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SEC Full Text Search API

Search inside the text of every SEC filing — not just metadata. Datastream indexes the full text of filings on EDGAR and provides both traditional keyword search and AI-powered semantic search that understands meaning.

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The problem

EDGAR’s built-in full-text search (EFTS) is limited:
  • No section-level filtering (you cannot search only within risk factors)
  • No semantic understanding (searching “supply chain problems” will not find “logistics disruptions”)
  • Poor ranking for complex queries
  • Aggressive rate limits (10 requests/second shared across all users)
  • No API-first design — the interface is built for browser use

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What Datastream offers

Ask questions in natural language and get the most relevant passages back, ranked by conceptual similarity: 
curl -X POST \
  -H "x-api-key: $OMNI_DATASTREAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "risks related to AI regulation and compliance",
    "form_types": ["10-K"],
    "section": "risk_factors",
    "limit": 5
  }' \
  "https://api.secapi.ai/v1/search/semantic"

{
  "data": [
    {
      "company_name": "Microsoft Corp",
      "ticker": "MSFT",
      "form": "10-K",
      "section": "Risk Factors",
      "score": 0.941,
      "text": "The rapid adoption of generative AI technologies has increased regulatory scrutiny globally. Proposed regulations in the EU, US, and other jurisdictions could impose significant compliance costs..."
    }
  ]
}
Limit your search to specific filing sections:
  • risk_factors — Item 1A of 10-K/10-Q
  • business — Item 1 of 10-K
  • mda — Management’s Discussion and Analysis (Item 7)
  • legal_proceedings — Item 3 of 10-K
  • financial_statements — Item 8 of 10-K

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Scoped by company and form type

curl -X POST \
  -H "x-api-key: $OMNI_DATASTREAM_API_KEY" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  -d '{
    "query": "material weakness in internal controls",
    "tickers": ["AAPL", "MSFT", "GOOG"],
    "form_types": ["10-K", "10-Q"],
    "limit": 10
  }' \
  "https://api.secapi.ai/v1/search/semantic"

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Use cases

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Due diligence

Search for litigation mentions, regulatory risks, and material weaknesses across a target company’s entire filing history.

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Thematic research

Find every company discussing a specific theme (e.g., “tariff exposure”, “cryptocurrency holdings”, “climate risk”) across all recent filings.

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Competitive intelligence

Compare how companies in the same sector describe their competitive landscape, pricing strategy, or market positioning.

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Compliance scanning

Scan filings for specific disclosure language to verify compliance with SEC rules.

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AI agent workflows

Feed search results into LLM pipelines for automated analysis, summarization, and report generation.

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API endpoints

EndpointDescription
POST /v1/search/semanticAI-powered semantic search
GET /v1/filingsFilter filings by metadata
GET /v1/sectionsExtract specific sections from filings

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Why Datastream over alternatives

FeatureDatastreamEDGAR EFTSBloomberg TerminalS&P Capital IQ
Semantic searchYesNoNoNo
Section-level filteringYesNoLimitedLimited
JSON APIYesLimitedNoProprietary
Real-time indexingMinutesHoursVariesVaries
SDK supportPython + JSNoNoNo
PricingPay-as-you-goFree (limited)$24k+/year$15k+/year

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Get started

Get your API key

Start searching inside SEC filings in under 60 seconds.