SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search MCP

Search Inside 35M+ SEC Filings — No Auth, No Cost

The SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search MCP is an Apify actor that exposes the SEC's EDGAR Full-Text Search System (EFTS) via the Model Context Protocol. It enables AI assistants — Claude, GPT-4, and any MCP-compatible agent — to perform natural language full-text search across 35 million+ SEC filings spanning every public company since the 1990s.

This is fundamentally different from searching SEC's EDGAR company lookup or financial data APIs. This actor searches the actual text inside filings — finding the exact paragraph where a company discloses a material weakness, mentions climate risk, or announces a CEO departure.

Important: This actor covers EDGAR full-text search. For company financial data (income statements, balance sheets, XBRL data), see the companion sec-edgar-mcp actor.

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Why Full-Text Search of SEC Filings Matters

Public companies are legally required to disclose material risks, events, and financial conditions in SEC filings. The information is all there — buried in thousands of pages of 10-K risk factors, 8-K event disclosures, proxy statements, and activist investor schedules.

The problem is discoverability. There was no easy way to search across all filings for a specific phrase or concept — until EDGAR's full-text search API and this MCP actor.

What you can now find:

• Every 10-K that mentions "artificial intelligence" as a material risk factor (2020–2024)
• Every 8-K where a CEO resigned in the last 90 days across all public companies
• Every company that disclosed a "material weakness in internal controls" this year
• Every activist 13-D filed mentioning "board reconstitution" targeting a specific company
• Every S-1 IPO filing that disclosed "going concern" doubts before going public
• Every proxy statement discussing executive compensation tied to ESG metrics

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Who This Is For

Equity Research Analysts and Portfolio Managers

• Screen for earnings quality red flags (material weakness mentions in 10-Ks)
• Monitor real-time 8-K event filings for portfolio companies
• Find companies building AI infrastructure by searching 10-K capex disclosures
• Track sector-wide disclosure trends (e.g., how many companies disclosed "Russia exposure" in 2022?)

M&A and Private Equity Teams

• Search acquisition targets for undisclosed litigation or regulatory risk disclosures
• Find all companies that disclosed "strategic alternatives" in 8-Ks (potential acquisition targets)
• Review target's history of restatements, auditor changes, or going concern opinions
• Screen for supply chain concentration risk disclosures by geography or supplier

ESG and Sustainability Analysts

• Extract climate risk disclosures from 10-K filings across an entire sector
• Find companies that mention specific TCFD (Task Force on Climate Disclosures) frameworks
• Search for "Scope 3 emissions" disclosures to assess ESG data quality
• Track how "net zero" commitments have evolved in proxy statement language over time

Corporate Intelligence and Competitive Research

• Monitor competitor 8-Ks for strategic announcements the moment they hit EDGAR
• Search proxy statements for executive compensation benchmarking data
• Find 13-D/13-G activist investor disclosures targeting sector peers
• Track patent litigation expense disclosures across an industry

Legal and Compliance Teams

• Search all 8-Ks mentioning "SEC investigation" or "DOJ subpoena" to monitor regulatory exposure
• Find all companies that disclosed "FCPA" (Foreign Corrupt Practices Act) violations
• Screen for sanctions risk exposure in 10-K risk factor sections
• Review cybersecurity incident disclosures across public company peers (SEC Rule 8-K Item 1.05)

Journalists and Financial Researchers

• Find companies that quietly disclosed layoffs inside 8-K filings
• Track "dividend suspended" or "share buyback" language trends
• Search for "going concern" disclosures that precede bankruptcies
• Find IPO S-1 filings with unusual risk factor language

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Data Source

SEC EDGAR Full-Text Search System (EFTS) — operated by the US Securities and Exchange Commission at https://efts.sec.gov/

The EFTS API:

• Covers 35M+ SEC filings from all public companies and registered entities
• Indexes full text of every filing, not just metadata
• Updates in near real-time — new 8-Ks appear within minutes of SEC acceptance
• Is completely free — no registration, no API key, no rate limits for reasonable use
• Serves as the backend for EDGAR's own full-text search interface at efts.sec.gov

