EDGAR Next Frequently Asked Questions

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.

Jump to sections:

• EDGAR Next
• Form ID
• Application programming interfaces (APIs)
• Login.gov credentials

EDGAR Next

Question 1: What is EDGAR Next?
Answer 1: On September 27, 2024, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” or “Commission”) adopted rule and form amendments intended to enhance the security of its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval (“EDGAR”) system and improve filers’ access and account management capabilities (collectively, “EDGAR Next”). The amendments require EDGAR filers to authorize individuals who are responsible for managing their accounts, and individuals acting on behalf of EDGAR filers must present individual account credentials obtained from Login.gov to access filers’ EDGAR accounts and make filings. Form ID, the application for access to EDGAR, has been modernized to make the form more user-friendly and to improve the utility of the form for Commission staff. The SEC is also offering filers optional Application Programming Interfaces (“APIs”), a machine-to-machine method of making submissions, retrieving information, and performing account management tasks to improve the efficiency and accuracy of filers’ interactions with EDGAR. Among other things, these APIs allow filers to manage their EDGAR accounts with minimal manual interaction with EDGAR.

Question 2: Who is affected by EDGAR Next?
Answer 2: EDGAR Next affects all filers who submit filings electronically on EDGAR, including entities (such as issuers and filing agents) as well as individuals (such as officers and directors subject to filing requirements pursuant to Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934).

Question 3: When is compliance with EDGAR Next required?
Answer 3: Compliance with EDGAR Next is required as of September 15, 2025.

• To file on EDGAR, all filers must either have enrolled in EDGAR Next or have submitted a Form ID application for EDGAR access granted by SEC staff on or after March 24, 2025. Enrollment has closed. Filers who do not have access to EDGAR must submit a Form ID application on the EDGAR Filer Management website.
• To access any of the three EDGAR websites (EDGAR Filer Management, EDGAR Online Forms and EDGAR Filing), individuals taking action for filers must present Login.gov individual account credentials and complete multifactor authentication. Legacy login methods have been discontinued.
• Individuals taking action for a filer on EDGAR must have a relevant role for the filer.

Question 4: How do I set up the filer’s account on the EDGAR Filer Management dashboard?
Answer 4: Account administrators should set up the filer’s account on the dashboard. This includes 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.

Question 5: Does EDGAR Next change a filer’s SEC disclosure obligations, submission requirements, or filing deadlines?
Answer 5: 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 6: 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 6: 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.

Question 7: Does the SEC provide a template for the power of attorney if one is needed for my Form ID application?
Answer 7: No, SEC staff does not provide a template.

Question 8: 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 complete Form ID to apply for a CIK?
Answer 8: 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.

Application Programming Interfaces (APIs)

Question 9: What are APIs?
Answer 9: 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 10: How do I use APIs?
Answer 10: 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 11: 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 11: 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 12: Is it okay if one person shares her Login.gov credentials with other people, or creates group Login.gov credentials?
Answer 12: 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)l,  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 13: Can I recover my EDGAR account if I have incorrectly managed my Login.gov account?
Answer 13: 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 14: 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 14: 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 15: How do I change the email address associated with my EDGAR account?
Answer 15: 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 16: Do I have to be a U.S. citizen or in the U.S. to use Login.gov?
Answer 16: 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 17: Do I need Login.gov credentials to view public filings on EDGAR?
Answer 17: 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.