SEC Full-Text Search

sec_full_text_search — search EDGAR filing content / full-text index for specific terms or phrases across SEC filings. Thin wrapper around the sec-api.io full-text-search API. Accepts ticker symbols and resolves them to CIKs automatically.

Use when the user wants filings that mention a term/phrase. Supports AND, OR, NOT, wildcards (*), and exact phrases ("quoted"). Generic words like "award" also match boilerplate (stock awards) — prefer exact phrases.

DO NOT USE to extract a named section ("risk factors", "MD&A") from a specific filing — use sec_filing_section (it calls this concept filingType, a singular enum, not formTypes). For company background use company_enrich; for non-SEC web info use web_search.

DOMAIN→TICKER: accepts tickers only. Resolve a domain or name to a ticker first (via web_search or company_firmographic).

SCOPING: omitting BOTH tickers and formTypes searches the entire EDGAR corpus (~10,000-result flood). Always pass tickers (preferred) or at least formTypes unless a cross-company sweep is intended.

DATES: startDate defaults to last 30 days. Annual filings (10-K, 20-F, 40-F) need startDate "2020-01-01" or you get zero results.

Returns up to 100 filings per page with direct EDGAR URLs. If resolvedCiks in searchParams is empty after passing tickers, the ticker filter was NOT applied — check it and warnings before treating results as company-specific.

Credits

1 — Per call. See the full credit table for how AI Credits work.

Parameters

Name	Type	Default	Description
query	string	cybersecurity incident	Search query. Supports AND, OR, NOT, wildcards (*), and exact phrases ("quoted"). NOT for extracting a named section from a specific filing — use sec_filing_section. Scope broad/common-word queries with tickers or formTypes; a bare query searches the entire EDGAR corpus.
formTypes	array	-	Filter by SEC form type (e.g., ["8-K", "10-K", "20-F"]). Recommended for wildcard queries to reduce noise: ["8-K", "10-K", "10-Q"]. Matching is family-based, not exact: ["10-K"] also returns 10-K/A and NT 10-K; ["8-K"] also returns 8-K/A and CORRESP. Post-filter on each result's formType field if you need exact types. Note: sec_filing_section calls this concept filingType — a singular enum string, not an array.
tickers	array	-	Filter by company ticker symbol (e.g., ["MSFT", "AAPL"]). Resolved to CIKs automatically via the sec-api.io Mapping API for real server-side filtering. IMPORTANT: if resolvedCiks in the response is empty, the ticker(s) could not be resolved and NO filter was applied — results are the full unfiltered corpus, not company-specific. Always check resolvedCiks (and the warnings array) before trusting results as company-specific. Some foreign/ADR issuers may not resolve.
startDate	string	-	Start date (YYYY-MM-DD). Defaults to 30 days ago. For annual filings (10-K, 20-F, 40-F) pass "2020-01-01" — the 30-day default misses most annual reports.
endDate	string	-	End date (YYYY-MM-DD). Defaults to today.
page	integer	1	Page of results (default 1). Each page returns up to 100 filings. Use 2, 3, etc. to paginate.

Required Integrations

This tool is only available when your organization has the following integration configured in the HG Insights Integrations settings:

• SEC API (sec_api)

Use Cases

• Find every filing that mentions a term across companies — "who disclosed a 'material weakness'?"
• Scan for a risk or event phrase: "going concern", "substantial doubt", "cybersecurity incident"
• Track M&A language across the market: acquisition, merger, "definitive agreement"
• List recent filings for one company by ticker without knowing the specific document
• Search foreign-issuer disclosures via formTypes (["20-F"], ["6-K"], ["40-F"])

Example Usage

Companies disclosing a material weakness in their annual reports since 2024

{
  "tool": "sec_full_text_search",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "\"material weakness\"",
    "formTypes": [
      "10-K"
    ],
    "startDate": "2024-01-01"
  }
}

Cyber breach language in 8-Ks since 2020

{
  "tool": "sec_full_text_search",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "cybersecurity AND breach",
    "formTypes": [
      "8-K"
    ],
    "startDate": "2020-01-01"
  }
}

Filings mentioning "supply chain" in Microsoft disclosures since 2020

{
  "tool": "sec_full_text_search",
  "arguments": {
    "query": "\"supply chain\"",
    "tickers": [
      "MSFT"
    ],
    "startDate": "2020-01-01"
  }
}

Response Format

Field	Type	Description
total	number	Total number of matching filings across all pages
query	string	The search query that was executed
warnings	array	Non-fatal advisories about this result set. Populated when a ticker did not resolve (so no company filter was applied), when only some tickers resolved, or when zero filings matched. Empty/absent means no advisories.
filings	array	Up to 100 matching filings for this page
filings[].accessionNumber	string	SEC accession number
filings[].formType	string	SEC form type (10-K, 10-Q, 8-K, 20-F, etc.)
filings[].filedAt	string	Filing date (YYYY-MM-DD)
filings[].companyName	string | null	Company name
filings[].ticker	string | null	Stock ticker (null for foreign or CIK-only filers)
filings[].cik	string	SEC Central Index Key
filings[].filingUrl	string	Direct URL to the SEC filing
filings[].description	string | null	Filing description
searchParams	object	Parameters sent to the API
searchParams.formTypes	array
searchParams.tickers	array	Input tickers
searchParams.resolvedCiks	array	CIKs resolved from tickers and passed to the API
searchParams.startDate	string
searchParams.endDate	string
searchParams.page	string

Related Tools

sec_filing_section, company_enrich, web_search, company_contracts