enroll in EDGAR Next?
Answer 2: Yes, all EDGAR filers must enroll in EDGAR Next, with limited exceptions.

EDGAR filers whose Form ID applications for EDGAR access are submitted and granted by SEC staff on or after March 24, 2025 are immediately subject to the requirements of EDGAR Next and do not need to enroll.

Question 3: Do EDGAR filers that file using a filing agent or software provider need to enroll in EDGAR Next?
Answer 3: Yes. EDGAR filers must enroll in EDGAR Next regardless of whether they are using a filing agent or other third-party service provider to file.

A filer should coordinate with its filing agents and third-party service providers prior to enrolling in EDGAR Next to determine whether they will provide enrollment services to the filer and which entity or individual the filer will authorize to enroll it.

Filing agents and third-party providers should consider communicating to their filer clients whether they will assist clients with enrollment in EDGAR Next.

Question 4: When must EDGAR filers enroll?
Answer 4: Filers can enroll until December 19, 2025, but they will not be able to file until they enroll.

After December 19, 2025, filers will be unable to enroll, and filers that have not enrolled will be unable to file on EDGAR or otherwise access their EDGAR accounts until they submit a Form ID application for access that is granted by SEC staff.

The following table illustrates the timeline for enrollment:
Dates Enrollment Open/Closed Benefits of Enrolling Consequences of Not Enrolling
September 15, 2025— December 19, 2025 Open As soon as filers enroll, they may file, access their EDGAR accounts, and use APIs. Cannot file or access EDGAR accounts until enrolled.
December 22, 2025—forward Closed N/A Cannot file or access EDGAR accounts. Filers must apply for access on Form ID and await outcome of SEC staff review. If SEC staff grants the Form ID, filers will be able to file, access their EDGAR accounts, and use APIs.

Note that filers whose Form ID applications for EDGAR access are submitted and granted by SEC staff on or after March 24, 2025 are immediately subject to the requirements of EDGAR Next and do not need to enroll.

Question 5: Who should enroll the EDGAR filer in EDGAR Next?
Answer 5: A filer may select anyone it trusts to enroll it, including but not limited to the filer’s employee, filing agent or law firm, or other trusted entity or individual. Keep in mind that only one individual can enroll each filer, and each filer can enroll only once.

SEC staff recommends that the filer select a trusted person or entity to enroll them because that person or entity will have sensitive information about the filer’s account necessary to enroll.

In advance of enrollment, the filer should coordinate with all those currently making filings on the filer’s behalf to clarify whom the filer will authorize to enroll it and to ensure that others do not attempt to enroll the filer without authorization.

Question 6: What information does an EDGAR filer need to enroll in EDGAR Next?
Answer 6: A filer must have the following information to enroll in EDGAR Next:

  • Central index key (CIK)
  • CIK confirmation code (CCC)
  • Passphrase
  • For each account administrator:
    • Name
    • Email address (must match the email address of the person’s Login.gov credentials)
    • Business address, and
    • Business telephone number

The filer also should be prepared during enrollment to select the quarter-end date by which it will perform annual confirmation on EDGAR—either March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31.

If the filer is being enrolled as part of a bulk enrollment, the person enrolling the filer should also be prepared to indicate whether the filer is a single-member entity on the enrollment spreadsheet.

Question 7: If I am an employee of a company that makes filings on EDGAR (such as a filing agent, issuer, or broker-dealer), do I need to apply for a CIK?
Answer 7: No, only the entity or individual required to file on EDGAR pursuant to the federal securities laws needs to have a CIK (which is an EDGAR account).

Individuals who take actions for the company need to have Login.gov individual account credentials and be authorized on the dashboard. See How Do I Obtain Login.gov individual account credentials.

Question 8: Can I use a fake or temporary email to enroll?
Answer 8: No, filers should NOT use fake or non-existent email addresses to test in Beta, enroll, or make filings on live EDGAR. See the Login-gov Credentials section below for additional information about appropriate email usage in connection with EDGAR Next.

Question 9: Do I need a power of attorney to enroll?
Answer 9: No, a power of attorney does NOT need to be presented to SEC staff to enroll. 

Question 10: Do I need to present SEC staff with a notarized document or a power of attorney to enroll?
Answer 10: No. You do not need to present a notarized document or power of attorney to SEC staff to enroll.

If a filer wishes to execute a power of attorney or other notarized document to authorize the person or entity who will enroll the filer, that is a private arrangement between the filer and that person or entity.

For more information about enrollment, please see How Do I Enroll in EDGAR Next.

Question 11: Is there a template for the power of attorney?
Answer 11: No, SEC staff does not provide a template.

