Co-authored by David S. Kravitz.

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced that with the publication in the Federal Register of Release 12.2 for the EDGAR Filer Manual, effective October 15 all non-public draft registration statements, registration statement amendments and related correspondence for Emerging Growth Companies (EGCs) and certain foreign private issuers are required to be filed through the SEC’s EDGAR system.
 

The SEC had previously provided guidance to issuers on how to use EDGAR to confidentially submit draft registration statements and the necessary supporting documentation. Such guidance included a detailed step-by-step description of the filing process.

Prior to the publication of Release 12.2 in the Federal Register, EGCs and other issuers qualified to utilize the non-public review process were permitted to make their non-public filings voluntarily through the SEC’s EDGAR system or through the SEC’s secure email system. Earlier this month the SEC sent letters to issuers using this secure email system instructing such issuers on how to transition their non-public reviews to the EDGAR system. All future filings by such issuers are required to be made through the EDGAR system.

A link to the SEC’s announcement is available here.

A link to the SEC’s guidance on how to file draft registration statements through EDGAR is available here.