Clear, current answers to what filers and counsel ask us most, across SEC EDGAR and Canada's SEDAR+ and SEDI. Don't see your question? Just ask.
A filing agent prepares, formats, and electronically submits your documents to SEC EDGAR and, for Canadian issuers, to SEDAR+ and SEDI. You're not legally required to use one, but agents have the system access, conversion software, XBRL tooling, and deadline experience to keep filings accurate and on time. We take the routine mechanics off your plate so a missed cutoff or a formatting rejection never becomes your problem.
Yes. Anyone can self-file on EDGAR, and the SEC charges no fee to transmit most filings. The effort is in the details: obtaining and maintaining EDGAR access, meeting the strict HTML and Inline XBRL formatting specs, and hitting deadlines down to the cutoff time. Most companies decide their time is better spent elsewhere, and that's where we come in.
Often, yes, but for different things. Your counsel and auditor decide what to disclose, which exemption applies, and how the numbers are presented. We handle the filing: converting, tagging, formatting, and submitting it correctly and on time. We're not a substitute for legal, accounting, or tax advice, and we don't provide it, but we coordinate smoothly with your advisors.
There are two separate costs. First, the SEC's own fees: there's no fee to open an EDGAR account, and most filings (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, Forms 3/4/5, Form D) carry no SEC fee at all; only securities-offering registration statements do, based on a rate the SEC sets each year. Second, our service fee for preparing and filing. See our pricing page or contact us for a quote.
First-time filers submit a Form ID to receive a CIK (your permanent public account number) and a confidential CCC code. Since 2025 you also need an EDGAR Next account set up through Login.gov. We can guide you through it or handle the whole setup for you. See our Form ID & EDGAR access guide.
EDGAR Next is the SEC's overhauled access and account-management system. Compliance has been required since September 15, 2025. Logging in now uses individual Login.gov credentials with multi-factor authentication; the old EDGAR passwords, passphrases, and access codes no longer work for login. Each filer designates account administrators and authorized users, and can delegate filing to an agent like us while keeping full control of the account. If you haven't enrolled yet, that has to be sorted before you can file, and we can help. Details on our Form ID page.
Most filings appear on EDGAR's public database almost immediately after they're accepted (subject to the daily dissemination cutoff). A few types are not immediately public: for example, draft registration statements submitted confidentially, and CORRESP correspondence with SEC staff (which the SEC may release later, after a review closes).
It's a small distinction with real consequences. Filed documents carry full liability under Section 18 of the Exchange Act and can be incorporated by reference into registration statements. Furnished documents, such as earnings releases under 8-K Items 2.02 and 7.01, and a foreign issuer's Form 6-K, carry less liability exposure and aren't automatically incorporated. We make sure each item is coded correctly.
It depends on your filer category. Days are calendar days after the period end:
| Filer category | 10-K (annual) | 10-Q (quarterly) |
|---|---|---|
| Large Accelerated | 60 days | 40 days |
| Accelerated | 75 days | 40 days |
| Non-Accelerated | 90 days | 45 days |
Form 20-F (foreign private issuers): 4 months after fiscal year-end. Form 40-F (Canadian MJDS issuers): due the same day as the underlying Canadian annual filing. Need exact dates? Use our EDGAR Due Dates Calculator.
It's based mainly on your public float, measured at the end of your second fiscal quarter:
Separately, a Smaller Reporting Company (SRC) has a public float under $250 million, or under $100 million in annual revenue with a float under $700 million. Since 2020, a low-revenue SRC (under $100M revenue) can be a non-accelerated filer, getting the slower deadlines and skipping the auditor's SOX 404(b) attestation.
If a due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday, or U.S. federal holiday, it moves to the next business day on which EDGAR is open. See our SEC Holidays & Hours 2026 page for the current list of closed days.
Filing a Form 12b-25 (Notification of Late Filing) gives you a short, automatic extension: 5 calendar days for a 10-Q and 15 calendar days for a 10-K or 20-F. The extension is the same for every filer category. The 12b-25 itself must be filed within one business day of the original deadline, and if you then file the report within the extension window, it's treated as timely. Late Section 16 filings aren't eligible for 12b-25 relief and must be disclosed in the proxy.
