Is SEC EDGAR free to search?
Free, official, source-cited — updated 2026-06.
Search Company Records in United States
3 free lookups per day. No sign-up required.
How do I use SEC EDGAR for free in United States?
SEC EDGAR basic search — name-to-number lookup, legal status, registered address, and current officers — is free at https://www.sec.gov/edgar. Certified extracts, historical filings, and bulk data downloads sometimes carry small statutory fees.
Step-by-step
- 1
Open SEC EDGAR
Go to https://www.sec.gov/edgar. No account is required for public search.
https://www.sec.gov/edgar - 2
Free: name and number search
Any user can search by company name or registration number and see the legal name, status, address, and registration number at no cost.
- 3
Free: current officers
Current directors and legal representatives are shown on the entity profile for free in most jurisdictions.
- 4
Paid (sometimes): certified extracts
Downloadable certified extracts, historical filings, and full accounts filings can carry a small government fee. The register itself is not commercial — fees cover statutory production costs.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need to pay to search SEC EDGAR?
No. Basic name and number search on SEC EDGAR is free and does not require an account.
What does SEC EDGAR charge for?
Only for certified/certified-copy extracts, historical filings, and bulk data feeds — and only in some jurisdictions. Everyday due-diligence lookups are free.
Is there a free API for SEC EDGAR?
Some registers publish an open-data feed for free. Where they don't, LemReveal indexes the public data and exposes it through our free /tools endpoints.
People also ask about use SEC EDGAR for free in United States
The exact questions searchers type into Google — answered from the primary source.
Is the United States company register free to search?
Yes. Basic company lookups on the SEC EDGAR / State Registries are free — you can search by company name or registration number, view legal status, registered address and (usually) directors at no cost. Some jurisdictions charge a small fee only for downloading full filed documents.
What is the official United States business registry?
The SEC EDGAR / State Registries is the official public register of companies incorporated in United States. It is operated by the government and is the primary source cited on this page — https://www.sec.gov/edgar.
What does the United States business registry cost?
Searching the SEC EDGAR / State Registries by company name, number or status is free. Fees usually apply only for downloading full-text filed documents (annual accounts, articles of association) or requesting certified copies.
Do I need to sign up to search the United States register?
No sign-up is required for public lookups on the SEC EDGAR / State Registries. Registration is only needed if you want to save searches, download bulk data, or file documents as a company representative.
Related guides and tools
More United States guides
- Search companies by name
Find any registered company from a partial name — free, no signup.
- Search the company register
What the official register holds, and how to search it free.
- Search the business registry
Match a trading name to the registered legal entity behind it.
- Find the right entity
Tell apart several entities registered under near-identical names.
United States data
- United States company search
Search every SEC EDGAR / State Registries record.
- SEC EDGAR guide
SEC Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval