SEC Proposes Account Management Requirements for EDGAR Filers

The SEC proposed amendments to the SEC Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval ("EDGAR") system, which would require each electronic filer to authorize an account administrator to manage their account.

An EDGAR filer would be required to designate an account administrator who would (i) manage the filer’s EDGAR account on a dashboard, (ii) confirm on an annual basis that all entities reflected on the filer’s dashboard are authorized by the filer and (iii) be responsible for the accuracy of the filer's information on EDGAR, as well as the security of the filer's EDGAR account. Account administrators would be permitted to add and remove authorized users.

The SEC said that the proposal would also require the EDGAR account to include the filer’s corporate and contact information on the filer’s dashboard. The SEC would provide optional APIs for "machine-to-machine communication" with EDGAR to submit filings and allow for filers to retrieve information regarding their submissions.

SEC Chair Gary Gensler called the proposed changes "an important next step for EDGAR account access," saying that there has not been a "meaningful update" to EDGAR account access protocols in more than a decade. He said that the SEC EDGAR Business Office will launch a Beta version of the new EDGAR user interface, including optional APIs, in accordance with the proposal.