Question 12: What should unenrolled filers do if they do not have their current EDGAR passphrase and CCC needed to enroll, or are unsure if these codes are current?
Answer 12: If the filer does not know its current EDGAR passphrase and/or CCC, or is unsure if the filer’s passphrase and/or CCC are current (the passphrase and CCC are current if they have been reset since September 2019) so it can enroll:

  • If the filer has access to its EDGAR point of contact email (“EDGAR POC email”), follow the instructions in How Do I Update the Passphrase and CCC to Enroll (and Avoid the Need to Submit Form ID).
  • The EDGAR POC is the person whom a filer has designated as its primary contact for SEC staff to reach with EDGAR inquiries. On the EDGAR Next dashboard, the EDGAR POC is the account administrator selected as the filer’s primary point of contact. The primary point of contact can be changed on the dashboard to a different account administrator at any time.

If the filer has its EDGAR passphrase and CCC, and is unsure if the codes are current, the filer can attempt to use these codes to enroll. If the codes are not accepted when attempting to enroll, the filer must submit a Form ID (for an existing EDGAR account) to regain access to its EDGAR account. See How Do I Prepare and Submit My Form ID Application for EDGAR Access.

Question 13: Can I enroll the company I represent if it does not have an EDGAR account for electronic filing?
Answer 13: No. Individuals and entities that do not have EDGAR accounts cannot enroll because they do not have an account to enroll in EDGAR Next.

Individuals and entities that do not have EDGAR accounts, and that wish to open EDGAR accounts, must submit Form ID.

Individuals and entities whose Form ID applications for EDGAR access are submitted and granted by SEC staff on or after March 24, 2025 are immediately subject to the requirements of EDGAR Next and do not need to enroll.

Question 14: How does an EDGAR filer enroll in EDGAR Next?
Answer 14: An EDGAR filer may enroll in EDGAR Next on the dashboard of the EDGAR Filer Management website until December 19, 2025.

For more information about enrollment, please see:

Question 15: Can I enroll on the Beta version of EDGAR Filer Management dashboard?
Answer 15: No, filers must enroll on the live EDGAR Filer Management dashboard, NOT in the Beta testing environment. 

Question 16: Do individual/section 16 filers need to obtain Login.gov credentials and complete EDGAR Next enrollment themselves?
Answer 16: No, individual filers are not required to obtain Login.gov individual account credentials and enroll themselves. If they choose not to enroll themselves, however, they must authorize an individual or entity to enroll them.

Regardless of who completes enrollment, an individual filer’s EDGAR account must enroll in EDGAR Next. Individual filers may select anyone they trust to enroll them, including but not limited to the filer’s employee, the filer’s filing agent or law firm, or other trusted entity or individual. SEC staff reminds filers that the person or entity they select to enroll them will have sensitive information about the filer’s account necessary for enrollment. Please keep in mind that only one individual can enroll each filer, and each filer can enroll only once.

After Enrollment

Question 17: What should the filer do after it enrolls?
Answer 17: The account administrators authorized during enrollment should proceed to set up the filer’s account on the dashboard. This may include inviting users, technical administrators and additional account administrators, and delegating authority to file to delegated entities, including but not limited to filing agents. Please refer to How Do I Understand EDGAR Next Roles, How Do I Invite, Remove, and Change the Roles of Individuals, How Do I Understand and Manage Delegation, and the EDGAR Next Adopting Release for more information.

Please be aware that enrollment will automatically reset the filer’s CCC, which EDGAR will continue to require in order to file. The CCC will be visible on the filer’s dashboard on the EDGAR Filer Management website after enrollment to all those authorized on the dashboard. Therefore, the filer should ensure that the filer’s account administrators add relevant individuals and/or delegate authority to relevant entities that file on the filer’s behalf on the dashboard immediately after enrollment so that filing may continue uninterrupted after enrollment.

Question 18: Does EDGAR Next change a filer’s SEC disclosure obligations, submission requirements, or filing deadlines?
Answer 18: No. EDGAR Next only affects a filer’s EDGAR access and account management. It does not change a filer’s disclosure and compliance obligations, form or submission requirements (including power of attorney requirements), or filing deadlines as outlined in other SEC rules and regulations.

Form ID

Question 19: If my only role in assisting a filer in gaining access to EDGAR is preparing and submitting a Form ID based on the information provided by the filer, do I need to be listed on Form ID as an account administrator or authorized individual (signatory of Form ID)?
Answer 19: No, submitters of Form ID do not need to be named on Form ID as an account administrator or authorized individual.

Note that if you are submitting Form ID on behalf of the filer, you will need individual account credentials from Login.gov to reach the dashboard of the EDGAR Filer Management website where you complete and submit Form ID. See How Do I Obtain Login.gov Individual Account Credentials, and view the Obtaining individual account credentials instructional video on the SEC’s YouTube channel.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)

Question 20: What are APIs?
Answer 20: Application programming interfaces (“APIs”) are machine-to-machine communications with EDGAR. A number of APIs have been added to EDGAR as part of the EDGAR Next changes. All APIs are optional and not required to file on the EDGAR filing websites.

Question 21: How do I use APIs?
Answer 21: After the filer enrolls, the filer may consider whether it wants to use APIs to make filings, retrieve information from EDGAR and perform certain account management functions. Please consult How Do I Understand EDGAR Application Programming Interfaces, How Do I Create and Manage Filer and User API Tokens, Overview of EDGAR APIs, and the API Development Toolkit for guidance regarding APIs.

