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EFFECT: Parse SEC Registration Effectiveness Notices with Python

When the SEC declares a registration statement effective, it issues an EFFECT filing. EdgarTools parses these into Effect objects, giving you the effective date and a direct path back to the original registration filing.

from edgar import find

filing = find("0000038723-22-000118")  # an EFFECT filing
effect = filing.obj()                 # Effect

effect.effective_date          # "2022-11-22"
effect.source_submission_type  # "POS AM"
effect.entity                  # "1st FRANKLIN FINANCIAL CORP"

The main use for Effect is finding the filing that was declared effective. get_source_filing() returns the original Filing object by accession number lookup, or by file number and form type if no accession number is present.

source = effect.get_source_filing()  # Filing object for the POS AM / S-1 / etc.
source.form                          # "POS AM"
source.filing_date                   # date the original was filed

From there you can call source.obj(), access documents, or parse XBRL data — the full filing API is available.

Get a Summary

summary() returns a one-row DataFrame with the key facts:

effect.summary()
# entity                           cik  source  live  effective
# 1st FRANKLIN FINANCIAL CORP  38723  POS AM  True  2022-11-22

Columns: cik, entity, source (the source form type), live (True for production submissions), effective (the effectiveness date string).

Quick Reference

Properties

Property Type Description Example
submission_type str Always "EFFECT" "EFFECT"
effective_date str Date the registration was declared effective "2024-06-15"
cik str CIK of the registrant "0000038723"
entity str Entity name "ACME CORP"
source_submission_type str Form type that was made effective "S-1", "POS AM", "S-3"
source_accession_no str \| None Accession number of the source filing "0001234567-24-000001"
is_live bool True for live submissions, False for test True

Methods

Method Returns Description
get_source_filing() Filing \| None Navigate to the filing that was declared effective
summary() pd.DataFrame One-row summary: cik, entity, source, live, effective

Things to Know

source_accession_no is None on some older EFFECT filings. In that case, get_source_filing() falls back to a file number + form type search.

The effective_date is returned as a string in YYYY-MM-DD format, not a datetime object.