SEC enforcement and rulemaking

Administrative Proceedings

POSThttps://api.sec-api.io/sec-administrative-proceedings

Search more than 18,000 SEC administrative proceedings published from 1995 to present, including cease-and-desist orders, orders imposing remedial sanctions and notices of proposed plans of distribution. Structured data is extracted from each new proceeding and is searchable in real time as soon as the SEC releases it.

Read the guide for this API →

Authentication

Send the API key either as a header or as a query parameter. The header is preferred; the query parameter exists for cases where a header cannot be set, such as opening a URL directly in a browser.

Authorization: required header

The API key on its own. Do not prefix it with Bearer or any other word.

Example Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY

token: optional query parameter

The API key, appended to the URL. Use this only when a header is not possible.

Request body

A JSON object. Content-Type must be application/json.

query: required string

The search criteria in Lucene syntax, written as field:value. Every field listed under Searchable fields can be used, combined with AND, OR, NOT, ranges and wildcards.

Example entities.ticker:UPS

from: string, Maximum 10000

Index of the first result to return, used for pagination. Increment by the value of size to page through results.

Default "0"

size: string, Maximum 50

Number of proceedings to return in one response.

Default "50"

sort: array of object

Sort order. Each item maps one field to an order object, for example [{ "releasedAt": { "order": "desc" } }].

Default [{ "releasedAt": { "order": "desc" } }]

order: string

Either asc or desc.

Searchable fields

Every field below can be used inside query. 34 fields are searchable, and they match the structure of the objects returned in the response.

Field	Description
`releaseNo`	SEC release numbers (e.g. "33-11328", "34-101702", "AAER-4542")
`fileNumbers`	File numbers (e.g. "3-22327") — link multiple releases under one proceeding
`releasedAt`	Publication date / time (ISO 8601)
`title`	Title of the administrative proceeding
`summary`	Free-text summary of the proceeding
`tags`	Tags — e.g. "accounting fraud", "audit failure", "insider trading"
`respondents.name`	Respondent name
`respondents.type`	Respondent type — "individual", "company", or "other"
`respondents.role`	Respondent role (e.g. "respondent")
`respondents.cik`	Respondent CIK, when matched to a public company
`respondents.ticker`	Respondent ticker, when matched to a public company
`entities.name`	Entity name involved in the proceeding
`entities.type`	Entity type — "individual", "company", or "other"
`entities.role`	Entity role — "respondent", "defendant", "affected entity", etc.
`entities.cik`	Entity Central Index Key (CIK), when matched to a public company
`entities.ticker`	Entity ticker symbol, when matched to a public company
`complaints`	Free-text complaints / charges
`orders`	Free-text orders issued by the SEC in the proceeding
`violatedSections`	Violated securities laws or rules
`requestedRelief`	Requested reliefs — e.g. "cease-and-desist order", "civil penalties"
`parallelActionsTakenBy`	Other agencies that took parallel actions (DOJ, etc.)
`hasAgreedToSettlement`	true if respondent agreed to settlement
`hasAgreedToPayPenalty`	true if respondent agreed to pay a penalty
`penaltyAmounts.penaltyAmount`	Numeric penalty amount in USD
`penaltyAmounts.penaltyAmountText`	Original penalty text (e.g. "$45 million")
`penaltyAmounts.imposedOn`	Party on which the penalty was imposed
`otherAgenciesInvolved.name`	Other agency name
`otherAgenciesInvolved.country`	Other agency country
`resources.label`	Resource label (e.g. "primary")
`resources.url`	URL to a related document
`id`	System internal unique identifier of the administrative proceeding.
`respondentsText`	Names of all respondents joined into a single string.
`investigationConductedBy`	SEC divisions and offices that conducted the investigation, for example Division of Enforcement.
`litigationLedBy`	SEC divisions and offices that led the litigation, for example Division of Enforcement.

Response

A JSON object. Nested attributes are collapsed; expand one to see its fields.

total: object

How many proceedings matched the query.

value: integer

Number of matching proceedings, capped at 10000. A value of 10000 with relation gte means more than 10000 proceedings matched.

relation: string

Either eq, meaning value is exact, or gte, meaning value is a floor.

data: array of object

The matching administrative proceedings, at most size per response.

id: string

System internal unique identifier of the administrative proceeding.

releasedAt: string

Publication date and time of the proceeding, for example 2025-02-04T10:00:21-05:00. Format: yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssXXX.

releaseNo: array of string

SEC release numbers of the proceeding, for example ["33-11364", "34-102332", "AAER-4562"]. An AAER release number is listed here when one exists.

fileNumbers: array of string

File numbers of the proceeding, for example ["3-22448"]. Several releases of the same proceeding, such as a cease-and-desist order followed by a distribution plan, share the file number but carry different release numbers.

respondents: array of object

The respondents charged in the proceeding. The ticker and cik fields are present only when the name was matched to a known publicly traded company.

respondentsText: optional string

Names of all respondents joined into a single string.

resources: array of object

Links to source documents and related material, such as submissions for comments.

title: string

Title of the proceeding as stated in the official release.

summary: string

Brief summary of the proceeding.

tags: array of string

Tags associated with the proceeding, for example accounting fraud or audit failure.

entities: array of object

All parties involved in the proceeding, which is broader than respondents. The ticker and cik fields are present only when the name was matched to a known publicly traded company.