EDGAR accepts filings Monday to Friday (except federal holidays), 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. ET. A filing accepted after 5:30 p.m. ET normally receives the next business day's filing date. The key exception: Section 16 Forms 3, 4, and 5, Form 144, and certain last-minute registration statements are deemed filed the same day right up to 10:00 p.m. ET, which matters for a two-business-day Form 4.
A quick orientation:
Not sure? Tell us what you're trying to do and we'll point you to the right form.
XBRL is machine-readable tagging of your financial data. The SEC now requires Inline XBRL, tags embedded directly in the filing document, for operating companies' financial statements and cover-page data in 10-K, 10-Q, 20-F/40-F, and most registration statements. It applies to all operating companies, including smaller reporting and emerging-growth companies, and has been fully phased in since 2021. Notice-type forms like Form D aren't tagged. We handle the tagging as part of the filing. See our XBRL page.
An 8-K reports material events between your periodic reports: major agreements, acquisitions or dispositions, executive or director changes, a change of auditor, bankruptcy, delisting, results of operations, and, since December 2023, material cybersecurity incidents (Item 1.05). Most 8-Ks are due within four business days of the triggering event. The full item list and details are on our Form 8-K page.
If you're a director, officer, or 10% owner, you report on the Section 16 forms: Form 3 within 10 days of becoming an insider, Form 4 before the end of the second business day after a transaction, and Form 5 within 45 days of fiscal year-end for anything deferred. The Form 4 window is tight, and late filings get named in the company's proxy and can draw SEC penalties. We track the clock for you. See Forms 3, 4 & 5.
If you're relying on a Regulation D exemption, specifically Rule 504, 506(b), or 506(c) (Rule 505 was repealed in 2017), you file a Form D notice within 15 days of your first sale. There's no SEC fee, but most states require a separate "blue sky" notice and fee where you sell. Full details on our Form D page.
An amended filing adds "/A" to the form type (e.g., 10-K/A) and usually carries an "Amendment No." on the cover. When the amendment responds to SEC staff comments, you file a response letter as CORRESP addressing each comment. That correspondence is non-public, though the SEC releases comment letters and responses after a review closes. Requested changes are shown to the reviewer by redlining (R-tagging the changed sections in the HTML). We're experienced with redlines, blacklines, and response letters.
They're the Sarbanes-Oxley certifications signed by the principal executive officer (CEO) and principal financial officer (CFO), confirming the report is accurate. On 10-Ks and 10-Qs they appear as exhibits 31.1 / 31.2 (Section 302) and 32.1 / 32.2 (Section 906); on 20-F and 40-F they're exhibits 12.x and 13.x. The wording has to track the SEC's requirements exactly; errors here are a common reason for staff comments and amendments, so we check them carefully.
Section 12(b) covers a class of securities listed on a national exchange (NYSE, Nasdaq), registered on Form 8-A. Section 12(g) covers an unlisted/OTC class that crossed size thresholds, generally $10 million or more in total assets and 2,000 holders of record (or 500 who aren't accredited). To check a specific company, look at the cover page and the relevant item of its latest 10-K or 20-F, which states the registration section.
SEDAR+ is the Canadian Securities Administrators' system for filing and searching public-company and investment-fund disclosure across Canada. The old "SEDAR" was retired and replaced by SEDAR+ on July 25, 2023, so SEDAR and SEDAR+ aren't two systems; SEDAR+ is the current one. More on our SEDAR+ page.
Under National Instrument 51-102, the core deadlines after period end are:
| Filing | Non-venture | Venture |
|---|---|---|
| Annual financial statements | 90 days | 120 days |
| Interim financial statements | 45 days | 60 days |
MD&A is due with the related statements; a material change report is due as soon as practicable, and within 10 days. Calculate exact dates with the calculator on our SEDAR+ page.
