SEC Administrative Proceedings Database API
The SEC Administrative Proceedings Database API provides access to structured data of over 18,000 administrative proceedings from 1995 to present. The API allows searching proceedings by release number, type of order, involved entities, violated securities laws, and more. Structured data is extracted from newly published proceedings and made available in real-time as soon as they are released by the SEC.
The database includes all types of administrative proceedings, such as cease-and-desist orders, notice of proposed plan of distributions, imposing remedial sanctions, and more.
Example 1: Structured data in JSON format extracted from an administrative proceeding
1
{
2
"releasedAt": "2024-11-22T09:00:40-05:00",
3
"releaseNo": ["33-11328", "34-101702", "AAER-4542"],
4
"fileNumbers": ["3-22327"],
5
"respondents": [
6
{
7
"name": "United Parcel Service, Inc.",
8
"type": "company",
9
"role": "respondent",
10
"cik": "1090727",
11
"ticker": "UPS"
12
}
13
],
14
"resources": [ ... ],
15
"title": "ORDER INSTITUTING CEASE-AND-DESIST PROCEEDINGS PURSUANT TO SECTION 8A OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933 AND SECTION 21C OF THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING A CEASE-AND-DESIST ORDER",
16
"summary": "The SEC has instituted cease-and-desist proceedings against United Parcel Service, Inc. (UPS) for failing to adhere to accounting principles, resulting in material misrepresentations to investors regarding its earnings and other reported items.",
17
"tags": [
18
"accounting fraud",
19
"misrepresentation",
20
"disclosure violations"
21
],
22
"entities": [ ... ],
23
"complaints": [
24
"UPS failed to adhere to the basic accounting principle that the 'fair value' of an asset is the price that would be received to sell that asset in an orderly transaction between market participants.",
25
"UPS made various disclosures regarding the amount of its earnings, goodwill balances, and shareowners’ equity that were materially misleading.",
26
"UPS engaged in conduct that materially misled investors and failed to comply with its reporting, books and records, internal accounting controls, internal control over financial reporting, and disclosure controls and procedures obligations."
27
],
28
"hasAgreedToSettlement": true,
29
"hasAgreedToPayPenalty": true,
30
"penaltyAmounts": [
31
{
32
"penaltyAmount": "45000000",
33
"penaltyAmountText": "$45 million",
34
"imposedOn": "United Parcel Service, Inc."
35
}
36
],
37
"requestedRelief": [
38
"cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act and Sections 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act, and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, 13a-13, and 13a-15 thereunder"
39
],
40
"violatedSections": [
41
"Section 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act",
42
"Sections 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act",
43
"Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, 13a-13, and 13a-15"
44
],
45
"orders": [
46
"Respondent shall cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 17(a)(2) and (3) of the Securities Act and Sections 13(a), 13(b)(2)(A) and 13(b)(2)(B) of the Exchange Act, and Rules 12b-20, 13a-1, 13a-11, 13a-13, and 13a-15 thereunder.",
47
"Respondent shall, within 10 days of the entry of this Order, pay a civil money penalty in the amount of $45 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission."
48
]
49
}
Dataset size:
All 18,000+ SEC administrative proceedings from 1995 to present.
Data update frequency:
New proceedings are added to the database as they are published by the SEC in real-time.
Survivorship bias free:
Yes. The database includes all SEC administrative proceedings released from 1995 to present.
API Endpoint
To search the Administrative Proceedings Database, send a HTTP POST request with the search criteria as JSON payload to the following API endpoint:
https://api.sec-api.io/sec-administrative-proceedings
Supported HTTP methods: POST
Request and response content type: JSON
Authentication
To authenticate your API requests, use the API key displayed in your user profile. You can utilize your API key in one of two ways. Choose the method that best fits your use case:
- Authorization Header: Include your API key as an
Authorizationheader in your requests. For instance, before sending aPOSTrequest tohttps://api.sec-api.io/sec-administrative-proceedings, ensure the header is set as follows:Authorization: YOUR_API_KEY. - Query Parameter: Alternatively, append your API key directly to the URL as a query parameter. For example, when making
POSTrequests, use the URLhttps://api.sec-api.io/sec-administrative-proceedings?token=YOUR_API_KEYinstead of the base endpoint.
Search API
To search the Administrative Proceedings Database, make a POST request to https://api.sec-api.io/sec-administrative-proceedings, providing your search criteria as a JSON payload.
Request Structure
The Search API recognizes the following JSON payload parameters:
query(string, required) - The search criteria in the formatfield:valuedefining the structured datafieldto search in and thevalueto search for in this field. The search expression is formatted with the Lucene syntax and supportsANDandORoperators. Examples:entities.ticker:UPSortags:"insider trading" AND releasedAt:[2024-01-01 TO 2024-12-31].from(string, optional) - Pagination control to specify the starting position of the results. Max: 10000. Default: 0.size(string, optional) - Determines the number of results to be returned per request. Max: 50. Default: 50.sort(array, optional) - Specifies the field by which results should be sorted. By default, results are sorted byreleasedAtin descending order.
