When must a company file an 8-K?

Generally within four business days of the triggering event. The 8-K is the SEC current report, used to disclose material events that arise between periodic filings.

What triggers an 8-K?

A material event between periodic filings, categorized by the specific Items in Form 8-K — for example Item 4.02 (non-reliance on prior financials / restatements), Item 5.02 (executive turnover), and Item 1.02 (terminated material agreements).

How many items are on Form 8-K?

33 items in nine sections, from Item 1.01 (entry into a material definitive agreement) to Item 9.01 (financial statements and exhibits). Section 6 (items 6.01 to 6.06) applies only to asset-backed securities issuers.

Which 8-K items are furnished rather than filed?

Item 2.02 (results of operations, usually the earnings release) and Item 7.01 (Regulation FD disclosure). Under General Instruction B.2 they are not deemed filed for Section 18 liability unless the company states otherwise.

What counts as a 'material' event?

An event that a reasonable investor would consider important in deciding whether to buy or sell securities — that is the threshold for the SEC disclosure obligation.

An amendment to a previously filed 8-K — commonly used to provide the financial statements of an acquired business, no later than 71 calendar days after the original 8-K was due.

Learn / 8-K

What is an 8-K filing?

An 8-K is the SEC current report — used to disclose material events that arise between periodic filings. Generally due within four business days of the triggering event.

Last updated: 2026-10-07. Source: SEC EDGAR.

Live — the 5 most recent 8-K filings

Browse all 1798 indexed 8-K filings — updated as new EDGAR submissions are ingested.

An 8-K announces material news, fast

Where 10-Ks and 10-Qs report on completed periods, the 8-K is for unscheduled events the market should know about immediately. Examples: earnings releases, mergers and acquisitions, bankruptcy, executive transitions, material contract changes, regulatory matters, and changes in auditor.

Companies typically file an 8-K within four business days of the triggering event, though some items have shorter windows (or are conditional on prior public disclosure).

All 33 Form 8-K items, and when each is due

Form 8-K has 33 items in nine sections. Each item is one kind of event, and the cover page of every 8-K says which items it reports. Unless an item says otherwise, the report is due within four business days of the event. The ten items most readers look for:

Item	What it reports · when due
1.01	Entry into a material definitive agreement4 business days
1.05	Material cybersecurity incidents4 business days after the company determines the incident is material
2.01	Completion of acquisition or disposition of assets4 business days
2.02	Results of operations and financial condition (earnings releases)4 business days; furnished, not filed
3.01	Notice of delisting or failure to meet a listing standard; transfer of listing4 business days
4.02	Non-reliance on previously issued financial statements (restatements)4 business days
5.02	Departure or appointment of directors and certain officers; compensation4 business days
5.07	Submission of matters to a vote of security holders4 business days after final voting results are known
7.01	Regulation FD disclosureRegulation FD timing; furnished, not filed
8.01	Other events the company deems important to holdersOptional, no deadline

Show all 33 items by section (the 10 above included)

Section 1 — Registrant's business and operations

Item	What it reports · when due
1.01	Entry into a material definitive agreement4 business days
1.02	Termination of a material definitive agreement4 business days
1.03	Bankruptcy or receivership4 business days
1.04	Mine safety: shutdowns and patterns of violations4 business days
1.05	Material cybersecurity incidents4 business days after the company determines the incident is material

Section 2 — Financial information

Item	What it reports · when due
2.01	Completion of acquisition or disposition of assets4 business days
2.02	Results of operations and financial condition (earnings releases)4 business days; furnished, not filed
2.03	Creation of a direct financial obligation or off-balance-sheet arrangement4 business days
2.04	Triggering events that accelerate or increase a financial obligation4 business days
2.05	Costs associated with exit or disposal activities4 business days
2.06	Material impairments4 business days

Section 3 — Securities and trading markets

Item	What it reports · when due
3.01	Notice of delisting or failure to meet a listing standard; transfer of listing4 business days
3.02	Unregistered sales of equity securities4 business days
3.03	Material modification to rights of security holders4 business days

Section 4 — Accountants and financial statements

Item	What it reports · when due
4.01	Changes in the company's certifying accountant4 business days
4.02	Non-reliance on previously issued financial statements (restatements)4 business days

Section 5 — Corporate governance and management

Item	What it reports · when due
5.01	Changes in control of the company4 business days
5.02	Departure or appointment of directors and certain officers; compensation4 business days
5.03	Amendments to articles or bylaws; change in fiscal year4 business days
5.04	Temporary suspension of trading under employee benefit plans4 business days
5.05	Amendments to or waivers of the code of ethics4 business days, or on the company website instead
5.06	Change in shell company status4 business days
5.07	Submission of matters to a vote of security holders4 business days after final voting results are known
5.08	Shareholder director nominations4 business days after the meeting date is set

Section 6 — Asset-backed securities (ABS issuers only)

Item	What it reports · when due
6.01	ABS informational and computational materialABS issuers only
6.02	Change of servicer or trusteeABS issuers only
6.03	Change in credit enhancement or other external supportABS issuers only
6.04	Failure to make a required distributionABS issuers only
6.05	Securities Act updating disclosureABS issuers only
6.06	Static poolABS issuers only

