Does the SEC EDGAR API need a key?
No: the SEC says its EDGAR APIs on data.sec.gov "do not require any authentication or API keys to access", and anyone can access and download EDGAR data for free. Its fair access rules set a "Current max request rate: 10 requests/second" and ask you to declare a User-Agent header naming your company and a contact email. The submissions API updates with a typical delay of under a second and the XBRL APIs within about a minute; bulk zip files are recompiled nightly.
By New Odyssey · Published · Markdown
The endpoints
| Endpoint | Returns |
|---|---|
/submissions/CIK##########.json | A company's filing history and metadata |
/api/xbrl/companyconcept/CIK##########/us-gaap/{concept}.json | "all the XBRL disclosures from a single company (CIK)" for one concept |
/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK##########.json | "all the company concepts data for a company" |
/api/xbrl/frames/us-gaap/{concept}/{unit}/{period}.json | One fact per reporting entity for a calendar period |
The CIK is padded to 10 digits with leading zeros.
Fair access
- At most 10 requests a second; the SEC may lower the limit.
- Declare who you are in the User-Agent header (a company name and an admin email).
- For whole-archive work, use the bulk
companyfacts.zipandsubmissions.zip, recompiled nightly, rather than crawling the API.
If you need standardised figures
The XBRL APIs return facts as each company tagged them. The Olympus US SEC Filings & Financial Data API maps them to eight standardised metrics with history and comparison, behind an Olympus API key; see Is there an API for SEC EDGAR filings and XBRL financials?.
Questions
Is the SEC EDGAR API free?
Yes. The SEC says anyone can access and download EDGAR data for free, and the APIs need no key.
What is the SEC EDGAR rate limit?
10 requests a second, with a declared User-Agent. The SEC may lower it.
How fresh is the EDGAR API?
The SEC updates the APIs in real time as filings are disseminated: typically under a second for submissions and under a minute for the XBRL APIs.
Sources
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: EDGAR Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)
- U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission: Accessing EDGAR data