Query Examples
Loading All Data
To download structured data for all administrative proceedings published between 1995 and 2024, you can use a date range query as shown below. The search request will return the first 50 results. To retrieve additional results, paginate through the dataset by incrementing the from parameter by 50 with each subsequent request.
JSON
1
{
2
"query": "releasedAt:[2024-01-01 TO 2024-12-31]",
3
"from": 0, // set to 50 for the next page, then 100, 150, etc.
4
"size": 50,
5
"sort": [{ "releasedAt": { "order": "desc" } }]
6
}
The API can return a maximum of 10,000 results per query. Since there are more than 10,000 proceedings between 1995 and 2024, you need to divide the search universe into smaller date ranges, such as by year. For instance:
- Fetch all proceedings from 2024 with
releasedAt:[2024-01-01 TO 2024-12-31], incrementing thefromparameter by 50 for each additional request. - Once all releases from 2024 have been retrieved, repeat the process for 2023, 2022, and earlier years until all data has been fetched.
Monitoring Most Recent Administrative Proceedings
To monitor the most recent administrative proceedings published by the SEC, you can use the following search request. This request will return the 50 most recently released proceedings. You can then periodically query the API to retrieve the latest releases, for example, every 60 seconds.
JSON
1
{
2
"query": "releaseNo:*",
3
"from": 0,
4
"size": 50,
5
"sort": [{ "releasedAt": { "order": "desc" } }]
6
}
Searching for Specific Companies
If you are interested in administrative proceedings involving specific companies, you can use the ticker or cik filters. The example will return proceedings involving Twitter (ticker: UPS, CIK: 1090727).
JSON
1
{
2
"query": "entities.ticker:UPS", // or "entities.cik:1090727"
3
"from": 0,
4
"size": 50,
5
"sort": [{ "releasedAt": { "order": "desc" } }]
6
}
Response Structure
The Search API returns a JSON object with two main fields: total and data. The total field indicates the total number of results matching the search criteria, while the data field contains an array of administrative proceedings that match the query. Each object in the data array represents a proceeding and includes the following fields:
id(string) - A system internal unique identifier of the administrative proceeding.releasedAt(string) - The publication date and time of the proceeding, e.g.2025-02-04T10:00:21-05:00. Format:yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssXXX.releaseNo(array of strings) - The SEC release numbers of the proceeding. If an AAER release number is available, it is listed here, e.g.,["33-11364", "34-102332", "AAER-4562"].fileNumbers(array of strings) - The file numbers of the proceeding, e.g.,["3-22448"]. If multiple proceedings are available, such as an initial cease-and-desist order followed by a distribution plan, each proceeding will have the same file number, but different release numbers. The file number is used to link multiple releases to the primary proceeding.respondents(array of objects) - An array of objects representing the respondents involved in the proceeding. Each object includes thename,type,role, and optionaltickerandcikfields. Thetypefield can beindividual,company, orother.resources(array of objects) - An array of objects withlabelandurlfields, providing links to source documents and related material, such as submission for comments.title(string) - The title of the proceeding as stated in the official release.summary(string) - A brief summary of the proceeding.tags(array of strings) - Tags associated with the proceeding, such asaccounting fraud,audit failure, etc.entities(array of objects) - An array of objects representing the parties involved in the proceeding. Thetickerandcikfields are optional and are only present if thenamewas successfully matched to a known publicly traded company.name(string) - The name of the party involved.type(string) - The type of the party, such asindividual,company, orother.role(string) - The role of the party, such asrespondent,defendant,affected entityorother.ticker(string) - The ticker symbol of the party, if available.cik(string) - The Central Index Key (CIK) of the party, if available.
complaints(array of strings) - An array of complaints or charges, such as "The deliberate and systematic failure to audit and review public company and SEC-registered broker-dealer clients’ financial statements in accordance with PCAOB standards."parallelActionsTakenBy(array of strings) - An array of other agencies that took parallel actions related to the proceeding, such asU.S. Department of Justicein case of criminal charges.hasAgreedToSettlement(boolean) - Indicates whether the respondent has agreed to a settlement.hasAgreedToPayPenalty(boolean) - Indicates whether the respondent has agreed to pay a penalty.penaltyAmounts(array of objects) - An array of penalty objects withpenaltyAmount,penaltyAmountTextandimposedOnfields. Each object represents a penalty imposed on a party involved in the proceeding. A proceeding can state multiple penalties, for example, if multiple respondents are involved.penaltyAmount(string) - The cleaned penalty amount in USD.penaltyAmountText(string) - The original penalty amount as stated in the enforcement action.imposedOn(string) - The party on which the penalty was imposed.
