EDGAR Release 26.1
March 17, 2026
What happened?
The SEC announced changes to the EDGAR filing system starting March 16-18, 2026, aimed at improving accuracy, modernizing form filings, and adding new requirements for foreign private issuers. These changes include:
Filing Fee Changes
- EDGAR will now generally suspend filings (rather than just issuing a warning) when structured filing fee information is incorrect or incomplete. Warnings will still be issued in some cases.
- The ACH transaction limit for filing fees drops significantly from ~$99,999,999.99 to $24,999,999.99 per transaction. Filers needing to pay more can split into multiple transactions.
Form Updates
- Form X-17A-5 Part III: Notarization of the oath/affirmation is no longer required (a change that took effect March 24, 2025). This has been removed from the submission template on the EDGAR Filing website.
- Forms 13H, 13H-A, 13H-Q: Item 6 now allows filers to reorder, add, and delete entries. This does not affect the XML technical specifications for Form 13H.
- Forms 3, 4 & 5 (starting March 18, 2026): Directors and officers of foreign private issuers must now file Section 16(a) reports under the Holding Foreign Insiders Accountable Act. These forms will add a Country field and a Foreign Trading Symbol field for all reporting persons.
- Schedules 13D & 13G: Can now accommodate up to 20 CUSIP numbers (at least one CUSIP entry is required).
XBRL Taxonomies
Fee Exhibit Preparation Tool (FEPT)
- “N/A” will no longer appear in cells when “Not Applicable” is checked — instead, tables will show populated headers with empty cells.
EDGAR Operational Status API
- Two new status messages are being added to reflect degraded service conditions, both during and outside of normal EDGAR operating hours, directing users to the EDGAR News and Announcements page for details.
What does this mean for me?
EDGAR filers should also prepare to follow stricter guidelines for fee-bearing forms on errors and data standards for foreign private issuers (if applicable), and be aware of the changes made to several forms and tools.
If you still have questions or need support navigating these changes, contact us. FilePoint is here to help.
