44
SEC EDGAR Filer Technical Support
EDGAR “Quick Start” Reference Guide
September 2015
Page 7
5. Updating EDGAR Access Codes
If you have forgotten your password, PMAC, or CCC you will have to generate a new set of access
codes using your CIK and passphrase.
To make a general update to your Password and/or CCC, access the EDGAR Filing website or the
EDGAR Online Forms website and click “Retrieve/Edit Data.”
If you forgot your Password and/or other Access Codes or if they have expired, you will need to
“Generate Access Codes” from the Filer Management website using your CIK and Passphrase.
If you forgot your Passphrase you will need to create a new Passphrase using the “Update
Passphrase” link in the Filer Management Website. The form must be printed, signed by an
authorized person, notarized, and uploaded as a PDF document.
For more information on EDGAR Access Codes, please refer to the EDGAR Access Code Quick
Reference Guide:
http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/quick-reference/form-id.pdf
6. Converting from Paper to Electronic Filer
If your company has been filing with the SEC using paper forms only and has to file electronically,
you must go to the Filer Management Website:
https://www.filermanagement.edgarfiling.sec.gov
and click “ onvert Paper Only Filer to Electronic Filer”. Here you must enter your IK, a Passphrase,
and e-mail address where your confirmation will be sent after submission and review.
7. Filing Process
7.1. What form do I use?
There are many SEC forms that all companies are required to file electronically through EDGAR
including registration statements, periodic reports, ownership forms, etc. For example, If you
wish to register or withdraw as a Municipal Advisor, you must use the form MA or its variants
(MA-I, MA-W…). Large Traders use form 13-H. To file a notice of exempt offerings of securities
pursuant to Regulation D, use Form D. To file a securities offerings made pursuant to Regulation
A, use form 1-A. (*Note: Form C, C-U, C/A, C-AR, C-AR/A, C-TR, C-W, C/A-W, C-AR/W, C-AR/A-W,
C-TR/W are forms for Crowd Funding due out in Dec. 2015).
If you are unsure of which form to use, refer to the Index of Forms on the ommission’s
website. It can be found here: http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/forms/edgform.pdf. You may
wish to contact legal resources for support on which forms you need to file.
7.2. Things to be aware of:
7.2.1. Hyperlinks
Documents cannot include hyperlinks. Remove hyperlinks before submitting your form.
7.2.2. ASCII/HTML Limits
Your successful creation of electronic submissions requires that both the sending and
receiving computers must “speak” the same language. For EDGAR to read what it
46
SEC EDGAR Filer Technical Support
EDGAR “Quick Start” Reference Guide
September 2015
Page 8
receives, prepare your documents in American Standard Code for Information
Interchange (ASCII) or HTML version 3.2.
If you are saving your documents as .txt files (ASCII), save as Plain Text in Word and
check the Line Break Option. Each line must not exceed 80 characters including spaces.
To make a visual guideline to make these line breaks, add a placer (such as a *) after 80
characters then press shift for each line. The font must be Courier or Courier New, font
size 12. Make the margins at least 1 inch on the right and left. For instructions on how to
construct ASCII/HTML formatted documents refer to the Filer Manual Volume II.
7.3. PDF Restrictions
Forms must be submitted in txt or html format (.txt, .htm). In general, PDF documents are not
permitted as a primary document, except in certain cases. An official PDF document is
considered acceptable for the following submission form types: 13H, 40-33, 497AD, 40-17G, 40-
17GCS, 40-24B2, MA, and MA-I. EDGAR will continue to allow ASCII and HTML as the primary
document for submission form types 40-33, 40-33/A, 497AD, 40-17G, 40-17G/A, 40-17GCS, 40-
17GCS/A, 40-24B2, and 40-24B2/A.
7.4. File Naming Convention
As explained in Section 3.1.2., all documents uploaded to EDGAR must adhere to certain naming
restrictions. The filing may not submit properly or the form may be rejected if the file name
does not conform. Document names must adhere to the following restrictions:
32 characters or less
All letters must be lowercase
The file must start with a letter
No spaces in the name
It may have digits (0-9)
It may contain up to one period (.), one hyphen (-), one underscore (_)
7.5. File Size Limits
Your file submission size, including all attached documents, must not exceed 200 MB for
submissions through the EDGAR Online Forms Management and the EDGAR Filing websites.
If your document attachment is larger than the size limit, split the document into two or more
documents. For example, if you are a filing a 10-K, attach page 1 of 2 of the document then file
an amendment, 10-K/A, with page 2 of 2 at the top.
7.6. HTML Header Tags: What are they?
The header tag element of your HTML document represents a container for introductory
content. The “tagging” language is a powerful data representation method that enhances the
method of displayed public information.