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MCP Tools

1. search_filings

Full-text search across any combination of SEC filing types.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	Yes	Full-text search query. Multi-word queries are searched as exact phrases.
form_types	array of strings	No	Filter by filing type(s). E.g. ["10-K"], ["8-K"], ["13D","13G"]
company	string	No	Filter by company name or ticker
startdt	string	No	Start date filter (YYYY-MM-DD)
enddt	string	No	End date filter (YYYY-MM-DD)
limit	integer	No	Max results (default 20, max 100)

Output fields per filing:

Field	Description
company_name	Filing company name
ticker	Stock ticker symbol
form_type	SEC form type (10-K, 8-K, S-1, etc.)
filed_at	Filing date (YYYY-MM-DD)
period_of_report	Period covered by the filing
description	Filing description or display text (truncated to 300 chars)
accession_no	SEC accession number (unique filing ID)
cik	SEC Central Index Key (company ID)
url	Direct link to the filing on SEC.gov
source	Always "sec.gov/edgar"

Example — find climate risk disclosures in 2024 annual reports:

{
  "name": "search_filings",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "climate risk transition",
    "form_types": ["10-K"],
    "startdt": "2024-01-01",
    "enddt": "2024-12-31",
    "limit": 20
  }
}

Example — find activist investor disclosures mentioning "board reconstitution":

{
  "name": "search_filings",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "board reconstitution",
    "form_types": ["13D"],
    "startdt": "2023-01-01",
    "limit": 30
  }
}

Example — find companies disclosing AI investment plans:

{
  "name": "search_filings",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "artificial intelligence capital expenditure",
    "form_types": ["10-K", "10-Q"],
    "startdt": "2024-01-01",
    "limit": 50
  }
}

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2. search_8k_events

Search 8-K current reports specifically, optimized for finding material corporate events. 8-Ks must be filed within 4 business days of any material event, making this the fastest way to surface breaking corporate disclosures.

Parameters:

Parameter	Type	Required	Description
query	string	Yes	Event keyword or phrase
company	string	No	Filter by company name or ticker
startdt	string	No	Start date (YYYY-MM-DD)
enddt	string	No	End date (YYYY-MM-DD)
limit	integer	No	Max results (default 20, max 100)

High-value 8-K search queries:

Signal	Query	Use Case
Executive departure	"CEO resigned effective"	Leadership change monitoring
M&A announcement	"merger agreement"	Deal flow intelligence
Cybersecurity incident	"data breach" or "cybersecurity incident"	Risk monitoring
Internal controls	"material weakness"	Earnings quality screening
Bankruptcy risk	"going concern"	Distressed investing signals
Regulatory action	"SEC investigation" or "DOJ subpoena"	Legal risk monitoring
Dividend change	"dividend suspended" or "special dividend"	Income investing signals
Guidance cut	"withdraw guidance"	Earnings risk monitoring
Layoffs	"reduction in force"	Labor market intelligence
Strategic review	"strategic alternatives"	M&A target identification

Example — monitor CEO departures in real time:

{
  "name": "search_8k_events",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "Chief Executive Officer resigned",
    "startdt": "2024-10-01",
    "limit": 25
  }
}

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3. get_filing_types

Return all supported SEC form types with descriptions. Use this to discover valid codes for the form_types parameter.

No parameters required.

Supported form types include:

Form Type	Description
10-K	Annual report — audited full-year financials and risk factors
10-Q	Quarterly report — unaudited interim financials
8-K	Current report — material events within 4 business days
S-1	IPO registration statement
DEF 14A	Proxy statement — executive pay, board elections
13D	Activist investor disclosure (>5% ownership, active intent)
13G	Passive investor disclosure (>5% ownership, passive intent)
13F	Institutional manager holdings (>$100M AUM, quarterly)
4	Insider trading report (executives and directors)
SC TO-T	Tender offer — third-party acquisition bids
20-F	Foreign private issuer annual report
D	Regulation D private placement notice
...	20 form types total

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Quick Start

Option 1: Batch Mode (Apify Dataset)

Run with standard Apify input, results pushed to a dataset downloadable as JSON/CSV/XLSX.

