The SEC recently made changes to the Draft EDGAR Filing Manual(Version 14) to update the filer manual to reflect changes scheduled to take effect on April 12, 2010.

Some of the changes include:

• Submission form type 13F-HR/A will be suspended for any period end date where the filer has not submitted a 13F-HR initial filing for that period end date.
• Submission form type 13F-NT/A will be suspended for any period end date where the filer has not submitted a 13F-NT initial filing for that period end date.
• The EDGAR Interactive Data/XBRL validations will be extended to all EX-101 attachments regardless of the taxonomy used.
• The 2008 Mutual Fund Risk/Return Summary Taxonomy will be updated to the 2010 Mutual Fund Risk/Return Summary Taxonomy.
• Filings containing EX-101.INS XBRL document will undergo the following additional validations:
  • No more than one EX-101.INS XBRL document should be attached in a submission.
  • EX-101.INS XBRL documents should not contain non-empty facts for DocumentFiscalYearFocus and DocumentFiscalPeriodFocus in the required context, for the EDGAR form types specified in Section 6.5.21.
  • EX-101.INS XBRL documents should not contain HTML attributes “cite” “char” and “charoff” in the text blocks and footnotes.
• Form D validation and processing will be updated to allow filers to indicate if they have solicited sales in foreign countries and to disseminate state and country description in addition to the state and country code.
• The EDGARLite templates for Forms TA-1 and TA-2 are being updated to change the OMB expiration date to be “April 30, 2012” and “June 30, 2012” respectively.

The filer manual is also being revised to address minor changes previously made in EDGAR. On February 8, 2010, EDGAR Release 10.0 introduced the following changes:

• Submission form types 10KSB and 10KSB/A were removed from the EDGARLink Template 3.
• An effective date of February 28, 2010 was set for the use of 8-K Item 5.07 (Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders) on submission form types 8-K, 8-K/A, 8-K12B, 8-K12B/A, 8-K12G3, 8-K12G3/A, 8-K15D5, and 8-K15D5/A (See Release No. 33-9089).

Download the DRAFT EDGAR Filing Manual (Volume II) EDGAR Filing (Version 14)

Fee Rate Advisory #2 for Fiscal Year 2010

Yesterday the SEC announced the fee rate applicable to securities transactions will be $12.70 per million dollars for the Commission’s Fiscal Year 2010. This amount is a decrease from the current rate of $55.80 per million dollars which which is expected to extend through October 31, 2009.

The SEC press release is available at: http://sec.gov/news/press/2009/2009-209.htm

Securex has a fee rate calculator to assist in the calculation of fees applicable to your SEC registration statement. The free tool is available at:  http://secfile.net/fee_calculator.htm

The SEC recently posted an updated Form TA-1 (Uniform Form for Registration as a transfer agent) on its website at www.sec.gov with an expiry date of April 30, 2012. The EDGARlite TA-1 template available on the SEC Online Forms Management website has not yet been updated. As Form TA-1 is a unique form in that it was created by SEC and the XML template is the only format this form may be submitted to EDGAR, the Division of Trading and Markets, Office of Interpretation and Guidance, has confirmed that the expired form, which is the last official version available, may be submitted to the SEC and the Division will accept and review the filing. Once the updated template is available it must be used as the information required has changed in the new version.

If you require assistance with your Form TA-1 filing, please contact our filing department at 877-732-3453 option 1. http://www.secfile.net/contact.htm

The SEC has issued guidance on beneficial ownership reporting on Schedules 13D and 13G. The Q&A provides SEC interpretations of Exchange Act Section 13(d) and 13(g) and Regulations 13D and 13G.

The updated information is available at:
http://sec.gov/divisions/corpfin/guidance/reg13d-interp.htm

A fee calculator is available as a tool to assist you in the calculation of SEC filing fees applicable to your SEC registration statement.

The free resource is available at: http://www.secfile.net/fee_calculator.htm

Also available is a current link to the latest SEC fee rate advisory as well as FEDWIRE instructions for wiring fees to the SEC.

A new SEC EDGAR Filer (Registrant) must complete a Form ID Application online with the SEC. The EDGAR Filer Management website will allow you to create a Form ID and submit it for authorization to the SEC. Upon acceptance, the SEC will send a unique CIK number via e-mail. You then must return to the Filer Management site and use the supplied CIK number and the passphrase you created during the initial application to create your EDGAR access codes. Once you have your access codes, you may use EDGAR to begin electronically filing.

The EDGAR system is available to receive Form ID requests from 6:00 a.m. – 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on business days.

In order to request EDGAR codes you will need to have the following information: 

• Individual or Company name, address and telephone number.  NOTE: Individual Names may not contain any punctuation. All names must be in English.
• EDGAR contact person information name, address, telephone number and email address (this is the person who will receive any test or live filings acceptance confirmation emails and the filer’s contact for any EDGAR problems that could arise).
• SEC accounting contact person information name, address and telephone number (this is the person who will be responsible for any billing or fees for the filer that the SEC would need to contact).
• The signature information will require the name and title of the individual who has authority for the filer.
• A passphrase which is an eight-character, case sensitive code that requires the use of one numeric character and at least one special character (*, #, @, $) – it is created by the person making the application . It is important to write the passphrase down, if this code is misplaced it can not be retrieved and another electronic application will required. 

Creating EDGAR profile and codes (Form ID Application):

Visit https://www.filermanagement.edgarfiling.sec.gov/ and click on “Press Here to Begin”. Click on “Apply for EDGAR Access (New)” and begin by completing the information as requested on the online form. You will need to choose one of the following from the drop down menu at the beginning of the application form page – “Filer”, “Filing Agent”, “Training Agent” or “Transfer Agent”. Most companies and individuals are applying for filer codes so they may submit filings to the SEC and should choose “Filer”. Complete the information fields and confirm all your information before you click on the “Continue” button at the bottom of the page. The name of the applicant is subject to conformance according to EDGAR specifications. As a result, the name that you enter may be conformed by EDGAR. If this occurs, you will be shown an alert when the “Form ID Application Confirmation” screen is initially presented (after pressing the “Continue >>” button). For your review, your “conformed” applicant name will be displayed in the “Conformed Name of Applicant” field on the “Form ID Application Confirmation” screen.

The next step is to print the Form ID Application and have it notarized. The notarized document them must be faxed to the Filer Support department of the SEC at 202-504-2474 or 703-914-4240 in order to finalize the application. In general, if the notarized Form ID is not received by the SEC via fax within 2-3 business days they will suspend the application. In the event your application is suspended, you will have to reapply for Filer Codes again by using the EDGAR Filer Management. 

If you require assistance with a Form ID application process or prefer to have us do it for you, please contact our EDGAR Filing Service Bureau at 877-732-3453 option 1.

http://www.secfile.net/contact.htm

Since August 2004, the SEC has been publicly releasing comment and response letters relating to disclosure filings made after August 1, 2004, and reviewed by the Division of Corporation Finance and the Division of Investment Management. The Correspondence filings are released not less than 45 days after the staff has completed a filing review.

To search for Comment and Response Letters released by the SEC use the following : http://sec.gov/answers/edgarletters.htm