Locus product guide · Updated November 10, 2026

SEC EDGAR API: free endpoints, rate limits and options

The SEC's EDGAR APIs on data.sec.gov are free, return JSON and need no API key. They cover each filer's submission history and the XBRL financial data from 10-K, 10-Q, 8-K and similar filings, through the submissions, companyconcept, companyfacts and frames endpoints. The SEC caps automated access at 10 requests per second and asks every script to declare a User-Agent with a company name and contact email. Paid services such as SEC-API.io, from $49 a month, add parsed sections and search on top. Prices checked November 10, 2026.

What does the official SEC EDGAR API include?

Four JSON APIs on data.sec.gov, plus nightly bulk files. The SEC says they need no authentication or API keys, and update in real time as filings are disseminated. Each company is addressed by its 10-digit CIK, including leading zeros.

What does the official SEC EDGAR API include?
Endpoint	URL pattern	Returns
Submissions	data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK##########.json	Name, tickers, exchanges and at least 1 year or 1,000 of the most recent filings
Company concept	data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyconcept/CIK##########/us-gaap/AccountsPayableCurrent.json	Every reported value of one XBRL tag for one company
Company facts	data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/companyfacts/CIK##########.json	All XBRL facts for one company in one file
Frames	data.sec.gov/api/xbrl/frames/us-gaap/AccountsPayableCurrent/USD/CY2019Q1I.json	One fact per company for one calendar period
Bulk ZIP files	companyfacts.zip and submissions.zip	Everything above, rebuilt nightly at about 3:00 a.m. ET

What are the SEC EDGAR rate limits and User-Agent rules?

The SEC’s fair access page says: "Current max request rate: 10 requests/second." It asks you to download only what you need and reserves the right to limit request rates.

Every script must declare a User-Agent. The SEC’s sample is "Sample Company Name AdminContact@<sample company domain>.com". The SEC also states it does not allow botnets or automated crawling outside this policy.

Two more limits catch people. data.sec.gov does not support CORS, so a browser page cannot call it directly. And the SEC offers no technical support for scripted downloads.

What does the free EDGAR API not give you?

The data.sec.gov APIs return filing lists and tagged financial facts. They do not return cleaned text sections, such as Item 1A risk factors from a 10-K, or parsed insider trades.

EDGAR full-text search covers every electronic filing since 2001, including exhibits. The SEC documents it as a search tool on its website, not as one of the data.sec.gov APIs.

Processing is fast but not instant. The SEC lists a typical delay under 1 second for submissions and under 1 minute for XBRL data, longer at peak filing times.

What do paid SEC filing APIs cost?

You pay for search, parsing and higher limits, not for the filings. Prices checked November 10, 2026.

What do paid SEC filing APIs cost?
Option	Price	What it adds
SEC EDGAR APIs	Free	Official JSON and XBRL data at up to 10 requests a second
SEC-API.io Free	$0 for 100 API calls in total	Trial of every API, no card required
SEC-API.io Personal and Startups	$49 a month, or $588 a year	Filing search, section extractor, XBRL-to-JSON. No full-text search.
SEC-API.io Business Internal Use	$199 a month, or $2,388 a year	Adds full-text search at 20 requests a second
Financial Modeling Prep Basic	$0, 250 calls a day	SEC filing endpoints capped at 20 results per call, with 1 month to 1 year of history

How do I query EDGAR through Locus Pro?

Locus Pro wraps the official EDGAR endpoints, and SEC full-text search, as tools an agent can call. The agent reads each call’s credit price for free before it runs.

What Locus adds is convenience, not data: your agent finds the endpoint, Locus makes the request to the SEC for you, and the call lands on the same prepaid balance as your other tools.

How do I query EDGAR through Locus Pro?
Locus endpoint	What it returns	Source
EDGAR company submissions	Filer details and recent filings	data.sec.gov submissions
EDGAR company facts	Every XBRL fact for one company	data.sec.gov companyfacts
EDGAR company concept	All values of one XBRL tag for one company	data.sec.gov companyconcept
EDGAR full-text search	Filings that match a search query	SEC full-text search, filings since 2001

Should I call the SEC from my own code or through an agent tool?

Call the SEC yourself whenever you write code. For example, 10 years of revenue for 50 companies takes 50 company facts calls, about 5 seconds at the 10 a second limit.

For the whole market, skip the API and download companyfacts.zip each night.

Use Locus when an agent answers ad hoc questions, such as "What did these three companies report for R&D last year?", and you do not want to build and host a client for one more API.

Which SEC data source should I choose?

Pick by how much parsing you want someone else to do.

Financial statement numbers in your own code: the free XBRL APIs.
Every company at once: the nightly bulk ZIP files.
Parsed 10-K sections or full-text search by API: SEC-API.io.
Fundamentals plus prices in one vendor: Financial Modeling Prep.
An agent that looks up filings now and then next to other data: Locus Pro.

Frequently asked questions

Do I need an API key for the SEC EDGAR API?

No. The SEC says the data.sec.gov APIs need no authentication or API key. You must still send a User-Agent with your company name and a contact email.

What happens if I go over 10 requests per second?

The SEC reserves the right to limit your request rate to keep access fair for everyone. Pace your script below 10 a second and use the bulk files for large jobs.

Can I call data.sec.gov from a web page?

Not directly. data.sec.gov does not support CORS, so browser JavaScript is blocked. Call it from a server or an agent tool instead.

How fresh is EDGAR API data?

The SEC lists a typical delay under 1 second for submissions and under 1 minute for XBRL facts. The bulk ZIP files rebuild nightly at about 3:00 a.m. ET.

Implementation references

Use these first-party references for current request contracts and account requirements. Tool availability, prices, and negotiated terms can change.

Sources

Third-party details were checked on November 10, 2026. Vendors change pricing and features often, so confirm on their site before you decide.