Search for material weakness disclosures in 2024 annual reports:

{
  "query": "material weakness internal controls",
  "form_types": ["10-K"],
  "startdt": "2024-01-01",
  "enddt": "2024-12-31",
  "limit": 50
}

Find IPO filings that mentioned going concern doubts:

{
  "query": "going concern substantial doubt",
  "form_types": ["S-1"],
  "limit": 30
}

Option 2: MCP Server Mode (Live AI Integration)

{
  "serveMcp": true
}

Claude Desktop config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "edgar-fulltext": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@apify/actor-mcp-bridge", "your-actor-run-url:4321"]
    }
  }
}

Once connected, Claude can answer:

• "Find all 10-K filings that mention 'PFAS' contamination liability from 2023-2024"
• "Search for proxy statements discussing executive compensation tied to carbon reduction targets"
• "What companies filed 8-Ks disclosing SEC investigations in Q1 2024?"
• "Find every S-1 IPO filing that used the phrase 'we have a history of losses' in the past 2 years"
• "Search 13-D filings mentioning 'Elliott Management' in the last 6 months"

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Input Schema Reference

Field	Type	Default	Description
query	string	"climate risk material weakness"	Full-text search query
form_types	array	["10-K"]	SEC form type filter
company	string	""	Company name or ticker filter
startdt	string	"2024-01-01"	Filing date start filter
enddt	string	"2024-12-31"	Filing date end filter
mode	string	"search"	Mode: search, 8k, or types
limit	integer	20	Max results (1–100)
serveMcp	boolean	false	Enable MCP server mode on port 4321

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Advanced Use Cases

ESG Screening Pipeline

Query: "Scope 3 emissions" in 10-K filings, 2022-2024
→ Identify which S&P 500 companies disclose Scope 3
→ Filter for companies that include targets vs. disclosure-only
→ Build ESG scoring data from primary source (not third-party aggregators)

Earnings Quality Forensics

Query: "material weakness" in 10-K, 10-Q, 2020-2024
→ Find companies with repeated internal control failures
→ Cross-reference with stock price performance
→ Build leading indicator model for earnings restatements

Activist Target Identification

Query: "strategic alternatives" in 8-K, last 90 days
→ Identify companies in active strategic review processes
→ These are potential acquisition or breakup targets
→ Cross-reference with 13-D filings for existing activist positions

Cybersecurity Risk Intelligence

Query: "cybersecurity incident" in 8-K (Item 1.05), 2023-2024
→ Catalog all mandatory cybersecurity disclosures since SEC Rule effective Dec 2023
→ Identify sector concentration of incidents
→ Assess third-party vendor exposure patterns

IPO Pre-Filing Intelligence

Query: "confidentially submitted" in S-1 filings
→ Find companies that emerged from confidential IPO testing period
→ Identify upcoming IPO pipeline before roadshow

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EDGAR EFTS API Notes

Response structure:

{
  "hits": {
    "hits": [
      {
        "_id": "...",
        "_source": {
          "entity_name": "Company Name",
          "ticker": "TICK",
          "file_type": "10-K",
          "file_date": "2024-03-15",
          "period_of_report": "2023-12-31",
          "accession_no": "0001234567-24-000123",
          "entity_id": "1234567"
        }
      }
    ],
    "total": {"value": 1247}
  }
}

This actor extracts the _source object from each hit and normalizes it into the output schema above.

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Technical Notes

• Data source: SEC EDGAR EFTS (https://efts.sec.gov/LATEST/search-index)
• Authentication: None required (public API)
• Rate limits: SEC asks for reasonable use; include User-Agent header (this actor does)
• Coverage: All SEC registrants from 1993 to present (~35M+ filings)
• Update frequency: Near real-time; 8-Ks appear within minutes of SEC acceptance
• MCP port: 4321 (GET /mcp/tools, POST /mcp/call)
• Docker base: apify/actor-python:3.11
• Dependencies: apify>=2.0.0, httpx>=0.24.0
• Error handling: All tool failures return {"_meta": {"error": "...", "fallback_tried": true}}

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Related Actors

• sec-edgar-mcp — Financial data API (income statements, balance sheets, XBRL filings)
• pacer-intelligence-mcp — Federal court records search via CourtListener
• federal-register-mcp — Federal regulatory activity and rulemaking tracking

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Compliance Note

All data returned by this actor is public information from the SEC's EDGAR system. SEC filings are public records available to all investors and researchers. This actor does not bypass any access controls or access any non-public information. Use of the EDGAR EFTS API is governed by SEC's standard terms of service.