A Standard Industry Classification code, commonly referred to as SIC code, is a four-digit number that represents the industry of a company's business. The SIC classification system was first developed in the 1930's to aid in the collection of economic data across industries and government agencies. While SIC codes have been, for the most part, replaced by an updated industry classification system called the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS), SIC codes are still relevant when researching SEC filings or working with public companies. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) still uses SIC codes to assign review responsibilities to the Division of Corporation Finance staff and requires companies registering securities with the SEC to include its primary SIC code on its registration statement.
The official database of SEC filings is the Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, more commonly known as EDGAR. There is no registration or fees required for researchers to search or view SEC filings using EDGAR. However, there are a number of commercial databases that provide access to SEC filings and contain advanced search features that make them more efficient to use when searching for specific forms, information, documents or language in filings. The best resource to use will often depend on your research assignment. Included below are basic introductions to EDGAR and the subscription databases for advanced SEC filings research that are available at BC Law and many law firms. For advice on which platform best meets your research needs or training on using any of the platforms, please contact a Teaching & Research Librarian.
When public companies make filings in compliance with the disclosure requirements of the federal securities laws, they are filed electronically via the SEC's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis and Retrieval (EDGAR) system. EDGAR provides free public access to full-text form filings and exhibits filed by public companies since 2001.
You can search SEC filings by company or run a full text search. You can find the EDGAR search options on the SEC's website under the Filings drop-down menu. You can also find a link to additional guidance on How to Search EDGAR from that menu.
If you are searching for information on a particular company, the Company Filings Search will be your best option. Just start typing in the name or ticker symbol of the company you're researching and select the company from the search suggestions.
This will provide a company profile containing basic information on the company and list its latest and selected filings, including Forms 8-K, 10-K and proxies. To view additional filings, click "View Filings."
For more advanced searching, you can use the EDGAR full text search which you can find on the EDGAR Search and Access page. The full text search provides advanced options for searching SEC filings.
To view the options click "more search options." You then have the ability to conduct a keyword search and filter your search by company name, jurisdiction, date and form category or type. To view a list of form types, click "Browse filing types." When running a keyword search, the EDGAR database will locate filings that contain all of your search terms. To search for an exact phrase, put it in quotes.
Intelligize is a Lexis product that provides enhanced search features, allowing you to more efficiently search SEC filings and exhibits. In addition to enhanced searching, Intelligize provides additional features to help you review and analyze your results like analytics, visualization and redlining tools. You can access Intelligize from the Law Library Research Database list or through Lexis+ using the product picker tool in the top-left corner of the Lexis home screen. SEC filings are available through the Intelligize platform as soon as they are publicly available on EDGAR and can be searched back to 1994.
Intelligize has developed multiple search applications customized for different types of SEC filings research. A chart of all the applications and their uses is included below. The SEC Filings database most closely resembles the EDGAR database but contains enhanced search functionality for precise and efficient filings research. You can search for filings and exhibits by company name, form type, date and keyword along with other criteria like industry, exchange, state of incorporation, and market capitalization.
| Application | Use |
|---|---|
| SEC Filings | Search and retrieve SEC filings and exhibits. Search criteria includes form type, filing date, company name, market capitalization, industry, exchange and other various filters. |
| Disclosure Benchmarking | Search for language in specific form sections SEC filings. Quickly compare disclosure language across filers, industry peers, and competitors. |
| Agreements & Other Exhibits | This database contains only agreements filed as exhibits to SEC filings. You can search by agreement title, type, and several other exhibit-specific filters, such as the position and salary in an employment agreement or the lead underwriter in an underwriting agreement. You can also search for specific clauses within an agreement. |
| Mergers & Acquisitions | Search for filings and exhibits relating to merger and acquisition transactions. You can search using filters such as transaction type, consideration, industry and advisors. It also allows for searching deal points like governing law, deal size, conditions and termination fees. |
The EDGAR Search database, located in Bloomberg Law's Transactional Intelligence Center, allows researchers to search SEC filings and exhibits. From the Law Library's website go to Bloomberg Law and once logged in, select EDGAR Search from the Transactional menu.
The EDGAR Search screen will appear allowing you to search for SEC flings by keywords, form type, company name and other criteria. From your results you can access and view the full text SEC filings.
RBsource is a research database that combines access to SEC EDGAR filings with federal securities law primary sources including regulations and administrative guidance. It is especially useful for attorneys doing public company work. All BC law students and faculty can register for access to RBsource by requesting a registration link from the Teaching & Research librarians by emailing: lawresearchhelp@bc.edu.
Once you have registered, to search SEC filings, go to the SEC Filings tab where you can search EDGAR filings by company, form type or keyword search.
