SEC CIK number lookup and zero-padding converter.

What the converter does

A CIK is the Central Index Key, the number the SEC uses on EDGAR to identify a filer. The same number shows up in several shapes: 320193 in a spreadsheet, CIK0000320193 in an API address, 0000320193 after a copy from a data file. This page takes any of those shapes and gives you the ten-digit padded form, the unpadded form, and the two address patterns that matter most when you work with EDGAR data by hand. It never contacts the SEC. For turning a company name into a number it points you to the official lookup, because the SEC’s own tool is the right place for that job.

The two forms of the same number

The SEC’s API documentation describes the submissions address as https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK##########.json and says the number there is the entity’s 10-digit CIK, including leading zeros. Elsewhere the SEC writes the CIK without zeros: its guide to accessing EDGAR data shows a folder address with 1122304 in it. Neither is wrong. They are the same key written for two different address styles, and the conversion is mechanical: pad with zeros on the left to reach ten digits, or strip the zeros from the left to get the short form.

Worked example

Take the number 1122304. The SEC uses it in an example address in its own guide; this page does not say who holds it and the example is only here to show the arithmetic. It has 7 digits, so three zeros go in front: 0001122304. Pasted into the submissions pattern it becomes https://data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK0001122304.json. The same number in an Archives folder path is /Archives/edgar/data/1122304/. If you start from 0001122304 instead, the converter strips the three zeros and lands on the same short form. A second hypothetical, 42, becomes 0000000042 with eight zeros.

Mistakes this prevents

• Spreadsheet damage. Opening a column of padded CIKs in a numeric format silently drops the leading zeros. A lookup that worked yesterday then fails on addresses that need ten digits. Keep CIK columns as text, and re-pad before building an API address.
• Joining on mismatched forms. 0001122304 and 1122304 are different strings. Compare after normalizing both sides to the same form.
• Typing a number that is too long. Ten digits is the ceiling in the SEC’s API wording. An 11-digit value with a stray digit is a typo, not a CIK. A longer value whose extra leading characters are zeros is accepted and trimmed.
• Pasting an accession number. Its first ten digits are a CIK, but the whole 18-digit string is not. The converter says so instead of guessing; use the accession decoder.
• Assuming the number tells you the company. A CIK carries no meaning in its digits. Only a lookup against the SEC tells you whose it is.

Finding the number from a name

Use the SEC’s CIK Lookup. Type as much of the name as you know. The SEC notes that the search returns up to 100 matching records and truncates beyond that, so a name such as "Putnam" is better narrowed to "Putnam Global". Names may be indexed differently than you would write them: an individual might appear surname first, and a company may be abbreviated, for example "CO." for "Company". The SEC also points to a separate tool, edgarcompany.sec.gov, for CIKs issued very recently, since the main lookup only shows numbers with associated public filings. Once you have the number, paste it above to get the forms you need. To search inside the text of filings rather than for a filer, use EDGAR full-text search.

Who this is for

Analysts and students joining filing data from different sources, developers assembling EDGAR addresses, compliance and operations staff reconciling a vendor file against SEC records, and anyone who has been handed a CIK in a format that an address or a spreadsheet will not accept.

What this does not cover

• It does not look up a company, a ticker or a person, and it does not confirm that a CIK exists. Only the SEC’s lookup can do that.
• It does not fetch, scrape or proxy EDGAR. If you automate access to the data.sec.gov addresses it builds, follow the SEC’s automated-access policy, which the SEC’s API page refers to under its Privacy and Security Policy.
• It does not explain the CIK Confirmation Code, which belongs to the filer, and it never asks for one.
• It is not a guide to getting a CIK. A person or entity that needs one for filing should follow the SEC’s own EDGAR access instructions.
• Broker-dealers that hold more than one CIK file annual reports under the CIK tied to their FOCUS reports, per the SEC; the converter cannot tell you which of your CIKs that is.

Related identifiers

A CIK identifies a filer on EDGAR. The submitter CIK is also the first ten digits of every accession number, covered in the EDGAR accession number decoder. Investment advisers have separate numbers on the SEC IAPD and FINRA BrokerCheck sites. Legal entities worldwide may carry a 20-character code, checked by the LEI validator, and securities themselves are identified by the CUSIP and ISIN formats.

Frequently asked questions

What is a CIK number?

The SEC says it assigns a unique number, the Central Index Key, to each entity or individual that submits filings to it. EDGAR uses it to identify corporations and individual people.

How many digits is a CIK number?

The SEC’s API documentation writes the CIK as a 10-digit number including leading zeros. Day to day you will often see it without the zeros, so this converter accepts 1 to 10 digits and always shows the 10-digit form.

How do I add leading zeros to a CIK?

Write the number, then put zeros in front until there are ten digits in total. A 7-digit CIK gets three zeros, a 6-digit one gets four. The converter above does this and removes the zeros again for the unpadded form.

Do I need the zeros in EDGAR URLs?

It depends on the address. The submissions API at data.sec.gov spells the CIK with ten digits, leading zeros included. The SEC’s own example of an Archives folder path uses the number without zeros (/Archives/edgar/data/1122304/). Check which form the address you are building shows.

How do I find a company’s CIK number?

Search the SEC’s CIK Lookup or its Company Database with as much of the name as you know. The CIK Lookup returns at most 100 matches and then truncates the list, so a more specific name helps. Names can be indexed in an unexpected way, such as "ABC CO." for "ABC Company".

Can a CIK be reused by a different company?

The SEC states that CIK numbers remain unique to the filer and are not recycled, so one number does not move to a new entity.

Is a CIK the same as a stock ticker or an accession number?

No. A ticker is a trading symbol, a different identifier that this page does not convert. An accession number is assigned to each submission, though its first ten digits are the CIK of whoever sent the submission. Use the accession number decoder for that.

Is a CIK the same as a CCC?

No. The SEC glossary describes the CIK Confirmation Code as an eight-character code that EDGAR uses together with the CIK. This page never asks for it.

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: CIK Lookup: CIK identifies corporations and individuals; search returns up to 100 records then truncates; names may be indexed differently (for example "ABC CO."); edgarcompany.sec.gov covers recently issued CIKs; not every company that offers stock has a CIK.
• SEC: Look Up a Central Index Key (CIK) Number: The SEC assigns a unique CIK to each entity or individual that submits filings; lookup through the CIK Lookup and Company Database; broker-dealers with several CIKs file annual reports under the CIK tied to their FOCUS reports. The page gives no digit count.
• SEC: EDGAR Application Programming Interfaces: The submissions URL is data.sec.gov/submissions/CIK##########.json, where the number is "the entity’s 10-digit central index key (CIK), including leading zeros".
• 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).