Section 7 — Regulation FD

Item	What it reports · when due
7.01	Regulation FD disclosureRegulation FD timing; furnished, not filed

Section 8 — Other events

Item	What it reports · when due
8.01	Other events the company deems important to holdersOptional, no deadline

Section 9 — Financial statements and exhibits

Item	What it reports · when due
9.01	Financial statements and exhibitsWith the report; acquired-business financials up to 71 calendar days later

Source: SEC Form 8-K and its General Instructions B.1 and B.2 (form edition expiring November 30, 2027, read 2026-10-07). Items 2.02 and 7.01 are “furnished”, not “filed”: they do not carry Section 18 liability unless the company says so.

How to read an 8-K quickly

Skim the cover page for the list of Items checked. Each Item is a separate trigger.
Read the body for each Item — usually two to four paragraphs per Item.
Check Exhibit 99.x for any press release, presentation, or legal document attached.
Note the filing date vs. event date — gaps suggest internal review took time, which is itself signal.

8-K/A — amendments

An 8-K/A amends a prior 8-K. Common case: an Item 2.01 acquisition closes, and the financial statements of the acquired business follow in an 8-K/A under Item 9.01, no later than 71 calendar days after the original 8-K was due. SecFilingDex tracks 240 8-K/A amendments.

Frequently asked questions

When must a company file an 8-K?: Generally within four business days of the triggering event. The 8-K is the SEC current report, used to disclose material events that arise between periodic filings.
What triggers an 8-K?: A material event between periodic filings, categorized by the specific Items in Form 8-K — for example Item 4.02 (non-reliance on prior financials / restatements), Item 5.02 (executive turnover), and Item 1.02 (terminated material agreements).
How many items are on Form 8-K?: 33 items in nine sections, from Item 1.01 (entry into a material definitive agreement) to Item 9.01 (financial statements and exhibits). Section 6 (items 6.01 to 6.06) applies only to asset-backed securities issuers.
Which 8-K items are furnished rather than filed?: Item 2.02 (results of operations, usually the earnings release) and Item 7.01 (Regulation FD disclosure). Under General Instruction B.2 they are not deemed filed for Section 18 liability unless the company states otherwise.
What counts as a 'material' event?: An event that a reasonable investor would consider important in deciding whether to buy or sell securities — that is the threshold for the SEC disclosure obligation.
What is an 8-K/A?: An amendment to a previously filed 8-K — commonly used to provide the financial statements of an acquired business, no later than 71 calendar days after the original 8-K was due.

Our view

8-Ks are where the alpha is, and most of it is in the items most observers ignore: 4.02 (restatements), 5.02 (executive turnover), and 1.02 (terminated material agreements). The market under-prices these because they aren't earnings — but they are the disclosures that change forward fundamentals.

See live data

Browse live 8-K filings — 1798 filings indexed. Updated as new EDGAR submissions are ingested.

Sister-property applied analysis

SecFilingDex catalogs the filings. For applied analysis on the same SEC corpus — narrowed to tracked superinvestors with framework + POV — see the sister site:

HoldLens: Event Score — 8-K events scored — Every 8-K Item is weighted by HoldLens's Event Score; the scoring framework + the live feed.
HoldLens: Buybacks vs Dividends — Item 8.01 buyback events get the same scoring lens as 10-K authorizations — capital return as a single concept.

Reading on filings

Understanding the form is step one; reading one is step two. These are the references that help with the second part.

Security Analysis — Benjamin Graham & David Dodd
The reference on reading a filing and valuing what is inside it. Dense, and still the book the rest cite.
Financial Shenanigans — Howard M. Schilit
How accounting manipulation actually shows up in disclosures — written around real filings and what gave them away.
Financial Statement Analysis — Martin S. Fridson & Fernando Alvarez
A working guide to the statements inside a 10-K or 20-F, including where the notes matter more than the headline numbers.
The Intelligent Investor — Benjamin Graham
The plain-language starting point if the filings are new to you and the vocabulary is the obstacle.
The Essays of Warren Buffett — Lawrence A. Cunningham (ed.)
Shareholder letters organised by theme — a filer's own account of what disclosure is for, from the reporting side.

Several of these are on Audible — free trial — Graham and Fridson both read well as audio if you are commuting.

Book links go to Amazon. As an Amazon Associate, SecFilingDex earns from qualifying purchases, at no extra cost to you. The filings data on this site is free and never changes based on these links.

Glossary

8-K: Current report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC to disclose material events between periodic filings. Generally due within four business days of the triggering event under Items specified in Form 8-K.
8-K/A: An amendment to a previously filed 8-K. Often used to provide financial statements of an acquired business after the closing 8-K announced the transaction.
Item 4.02: Item 4.02 of Form 8-K — Non-Reliance on Previously Issued Financial Statements. Filed when the company concludes prior financials should no longer be relied upon. A restatement signal.
Material event: An event that a reasonable investor would consider important in deciding whether to buy or sell securities. The threshold for SEC disclosure obligations.