File Your Own Form C-AR for Free
Join us today at Noon ET/9 PT for the SuperCrowdHour/CfPA webinar
Today at Noon Eastern/9:00 Pacific, we’re hosting a special SuperCrowdHour webinar co-hosted by the Crowdfunding Professional Association to show Reg CF issuers how to file their own Form C-AR annual report with the SEC—without paying attorneys hundreds of dollars to do work founders can often prepare themselves.
This process is technical. EDGAR has quirks. Login.gov adds a layer. File names matter more than they should. And the annual report itself needs to be accurate.
That’s why we encourage you to do both:
Watch the webinar—live or recorded—and read this guide.
The webinar will walk you through the process visually. This post gives you the step-by-step framework you can keep handy as you work.
One important note: this is educational, not legal advice. You should have qualified counsel review your final filing, especially your disclosure language and risk factors. But you may be able to save significant legal fees by preparing a clean, review-ready draft and handling much of the EDGAR process yourself.
Part 1: Set Up Your SEC EDGAR Login with Login.gov
Before you can file anything with the SEC, you need access to the EDGAR Filer Management Dashboard. The SEC requires individuals to use Login.gov to verify identity before entering EDGAR.
Produced by the government, the video below is surprisingly helpful.
Before you start, have two things ready:
First, use an individual business email address, not a shared inbox like info@company.com. The SEC recommends using a professional business email because it may be visible to other account administrators.
Second, have your mobile phone handy. Login.gov will require multi-factor authentication.
To begin, go to the EDGAR Filer Management website:
filermanagement.edgarfiling.sec.gov
Click “Sign in with LOGIN.GOV.”
On the Login.gov sign-in screen, scroll down and click “Create an account.” Enter your individual business email, choose your preferred language, accept the Rules of Use, and click Submit.
Next, leave the Login.gov tab open and check your email. Open the message from Login.gov and click “Confirm email address.” You’ll then create a password. Login.gov requires at least 12 characters, and you should avoid common phrases.
After that, set up multi-factor authentication. The common options are text message, phone call, or an authentication app. Choose your method, receive your security code, and enter it on the screen. You may be invited to add a backup method. You can do that or skip it for now.
Finally, click “Agree and continue.” Login.gov should redirect you back to the EDGAR Filer Management Dashboard.
Now you’re almost ready to work in EDGAR. You’ll have to wait about a week for an email authorizing. Once received, you’re good to go.
Part 2: Draft Your Form C-AR
If your company raised money under Regulation Crowdfunding, you generally must file a Form C-AR annually to report financial information for the prior fiscal year and update investors on the business.
The easiest starting point is your original Form C.
Form C-AR is designed to be substantially similar to your original Form C, but it is an annual update—not a fresh offering document. Make a copy of your original Form C text document and edit that.
Before updating the business narrative, delete offering-specific sections that are not required in the annual report, including:
Target offering amount and maximum offering amount
Offering price of the securities
Use of proceeds
Deadline to reach the target amount
Information about the funding portal or intermediary
Then update the remaining business sections to reflect the company as of the end of the most recent fiscal year.
Pay special attention to leadership changes, business operations, milestones, hurdles, employee count, risk factors, and related party transactions. The risk factors deserve special care. Don’t just recycle last year’s language. Add new risks that became relevant during the year and remove risks that no longer apply.
Next, prepare your financial statements for the most recently completed fiscal year. These should include:
Balance Sheet
Income Statement / Profit and Loss
Statement of Cash Flows
Statement of Changes in Equity
Here’s where many founders overspend: for Form C-AR, your financial statements do not need to be reviewed or audited by a CPA unless they were already reviewed or audited for another reason.
If you are using internally prepared financial statements, the principal executive officer—usually the CEO—can certify them. Add this SEC-mandated certification directly to the financial statements:
I, [Type Your Name], certify that the financial statements of [Type Company Name] included in this Form are true and complete in all material respects.
Then include your signature and title.
Finally, combine your updated narrative and certified financial statements into one clean document. Send that to counsel with a note like:
Attached is a drafted update of our Form C-AR business narrative and our certified financial statements for the previous fiscal year. Please review for compliance.