requestedRelief(array of strings) - An array of requested reliefs, such ascease-and-desist order,permanent injunctions,civil penalties, etc.violatedSections(array of strings) - An array of securities laws violated by the respondents, such asSection 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933orRules 13a-14 and 13b2-1.orders(array of strings) - An array of orders issued by the SEC in the proceeding, such as "Respondent is suspended from appearing or practicing before the Commission as an accountant".otherAgenciesInvolved(array of objects) - An array of other agencies involved in the proceeding, such as{ "name": "Autorité des Marchés Financiers", "country": "Canada" }
Response Example
JSON
1
{
2
"total": {
3
"value": 166,
4
"relation": "eq"
5
},
6
"data": [
7
{
8
"id": "3391e850ed3168135e6211daaf8cf67c",
9
"releasedAt": "2025-01-17T11:56:58-05:00",
10
"releaseNo": [
11
"33-11359",
12
"IA-6830",
13
"IC-35453"
14
],
15
"fileNumbers": [
16
"3-22435"
17
],
18
"respondents": [
19
{
20
"name": "The Vanguard Group, Inc.",
21
"type": "company",
22
"role": "respondent",
23
"cik": "102909",
24
"ticker": ""
25
}
26
],
27
"resources": [
28
{
29
"label": "primary",
30
"url": "https://www.sec.gov/files/litigation/admin/2025/33-11359.pdf"
31
}
32
],
33
"title": "ORDER INSTITUTING ADMINISTRATIVE AND CEASE-AND-DESIST PROCEEDINGS, PURSUANT TO SECTION 8A OF THE SECURITIES ACT OF 1933, SECTIONS 203(e) AND 203(k) OF THE INVESTMENT ADVISERS ACT OF 1940, AND SECTION 9(f) OF THE INVESTMENT COMPANY ACT OF 1940, MAKING FINDINGS, AND IMPOSING REMEDIAL SANCTIONS AND A CEASE-AND-DESIST ORDER",
34
"summary": "The SEC has instituted proceedings against The Vanguard Group, Inc. for misleading statements regarding tax consequences to investors, resulting in remedial sanctions and a cease-and-desist order.",
35
"tags": [
36
"misleading statements",
37
"tax consequences",
38
"investment funds"
39
],
40
"entities": [
41
{
42
"name": "The Vanguard Group, Inc.",
43
"type": "company",
44
"role": "respondent",
45
"cik": "102909",
46
"ticker": ""
47
}
48
],
49
"complaints": [
50
"Vanguard made misleading statements about potential tax consequences to investors in the Vanguard Investor Target Retirement Funds.",
51
"Vanguard failed to disclose the potential for increased capital gains distributions resulting from redemptions of fund shares by newly-eligible investors."
52
],
53
"parallelActionsTakenBy": [
54
"Office of the New York State Attorney General",
55
"North American Securities Administrators Association"
56
],
57
"hasAgreedToSettlement": true,
58
"hasAgreedToPayPenalty": true,
59
"penaltyAmounts": [
60
{
61
"penaltyAmount": "135000000",
62
"penaltyAmountText": "$135 million",
63
"imposedOn": "The Vanguard Group, Inc."
64
},
65
{
66
"penaltyAmount": "13500000",
67
"penaltyAmountText": "$13.5 million",
68
"imposedOn": "The Vanguard Group, Inc."
69
}
70
],
71
"requestedRelief": [
72
"disgorgement of profits",
73
"civil penalties"
74
],
75
"violatedSections": [
76
"Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act",
77
"Section 206(4) of the Advisers Act",
78
"Rule 206(4)-8",
79
"Rule 206(4)-7",
80
"Section 34(b) of the Investment Company Act"
81
],
82
"orders": [
83
"Vanguard cease and desist from committing or causing any violations and any future violations of Section 17(a)(2) of the Securities Act, Section 206(4) of the Advisers Act and Rules 206(4)-7 and 206(4)-8 promulgated thereunder, and Section 34(b) of the Investment Company Act.",
84
"Vanguard is censured.",
85
"Vanguard is ordered to pay disgorgement in the amount of $14,700,000 and prejudgment interest thereon in the amount of $3,500,000.",
86
"Vanguard shall, within 10 days of the entry of this Order, pay a civil money penalty in the amount of $13,500,000 to the Commission."
87
],
88
"investigationConductedBy": [
89
"Division of Enforcement"
90
],
91
"litigationLedBy": [
92
"Division of Enforcement"
93
],
94
"otherAgenciesInvolved": [
95
{
96
"name": "Office of the New York State Attorney General",
97
"country": "United States"
98
},
99
{
100
"name": "North American Securities Administrators Association",
101
"country": "United States"
102
}
103
]
104
},
105
// ...
106
]
107
}