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Updated Dissemination Time

We are in the process of updating the dissemination time database. The initial rebuild only contains data from 1/1/2023 to 6/30/2026. This first iteration was made available on 8/1/2026. It is hard to predict exactly when the archive will be complete. After each addition of new data the file name will change to reflect the current span.

There are two Python scripts to access the database available in S:\PythonCode. One is named extract_dissemination_events_by_cik.py, the other is extract_dissemination_events_by_cik_event_window.py. The first will return a list of dissemination events, acceptance time etc for all CIKs in your sample for the time span you set. The second is designed to help collect data that you might want for an event study. You supply a list of CIKs and an event date for each CIK observation and the code will return the filing events for the specified windows (window span is set in the code but the center of the window is specified in the csv file). Both have extensive comments at the top that we hope will help guide you through their use. Before you get lost in the details, if you need help send us an email. Example comment start is below:

"""
Extract SEC Oldloads dissemination-transition records for a list of CIKs.
This script is intended for academic researchers using directEDGAR through
AWS AppStream. It reads from the shared SQLite database in read-only mode and
writes a CSV file to the user's temporary files folder.
HOW TO USE IN IDLE
==================
1. Copy this script to:
D:\\PhotonUser\\My Files\\Temporary Files\\
2. Put your CIK list in a CSV file with a column named CIK:
D:\\PhotonUser\\My Files\\Temporary Files\\summary_list.csv
The CSV can contain other columns. Those input columns will be copied into
the output CSV so you can keep your own sample identifiers or event variables.
Leading zeros in CIK values are OK.
Example summary_list.csv:
CIK,portfolio_id
0000320193,A001
0000789019,A002
1018724,A003
PATH

S:/directEDGAR_DATA/Y2023-Y2026_dissemination_transition.db

Table Name
dissemination_events
FIELD
DESCRIPTION
event_id
Unique row identifier in the dissemination_events table. This is a row-level event/entity identifier copied from the source build.
oldload_file_date
Date of the SEC Oldloads daily gzip archive in which this event appeared, in YYYY-MM-DD format. This is an observed archive/feed date.
cik
Central Index Key assigned by the SEC to the filer, issuer, reporting owner, or other entity extracted from the filing header.
cik_accession
CIK and accession number concatenated together. Multiple CIKs can appear for the same accession, especially ownership filings.
company_name
Company or person name associated with the CIK as reported in the filing header.
accession
Accession number assigned by the SEC to the filing or correction event.
form
SEC form type reported in the filing header or control block.
filing_date
Filing date reported in the SEC filing header, in YYYY-MM-DD format. For PAC records this can reflect a corrected filing date.
date_of_filing_date_change
Date on which the filing date was changed, in YYYY-MM-DD format, when reported in a correction header.
pds_control_receipt_date
Receipt Date field parsed from bytes 161-168 of the SEC PDS Oldloads control block, normalized to YYYY-MM-DD.
pds_control_acceptance_date
Acceptance Date field parsed from the SEC PDS Oldloads control block, normalized to YYYY-MM-DD.
pds_control_acceptance_time
Acceptance Time field parsed from the SEC PDS Oldloads control block, normalized to HH:MM:SS.
pds_control_acceptance_datetime
Acceptance Date and Acceptance Time fields from the SEC PDS Oldloads control block represented together as YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS.
pds_control_build_time
Build Time field parsed from the SEC PDS Oldloads control block, normalized to HH:MM:SS. This is exposed only as a time field; no date is assigned to it.
pds_control_reserved_time
Reserved Time field parsed from the SEC PDS Oldloads control block, normalized to HH:MM:SS. This is exposed only as a time field; no date is assigned to it.
pds_control_block_width
Length in bytes of the parsed SEC PDS Oldloads control block. Observed widths are 256 or 266 bytes.
sgml_header_timestamp
TIMESTAMP tag parsed from the SGML header, in YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SS format, when present. This is usually populated for post-acceptance correction and deletion records, but is not present for most ordinary dissemination records.
event_classification
Event classification derived from SEC Oldloads control-block and SGML header evidence. Values are ordinary_dissemination, whole_filing_deletion, and pac_non_deletion_or_other_correction.
is_post_acceptance_correction
Indicator equal to 1 when the event is a post-acceptance correction or deletion; otherwise 0.
is_whole_filing_deletion
Indicator equal to 1 when the event is a PAC whole-filing deletion identified by a top-level DELETION tag after ACCESSION-NUMBER; otherwise 0.
has_correction_tag
Indicator equal to 1 when the raw SGML header contains a CORRECTION tag; otherwise 0.
has_deletion_after_accession
Indicator equal to 1 when a top-level DELETION tag immediately follows the ACCESSION-NUMBER tag in the correction header; otherwise 0.
control_priority_code
Numeric value of the SEC PDS control block Priority byte.
control_priority_label
ASCII control-character label for the Priority byte, such as EOT or ETX.
control_priority_meaning
SEC-documented meaning of the Priority byte when known. For example, 3 is Post-acceptance correction and 4 is Low.
control_public_private_code
Numeric value of the SEC PDS control block Public/Private Flag byte.
control_public_private_label
ASCII control-character label for the Public/Private Flag byte, such as SOH.
control_transaction_code
Numeric value of the SEC PDS control block Transaction Type byte.
control_transaction_label
ASCII control-character label for the Transaction Type byte, such as SOH, ETX, EOT, BEL, or BS.
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