Disclosure lag

The gap between the date something happened and the date it became public.

Updated 2026-07-26

Every record on this site carries two dates: when the event occurred according to the document, and when the document was published. The difference between them is the disclosure lag, and it is the single most under-reported property of public financial data.

The lag differs by form and is built into the rules. Insider transactions are due within two business days. Quarterly fund holdings arrive up to forty-five days after the quarter ends. Some insider transactions are only reported after the fiscal year closes. A sanctions list is as old as its last publication.

A page that shows only one date invites the reader to treat old information as current. We show both dates on every record and compute the lag, so that the age of a fact is as visible as the fact.

Related terms

5 entries
Form 13F
A quarterly report in which a large institutional manager lists the U.S. equity positions it held on the last day of the quarter.
Form 4
The filing in which a company insider reports a change in their holdings, normally within two business days.
Form 5
An annual catch-up filing for insider transactions that were exempt from immediate reporting.
List snapshot
One complete downloaded version of a published list, stored with the date the source published it.
Observation date
The date a value belongs to, as distinct from the date it was published or retrieved.

Where this appears in the data

Written for reading the records published here. This is not a legal, tax or accounting definition, and where a jurisdiction defines the term precisely, that definition governs.
Disclosure lag — definition — Tapewire