complaints: array of string

The complaints or charges brought in the proceeding, one sentence per item.

parallelActionsTakenBy: array of string

Other agencies that took parallel actions related to the proceeding, for example U.S. Department of Justice in the case of criminal charges.

hasAgreedToSettlement: boolean

True when the respondent has agreed to a settlement.

hasAgreedToPayPenalty: boolean

True when the respondent has agreed to pay a penalty.

penaltyAmounts: array of object

Penalties imposed in the proceeding. A proceeding can state several penalties, for example when several respondents are involved.

requestedRelief: array of string

The requested reliefs, for example cease-and-desist order, permanent injunctions or civil penalties.

violatedSections: array of string

Securities laws violated by the respondents, for example Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933 or Rules 13a-14 and 13b2-1.

orders: array of string

Orders issued by the SEC in the proceeding, for example Respondent is suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant.

investigationConductedBy: array of string

SEC divisions and offices that conducted the investigation, for example Division of Enforcement.

litigationLedBy: array of string

SEC divisions and offices that led the litigation, for example Division of Enforcement.

otherAgenciesInvolved: array of object

Other agencies involved in the proceeding.

Status codes

`200`	Success. The response holds total and data.
`400`	The request body could not be parsed, the Lucene expression in query is malformed, or size is above 50.
`403`	The API key is missing, or it is not valid.
`429`	Too many requests. Slow the request rate and retry.
`500`	Server error. Retry, and report it if it persists.

Request example

POST https://api.sec-api.io/sec-administrative-proceedings

{
  "query": "entities.ticker:UPS",
  "from": "0",
  "size": "50",
  "sort": [{ "releasedAt": { "order": "desc" } }]
}

from sec_api import SecAdministrativeProceedingsApi

secAdminProceedingsApi = SecAdministrativeProceedingsApi("YOUR_API_KEY")

response = secAdminProceedingsApi.get_data({
    "query": "entities.ticker:UPS",
    "from": "0",
    "size": "50",
    "sort": [{"releasedAt": {"order": "desc"}}],
})

import { secAdminProceedingsApi } from "sec-api";

secAdminProceedingsApi.setApiKey("YOUR_API_KEY");

const response = await secAdminProceedingsApi.getData({
  query: "entities.ticker:UPS",
  from: "0",
  size: "50",
  sort: [{ releasedAt: { order: "desc" } }],
});

curl -X POST https://api.sec-api.io/sec-administrative-proceedings \
  -H "Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "entities.ticker:UPS",
    "from": "0",
    "size": "50",
    "sort": [{ "releasedAt": { "order": "desc" } }]
  }'

Response example

200 OK · application/json

{
  "total": {
    "value": 711,
    "relation": "eq"
  },
  "data": [
    {
      "id": "0ab80b58b2fcf40e7497aa0000759a37",
      "releasedAt": "2024-12-31T12:19:45-05:00",
      "releaseNo": ["34-102060", "AAER-4554"],
      "fileNumbers": ["3-22386"],
      "respondents": [
        {
          "name": "Accell Audit & Compliance, PA",
          "type": "company",
          "role": "respondent"
        }
      ],
      "respondentsText": "Accell Audit & Compliance, PA",
      "resources": [
        {
          "label": "primary",
          "url": "https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/admin/2024/34-102060.pdf"
        }
      ],
      "title": "ORDER INSTITUTING PUBLIC ADMINISTRATIVE PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO RULE 102(e) OF THE COMMISSION'S RULES OF PRACTICE, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS",
      "summary": "The SEC has instituted public administrative proceedings against Accell Audit & Compliance, PA, resulting in its suspension from appearing or practicing before the Commission due to its involvement in fraudulent financial reporting with Ignite International Brands, Ltd.",
      "tags": ["fraudulent financial reporting", "accounting misconduct"],
      "entities": [
        {
          "name": "Accell Audit & Compliance, PA",
          "type": "company",
          "role": "respondent"
        },
        {
          "name": "Ignite International Brands, Ltd.",
          "type": "company",
          "role": "related party"
        }
      ],
      "complaints": [
        "Accell failed to exercise due professional care or skepticism, or to otherwise obtain sufficient appropriate audit evidence for a significant, unusual sale to an Ignite-related party that purportedly took place on the last day of the 2020 fiscal year, but in fact did not occur during the reporting period.",
        "Accell staff knew about, but failed to address, inconsistencies and contradictory evidence, and misrepresented the timing and facts of the supposed sale to its Engagement Quality Control Reviewer.",
        "Accell issued an unqualified audit opinion on Ignite's 2020 financial statements, falsely stating its opinion that the statements 'present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the company' as of December 31, 2020.",
        "Accell's actions aided and abetted Ignite's fraudulent financial reporting."
      ],
      "parallelActionsTakenBy": [],
      "hasAgreedToSettlement": true,
      "hasAgreedToPayPenalty": true,
      "penaltyAmounts": [
        {
          "penaltyAmount": "75000",
          "penaltyAmountText": "$75,000",
          "imposedOn": "Accell Audit & Compliance, PA"
        }
      ],
      "requestedRelief": [],
      "violatedSections": [
        "Section 10(b) of the Exchange Act",
        "Rule 10b-5"
      ],
      "orders": [
        "Accell is suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant."
      ],
      "investigationConductedBy": [],
      "litigationLedBy": [],
      "otherAgenciesInvolved": []
    }
  ]
}