How to Apply for SEC Form ID and Get EDGAR Access

To apply for SEC Form ID, complete the electronic application on the EDGAR Filer Management website, upload a notarized authentication document that matches what you submitted, and wait for the SEC’s review. Federal regulations require Form ID before you can file anything on EDGAR, and the SEC currently averages at least six business days per application.¹ If approved, you receive a Central Index Key (CIK) number and a CIK Confirmation Code (CCC), which together identify your account and authorize your filings.²

Who Needs to File Form ID

Anyone filing on EDGAR for the first time. That covers domestic and foreign companies preparing for public offerings or already subject to periodic reporting, institutional investment managers filing beneficial ownership reports, and individuals such as officers, directors, and large shareholders reporting holdings under Section 16 of the Securities Exchange Act.³ Third-party filing agents that submit documents on behalf of others also need their own Form ID registration. You’ll also need to file Form ID again if you lost access to an existing EDGAR account. If you already have an active CIK and working credentials, you don’t need to reapply.¹

What to Gather Before You Start

Have the following ready so the online form doesn’t stall on you:

Full legal name as registered, mailing address, and Tax Identification Number or EIN. Individual filers use their Social Security Number.
Name, address, and email of the person who will receive EDGAR access codes after approval.
A separate billing contact for account matters.
Prospective account administrators. Individual filers and single-member companies must designate at least one. All other filers must designate at least two.⁴

Name formatting trips people up more than you’d expect. Individual applicants must enter their complete legal name in “last, first, middle” format, with the full middle name spelled out. If the name matches an existing EDGAR account, or if you abbreviate the middle name, the SEC will suspend your application.¹

Filling Out and Submitting the Online Form

The application lives at filermanagement.edgarfiling.sec.gov. Paper submissions are not accepted under any circumstances. Select the option to apply for new EDGAR access, choose your filer type, and enter the entity, contact, billing, and administrator details you prepared.⁴

After the fields are complete, go to the “Documents” section and upload your notarized PDF (covered in the next section). EDGAR validates the file before accepting it. Click submit, then “Transmit LIVE Submission” to send the application. You’ll receive an acknowledgment with an accession number. Save it. You’ll need it to check status or reach SEC staff with questions.

The Notarized Authentication Document

This is the step where most applications fail. Federal regulations require a notarized document confirming the authenticity of your Form ID submission.⁵ The order matters:

Complete the online form first. You can’t produce the authenticating document until then, because it has to contain the same information you submitted.
Save and print the completed form. An authorized individual signs the printed copy in the “Form ID: Notarized Authentication” section in front of a notary public.⁴
Scan the signed, notarized document to PDF.
Return to EDGAR Filer Management and upload the PDF to complete the application.

The PDF has to meet specific technical rules. The file name must be all lowercase letters or digits, no spaces, 32 characters or fewer, and start with a letter. The PDF cannot contain embedded JavaScript, external hyperlinks, or password protection. If EDGAR detects unrecognizable text or active content, the application is suspended.¹

If You’re Outside the United States

Foreign filers are not exempt. You have two options: use the foreign local equivalent of a notary public in your jurisdiction, or use a remote online notary recognized under the law of any U.S. state, territory, or the District of Columbia. A remote notary connects with you over a secure video platform, verifies your identity, witnesses your electronic signature, and applies a digital seal.¹ You still upload the result electronically. Mailing a paper copy is not an option.

Review Timeline and What You Receive

The SEC currently takes an average of at least six business days, excluding federal holidays, to review Form ID applications.¹ You’ll get an email either accepting or suspending the application.

If accepted, the email includes your newly assigned CIK number, a permanent, publicly available identifier for your account. EDGAR also generates your CCC — an eight-character code containing at least one digit and at least one special character — and sends it to you.² The CIK identifies your account; the CCC authorizes filings. You need both to submit documents.

Why Applications Get Suspended

The SEC calls a rejected Form ID a “suspension.” If staff finds a problem, you receive an email explaining the specific error. The most common causes:

Abbreviated middle names, names that don’t match the notarized document, or names that duplicate an existing EDGAR account.
File names with spaces or uppercase letters, PDFs with embedded JavaScript or security controls, or scanned images without recognizable text.
Missing fields in contact, billing, or account administrator sections. EDGAR blocks most incomplete submissions, but some gaps slip through and are caught during staff review.
Missing notary stamps, signatures that don’t match the filer listed on the application, or authenticating documents that don’t include the information from the electronically submitted Form ID.

A suspension means you fix the issue and resubmit, which restarts the review clock.¹

Login.gov Credentials and Account Administrators

Approval alone doesn’t let you file. Every individual who needs to access EDGAR must have their own Login.gov account linked to EDGAR. Login.gov is a secure sign-in service run by the U.S. General Services Administration and uses multi-factor authentication.⁶

Use the same personal email address you provided on Form ID or to the filer’s account administrators. The email must be yours personally. Group or shared mailboxes are not allowed, because EDGAR uses the address to identify who is taking each action. Login.gov credentials cannot be shared.⁶

Account administrators are the people who control your EDGAR account. They can invite additional users, technical administrators, and other account administrators, and they can delegate filing authority to outside entities like filing agents.⁷ The people you designate on Form ID are the only ones who can manage the account once it’s active, so pick carefully.

One catch for smaller companies: if an account administrator doesn’t work for the filer or its affiliates, or if an individual filer wants to authorize someone else as administrator, a separate notarized power of attorney must be submitted with the Form ID application.⁸ This catches people relying on outside counsel or consultants to run their filings.

Keep the Access Alive: Annual Confirmation

EDGAR access isn’t permanent. Each filer must complete an annual confirmation on the EDGAR Filer Management dashboard verifying that all listed users, administrators, and delegated entities are still authorized, and that account information is accurate.⁹

Miss the deadline and you get a three-month grace period. The account stays active and you can still file, but administrators receive daily reminders on the dashboard and by email. If no one completes the confirmation by the end of that window, the SEC deactivates the account. At that point you have to file a new Form ID application to regain access, with the same review timeline you just went through. Your CIK and filing history survive, but every previously authorized user and delegation is wiped out, and your administrators will need to reinvite everyone.⁹ Calendar the confirmation date the day you receive access.

1
U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Prepare and Submit My Form ID Application for EDGAR Access
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Understand and Utilize EDGAR CIK and CIK Confirmation Code (CCC)
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. New Reporting Requirements Pursuant to Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Form ID Instructions
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eCFR. 17 CFR 232.10
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Obtain Login.gov Individual Account Credentials
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EDGAR Next Frequently Asked Questions
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EDGAR Filer Manual Volume 1
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U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Complete Annual Confirmation for an EDGAR Account