Due to some formatting restrictions, EDGAR will accept only a subset of the HTML 3.2/4.0
39
SEC EDGAR Filer Technical Support
EDGAR “Quick Start” Reference Guide
September 2015
Page 9
tagging standard. For more information, including a reference table with the list of acceptable
HTML document header tags, can be found in the Filer Manual, Volume II:
https://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/edmanuals.htm .
7.7. Data Entry Fields
All EDGAR filings submitted using EDGAR templates contain fields to manually enter your
company information. If you are amending a previous filing, enter your CIK and CCC to
populate your current data. If you experience this with a new filing and wish to create new data,
delete “Form Data” from your Delete Browsing History option under your browser tools.
(Instructions are found in Section 2.7).
7.8. Document Attachments
Many EDGAR filings include attached secondary documents that are labeled specifically to
their content. These documents are known as “Exhibits”. When you attach an exhibit it must
be labeled with its specific type. If you have multiple Exhibits (Ex-99) then you must name
them Ex-99.1, Ex-99.2, etc. You can find more information on common problems with
Exhibits in the Filer Manual Volume II.
A detailed list of acceptable exhibit types can be found in Section “E.4 Submission and
Documents” types in the Filer Manual Volume II.
7.9. Organizational Charts
If you choose to attach an Organization Chart document to your 13-H filing, it must be uploaded
as a PDF file. The construction and style of the Organizational Chart is subject to the filer’s
standards as long as it qualifies as a readable PDF document with scanned images that have
been parsed for character recognition. This is so that the Organizational Chart will pass EDGAR
validation. Instructions on how to save your Organizational Chart can be found here:
http://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/quick-reference/save-org-chart-as-pdf.pdf.
7.10. Printing
If you would like to print a form prior to submitting a filing, click the Print button in the form and
choose a blank form or the current form with your form data. Errors with printing such as
opening a blank form may be due to configuration issues. Follow the instructions for trouble-
shooting technical issues in Section I, “ onfiguration Issues”. The form may also be printed after
it has been submitted, reviewed and disseminated. The submission can also be printed from the
ommission’s site after it has been disseminated.
7.11. Saving Form Data (.eis files)
You can save a form in progress on your computer and resume later by uploading your
saved form (saved as an .eis file). Make sure you save this file as is. Changing its file name
may corrupt the file.
39
SEC EDGAR Filer Technical Support
EDGAR “Quick Start” Reference Guide
September 2015
Page 10
7.12. Confidential submissions
7.12.1. DRS– Draft Registration Statements
Pursuant to the Jumpstart Our Business Startups Act, an Emerging Growth Company (as
defined in the Act) whose common equity securities have not been previously sold
pursuant to an effective registration statement under the Securities Act of 1933 may
confidentially submit to the Commission a draft registration statement for confidential
non-public review.
Instructions on how to file a DRS and amendments can be found here:
https://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/guidance/drsfilingprocedures.pdf.
The DRS form is filed under the EDGAR Filing Website.
7.12.2. DOS/DOSLTRS – Non-public Draft Offering Statements/Draft Offering Statement Letter
Issuers who qualify to submit draft offering statements under Regulation A must
prepare and submit their draft offering statements using submission form types
DOS and DOS/A. Issuers must submit correspondences related to draft offering
statements using the submission type, "Draft Offering Statement Letter” (DOSLTR).
For more information on Draft Offering Statements, refer to the EDGAR Filer Manual
Volume I: https://www.sec.gov/info/edgar/edmanuals.htm .
Dissemination of Confidential Material: Frequently asked questions about confidential
submission processing can be found on the ommission’s site:
https://www.sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/guidance/cfjumpstartfaq.htm.
8. After You Submit Your Filing
8.1. File Amendments
You can file amendments to your form to update information on EDGAR by selecting the
amendment option (e.g. 13F-HR/A).
8.2. Accession Numbers: What are they?
The accession number is a unique number generated by EDGAR for each electronic submission.
Although this number does not mean that EDGAR has accepted your submission, it is a
reference number that can be used to inquire about the status of your application. You cannot
use accession numbers to filter for types of filings.
8.3. Using the Retrieve/Edit Data tool to keep Company Information up to date
You can make changes to your company’s information by using the “Retrieve/Edit Data” link
in the EDGAR Filing Website or the EDGAR OnlineForms Management Website.
Making changes to company data should take effect immediately however you will not see
any changes on the ommission’s SE .gov website until the next filing is made. Company
name changes do not take effect immediately and requires up to two business days for
Documents you may be interested
Documents you may be interested