The use of APIs is optional.

Question 22: May a filer’s account administrator or user present a user API token to an EDGAR API that the individual did not generate herself on the dashboard and which was generated by an account administrator or user at the filer’s delegated entity (filing agent)?
Answer 22: No. The EDGAR Filer Manual instructs that where “a filer chooses to use the filer API tokens and API connections of its delegated entity [filing agent], each individual account administrator or user connecting to the API for the filer is still required to present a user API token generated by the user on the dashboard, if the relevant API requires presentation of a user API token.” In addition, “[a]n individual who presents a user API token to an API must present to the API their own user API token that they generated on their dashboard, as it identifies the individual interacting with the API.” EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I, at Section 9(b).

The Commission has indicated that the use of tokens to connect to optional APIs is a security requirement, and that user API tokens in particular are intended to allow identification of the individual taking action on EDGAR. See EDGAR Filer Access and Account Management, Release No. 33-11313 (Sept. 27, 2024) [89 FR 106168, 106171 (Dec. 27, 2024)] (“EDGAR Next adopting release”). In addition, the Commission in the EDGAR Next adopting release specifically declined suggestions from commenters to “[allow] the use of ‘organizational user tokens’ that would represent the filer as a whole, as opposed to identifying a specific individual,” and to allow “filers using third-party filing software… to submit filings by presenting a user API token belonging to an individual at the third-party filing software company, so that the individual who was making the filing would not need to obtain a user API token to identify herself.” The Commission stated that it did not adopt these suggestions because they would frustrate the Commission’s objective of identifying the individual making the filings and taking actions on EDGAR through APIs. (See the EDGAR Next adopting release, 89 FR at 106191).

Login.gov Credentials

Question 23: Is it okay if one person shares her Login.gov credentials with other people, or creates group Login.gov credentials?
Answer 23: No. Individual account credentials are for the use of the individual who created them and must not be shared with other individuals.

The EDGAR Filer Manual, Volume I (Mar. 2025) clarifies that each applicant or filer may only authorize to act on its behalf on EDGAR those individuals who have obtained individual account credentials through Login.gov, a sign-in service of the U.S. General Services Administration. Individual account credentials are for the use of the individual who obtained them and identify the individual taking action on EDGAR.

For more information, please see How Do I Obtain Individual Account Credentials, and view the Obtaining individual account credentials instructional video on the SEC’s YouTube channel.

Question 24: Can I recover my EDGAR account if I have incorrectly managed my Login.gov account?
Answer 24: Yes. Errors in managing your Login.gov account, such as erroneously deleting your Login.gov account or impermissibly adding other persons’ emails to your Login.gov account, can cause you to lose access to EDGAR. Recover your EDGAR access by following the instructions in How Do I Recover my EDGAR Account If I Have Incorrectly Managed My Login.gov Account.

Question 25: I already have a Login.gov account for personal purposes. Can I use that account for EDGAR or do I need to get a new account?
Answer 25: Consider creating a separate Login.gov account for use with EDGAR and providing Login.gov a different email address for use with EDGAR than that used for personal purposes.

EDGAR uses the email address the individual provided to Login.gov to identify that individual and send notifications to the individual. Further, the individual’s email address provided to Login.gov is visible to others on the dashboard.

For more information about Login.gov individual account credentials, please see How Do I Obtain Individual Account Credentials, and view the Obtaining individual account credentials instructional video on the SEC’s YouTube channel.

Question 26: How do I change the email address associated with my EDGAR account?
Answer 26: To change the email address you wish to use for EDGAR, you must change the email address on both EDGAR and Login.gov following the instructions in How Do I Update the Email Address Associated with My EDGAR Account. You should provide the same email address to Login.gov that you intend to use to log into EDGAR, which may be different from the email address that you use for personal purposes.

Question 27: Do I have to be a U.S. citizen or in the U.S. to use Login.gov?
Answer 27: No. Anyone can create a Login.gov account. For more information, visit the Login.gov website and review information regarding how to Create your Login.gov account | Login.gov, as well as the approved Authentication methods | Login.gov. When creating your Login.gov account you should provide an email address to Login.gov that you intend to use to log into EDGAR, which may be different from the email address that you use for personal purposes. Use the same email address to obtain Login.gov individual account credentials that you provided on Form ID, during enrollment, and/or to account administrators. See How Do I Obtain Login.gov Individual Account Credentials.

Question 28: Do I need Login.gov credentials to view public filings on EDGAR?
Answer 28: No. You may view public EDGAR filings on SEC.gov. No login is necessary.
 

Disclaimer: These EDGAR Next FAQs represent the views of the staff of the EDGAR Business Office. They are not a rule, regulation, or statement of the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Securities and Exchange Commission has neither approved nor disapproved the content of these FAQs. These FAQs, like all staff statements, have no legal force or effect: they do not alter or amend applicable law, and they create no new or additional obligations for any person.

Last Reviewed or Updated: Nov. 19, 2025