EDGAR (Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval) is an internal database system operated by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that performs automated collection, validation, indexing, and accepted forwarding of submissions by companies and others who are required by law to file forms with the SEC.
The database contains a wealth of information about the commission and the securities industry which is freely available to the public via the Internet.
[1] In September 2017, SEC Chairman Jay Clayton revealed the database had been hacked and that companies' data may have been used by criminals for insider trading.
[2] Development began in 1993,[3] and companies were phased in to EDGAR filing over a three-year period, ending 6 May 1996.
Prior to that time, electronic filing by foreign companies also was voluntary.