That shifts your attorney’s role from author to editor—and that can save real money.
Part 3: File the Form C-AR in EDGAR
Before filing, make sure you have your EDGAR credentials:
CIK: Your company’s 10-digit SEC identification number (this is public and relatively easy to find)
CCC: Your company’s 8-character confirmation code
Final PDF: Your annual report document, ready to upload
Log in to EDGAR. Don’t panic when you see the landing page! Look for and click Regulation Crowdfunding in the left-hand menu. From the available forms, select Form C-AR: Annual Report.
Here is exactly where to find the CCC:
Log in: Go to the EDGAR Filer Management website and sign in using your Login.gov credentials.
Access the Dashboard: Once logged in, you will be on the EDGAR Filer Management Dashboard.
Locate the Code: Select your company name under the “My Accounts” section. As an Account Administrator, your current, active 8-character CCC will be clearly visible right there in your Account Details block.
On the Filer Information page, enter your CIK and CCC. For Period, enter the end date of the fiscal year you are reporting on. This is critical. If you are filing your 2025 annual report, for example, you would enter 12-31-2025—not today’s date.
Select LIVE, enter your submission contact information, and click NEXT.
On the Issuer Information page, enter or verify your company’s legal name, legal status, state of incorporation, incorporation date, physical address, website, and co-issuer status. EDGAR may pull old address data, so check carefully. Select No for co-issuer unless you used a Crowdfunding Vehicle or SPV. Click NEXT.
On the Disclosure Requirements page, enter the financial snapshot from your prepared financial statements. You’ll enter employee count and financial data for both the most recent fiscal year-end and the prior fiscal year-end. You can use commas in large numbers and a minus sign for losses. Click NEXT.
The Documents tab is where people often get tripped up.
Your PDF file name can contain only letters, numbers, and underscores. Do not use spaces, dashes, periods, parentheses, or special characters. For example:
Good: 2025_Annual_Report.pdf
Bad: 2025 Annual Report (Final).pdf
Do not type into the text boxes first. Click Add Document, select your properly named PDF, let EDGAR populate the file name, choose C-AR from the Type dropdown, and optionally add a description. If the error box says 0, click Validate Document. If validation passes, click NEXT.
On the signature page, your typed name acts as your legal signature. Complete the company signature block and the individual officer signature block. Then click the SUBMIT icon at the top right.
Watch for the confirmation email. If it says ACCEPTED, your Form C-AR is officially on the public record.
Part 4: File Form C-TR When You’re Eligible
You do not necessarily have to file annual reports forever. Under SEC Rule 202(b), a Reg CF issuer may be eligible to terminate ongoing reporting obligations after filing at least one annual report and having fewer than 300 shareholders of record.
If eligible, you can file Form C-TR: Termination of Reporting.
Before logging into EDGAR, prepare a brief termination letter on company letterhead. It should state that the company is terminating its reporting obligations pursuant to Rule 202(b)(2) of Regulation Crowdfunding because it has filed at least one annual report and has fewer than 300 holders of record.
Sign the letter and save it as a PDF. Again, use a strict file name with no spaces, dashes, or special characters.
To file, log into EDGAR, click Regulation Crowdfunding, and select Form C-TR: Termination of Reporting.
The Filer Information and Issuer Information tabs work much like Form C-AR. Enter your CIK, CCC, contact information, company information, and confirm your current details.
On the Documents tab, follow the same careful upload sequence:
Click Add Document. Select your properly named PDF letter. Select C-TR from the Type dropdown. Click Validate Document. If validation passes, click NEXT.
Then complete the digital signature blocks, click SUBMIT, and watch for the confirmation email.
Once the SEC email says ACCEPTED, your Reg CF reporting obligations are officially terminated.
Watch Today’s Webinar
Again, this process is doable—but it is technical. The visual walkthrough matters.
Join us today at Noon Eastern/9:00 Pacific for the SuperCrowdHour/CfPA webinar. Watch live if you can. Watch the recording if you can’t. Then use this post as your step-by-step companion.
You can save hundreds of dollars, keep your company compliant, and give investors the reporting they deserve.
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