SEC regulatory overview of electronic filing and EDGAR

The SEC staff's 2006 history of the move from paper to electronic filings.

What this source records

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff traced the move to its Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, known as EDGAR. The overview, dated October 3, 2006, is historical staff guidance.

Date	Event in section A
1983	Development began.
Fall 1984	A volunteer pilot opened.
July 15, 1992	The operational system opened for voluntary filing.
February 23, 1993	Interim rules adopted.
April 26, 1993	Mandatory filing began phasing in by group.
December 19, 1994	Rules made final.
January 30, 1995	Phase-in resumed.
July 1, 1997	Transition rules removed.
October 24, 1997	Paper-filing restriction adopted.
January 1, 1998	That restriction took effect, with hardship exemptions.
June 28, 1999	Web-page-format filings accepted.
November 4, 2002	Foreign-issuer filing rules took effect.

How to use it

Keep adoption, effective, and phase-in dates distinct. This source does not date the first public Internet access. Its procedural instructions are from 2006; use current rules for a filing decision.