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Build a release-backed diligence queue

Use this route to collect the SEC releases a compliance or diligence reviewer should open next. GET /v1/events/enforcement searches litigation releases, administrative proceedings, and Accounting and Auditing Enforcement Releases (AAERs); it does not establish liability, identify every related entity, or replace the release and any underlying order or complaint.

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Search a bounded evidence set

Use query for title/excerpt/release-number/document-URL text. Add respondent, ticker, or cik to narrow candidates; verify names against the returned release because a name or issuer reference is not a unique legal identity. The route accepts source_type (litigation_release, administrative_proceeding, or aaer), normalized violation_type, date and penalty ranges, limit (1-50), cursor, and view. The list response supplies data, hasMore, nextCursor, and requestId. Rows can include publication date, release number, title, excerpt, respondents, normalized category, reported penalty amount, and SEC document URLs.

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Preserve the source, not just the label

Store documentUrl, htmlUrl where present, releaseNumber, publishedAt, provenance, and requestId. violationType is a retrieval classifier, not the SEC’s complete legal theory; a missing penaltyAmount is not zero. Read the release before describing allegations, respondents, remedies, a disposition, or a company-level regulatory history.

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Common mistakes

  • Treating an empty result as proof that the SEC has never acted against a person or issuer.
  • Reusing nextCursor after changing filters; retain it only with the exact query that produced it.
  • Conflating a respondent text match with a confirmed issuer identity.
  • Calling source publication date a conduct date, filing date, or final-resolution date.

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Next step

Run a narrow source-family and date query, retain the release URL and identifiers, then open the SEC document before adding a finding to diligence or compliance output.