EDGAR accession number format decoder.

What the decoder does

An EDGAR accession number looks like a code but it is a plain concatenation of three facts. This page splits the number you paste, names each part, and rewrites it in the other style: with dashes, without dashes, and as the folder and text-file paths EDGAR uses for filings after May 26, 2000. It reads text, so you can also paste a whole address from your browser and it will find the accession number inside. It does not call EDGAR and cannot say which company or form the number belongs to.

The three parts

Using the SEC’s own example, 0001193125-15-118890:

The first part is a CIK written with its ten-digit zero padding, so removing the zeros gives 1193125, the short form used in folder addresses. The CIK converter covers that step on its own.

Dashed and undashed forms

The dashed form is how filings are usually quoted. The undashed form is the same 18 digits run together, and it is what EDGAR uses to name the folder that holds a filing. The SEC describes the pattern as /Archives/edgar/data/{CIK}/{accession without dashes}/{accession with dashes}.txt, with the folder name stripped of dashes and the file name keeping them. The SEC gives a worked case: CIK 1122304 and accession 0001193125-15-118890 give /Archives/edgar/data/1122304/000119312515118890/0001193125-15-118890.txt. Note that in the SEC’s example the CIK in the path (1122304) differs from the submitter CIK that starts the accession number (1193125), so the two should not be assumed equal.

Worked example

Suppose a spreadsheet gives you 000112230426000007. It has 18 digits, so it can be an accession number. Split it 10-2-6: 0001122304, 26, 000007. The submitter CIK is 1122304 once the zeros are dropped, the year code is 26, and the sequence is the seventh submission count for that CIK. Insert dashes to get 0001122304-26-000007. This number is invented for the example; the decoder will accept it but nothing here checks that EDGAR has it.

Mistakes and edge cases

• Calling the prefix "the company". Filing agents send submissions for many companies, and the prefix can be the agent’s CIK. The SEC says it is the entity submitting the filing.
• Reading the year as four digits. The number holds only two. The decoder shows a four-digit reading as a convenience, treating codes above the current two-digit year as 19xx. That is this page’s interpretation, not an SEC rule.
• Treating the sequence as a strict counter. The SEC says the reset at year start is usual but not guaranteed.
• Dropping a leading zero. If a spreadsheet turned the number into a numeric cell, the first digits are gone and the length is under 18. The decoder reports the length it saw.
• Mixing up the dashed file name and the undashed folder. In the SEC’s path pattern the folder has no dashes and the file name does.
• Older filings. The SEC describes the dashless folder for filings after May 26, 2000. Filings from before that date may not have it, and this page does not model them.

Who this is for

Researchers and developers who pull filings in bulk, students checking an exhibit citation, journalists tracing a link back to an EDGAR submission, and compliance staff who need to tell the submitter from the subject company.

What this does not cover

• It does not look up the filing, the form type, the date or the company, and it does not confirm that a number exists. Use EDGAR full-text search or the SEC’s filing search for that.
• It does not scrape or proxy EDGAR; the paths it prints are plain text you can open on sec.gov yourself.
• It does not decode other numbers that look similar, such as SEC file numbers (the 001- and 333- kind), FINRA CRD numbers or LEIs. For the LEI format see the LEI validator.
• It cannot tell you the filing agent behind a prefix.

Related identifiers

The submitter prefix is a CIK, see the SEC CIK number converter. People searching for an adviser rather than a filing want the SEC IAPD lookup or FINRA BrokerCheck. For the identifiers of the securities inside a filing, there are the CUSIP check-digit validator and the ISIN validator.

Frequently asked questions

What is an EDGAR accession number?

The SEC glossary calls it a unique reference number generated by EDGAR for each submission, one that can be used to inquire about the status of the submission.

What do the parts of 0001193125-15-118890 mean?

The SEC explains its own example this way: 0001193125 is the CIK of the entity submitting the filing, 15 represents the year, and 118890 is a sequential count of submissions from that CIK.

How many digits are in an accession number?

Eighteen: 10 for the submitter’s CIK, 2 for the year and 6 for the sequence. With dashes it is written 10-2-6, without dashes it is a single 18-digit string.

Is the first part the company’s CIK?

Not necessarily. The SEC says it is the CIK of the entity submitting the filing, and that can be a third-party filing agent. To find the company a filing is about, open the filing itself rather than trusting the prefix.

Does the sequence number restart every year?

The SEC says the count is usually, but not always, reset at the start of each calendar year, so do not rely on it as a strict counter.

How do I write an accession number without dashes for a URL?

For filings after May 26, 2000 the SEC describes a folder named with the dashes removed, then the file named with the dashes kept: /Archives/edgar/data/{CIK}/{accession without dashes}/{accession with dashes}.txt. The decoder above builds both parts for you.

Does an amended filing get a new accession number?

The SEC defines the number as assigned to each submission, and an amendment is sent as its own submission, so expect a new number rather than the original one. Confirm in the filing index.

Can an accession number be used to check the status of a filing?

The SEC glossary says the number can be used to inquire about the status of the submission. This page only decodes the number and does not query EDGAR, so use the SEC’s own filing tools for status.

Sources

Retrieved 2026-10-20. Each link was opened and checked against the claim next to it. The SEC pages that carry the rules do not all state every detail, and the list below says which page supports which statement.

• SEC: Accessing EDGAR Data: CIKs "remain unique to the filer; they are not recycled". Accession number structure from the example 0001193125-15-118890: first set is the CIK of the entity submitting the filing, next two numbers are the year, last series is a sequential count of submissions from that CIK, usually but not always reset each calendar year. Dashless directory pattern /Archives/edgar/data/{CIK}/{accession without dashes}/{accession with dashes}.txt for filings after May 26, 2000.
• SEC: EDGAR Glossary: Definitions of CIK, accession number ("a unique reference number generated by the EDGAR system for each submission that can be used to inquire about the status of the submission") and CCC (an eight-character code used with the CIK).