Yes. Unlike the legacy SEDAR system, SEDAR+ filings can be submitted around the clock, including weekends and holidays (apart from occasional maintenance windows). The CSA Service Desk for support is available Monday to Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. ET, excluding Canadian statutory holidays. If a filing deadline lands on a weekend or holiday, it rolls to the next business day.
System fees rose roughly 60% effective November 28, 2025, with further annual increases of about 3% scheduled over the following four years. Fees are paid from a pre-authorized debit (bank) account set up in your SEDAR+ profile; credit card is accepted only for Reports of Exempt Distribution. Specific amounts vary by document and jurisdiction; see the fee guide linked on our SEDAR+ page.
Only if you're a reporting issuer in both countries. A cross-listed Canadian company that is also an SEC filer generally must file its material documents on both systems: financial statements, news releases, and proxy materials almost always require a parallel EDGAR filing. Many Canadian cross-listed issuers use the Multijurisdictional Disclosure System (MJDS): a Form 6-K for interim material and Form 40-F for the annual report. A purely Canadian issuer files SEDAR+/SEDI only; a purely U.S. issuer files EDGAR only.
Yes. Under CSA Coordinated Blanket Order 51-933 (effective March 19, 2026), eligible venture issuers may opt into a semi-annual reporting pilot, filing a six-month interim report instead of separate Q1 and Q3 interims. It's optional, and eligibility is determined by the order's criteria; confirm with your securities counsel or your provincial commission. More on our SEDAR+ page.
SEDI (System for Electronic Disclosure by Insiders) is the Canadian system where reporting insiders file their insider reports, separate from SEDAR+, which handles issuer/corporate disclosure. SEDI was not folded into SEDAR+ in the 2023 transition; it remains its own system. More on our SEDI page.
Your initial insider report is due within 10 calendar days of becoming a reporting insider. After that, each subsequent report is due within 5 calendar days of a change in your holdings (a transaction). The windows are tight and late filings can incur fees, so we keep insiders on schedule.
Broadly, the issuer's CEO, CFO, COO and directors (and those of a significant shareholder or major subsidiary), the head of a principal business unit or division, anyone who beneficially owns or controls more than 10% of the voting securities, and any other insider with access to material undisclosed information and significant influence over the issuer. If you're unsure whether you qualify, your counsel can confirm.
Issuers maintain an Issuer Profile Supplement (Form 55-102F3) describing the company and its securities, and file an Issuer Event Report (Form 55-102F4) within one business day of an "issuer event," such as a stock split, consolidation, stock dividend, and similar changes that affect insider holdings. We handle issuer setup, profile supplements, and event reports. See our SEDI page.
Always. Proof before we file is how we work. You review and approve a proof of every filing before it's transmitted, so there are no surprises on the public record.
Send us what you have: Word, Excel, PDF, and more. EDGAR and SEDAR+ don't accept those as the filed document, so we convert your source files into the required compliant format (and Inline XBRL where needed) at no extra charge. You pay for the filing, not the conversion.
Yes. We work to deadlines, including same-day and after-hours filings within EDGAR's window (up to the 10:00 p.m. ET close, with the 5:30 p.m. ET cutoff in mind). If you're up against a deadline, reach out as early in the day as you can so we have room to proof it with you.
Yes. Full conversion and Inline XBRL tagging of your financial statements and cover-page data is a core part of what we do. See our XBRL page for more.
Yes. We offer bulk rates for boards and officer groups, funds, and repeat filers. Tell us your expected volume and we'll put together pricing that fits. See pricing or contact us.
It's simple: send us your documents → we prepare, convert, and tag the filing → you review and approve the proof → we file it → you receive the acceptance confirmation. First time? We'll also help you get EDGAR access in place. Get in touch to start.
Yes. We routinely handle sensitive, market-moving material before it's public, including earnings, M&A, and prospectuses, and we treat your documents as strictly confidential until you've approved them and they're filed.
Yes. Once EDGAR or SEDAR+ accepts the submission, you receive the filing confirmation (including the accession number / filing receipt) so you have a clear record that it's done.
We're happy to talk through your filing before you commit to anything.