Form 3
The first filing an insider makes, declaring what they already hold when they become an insider.
Updated 2026-07-26
Form 3 is the opening balance. When someone becomes an officer, a director or a large shareholder, they file it to state the holdings they have on that date. Nothing is bought or sold on a Form 3; it establishes the starting point against which later changes are read.
Because it is a snapshot and not a transaction, a Form 3 says nothing about intent or activity. A large number on a Form 3 usually means the person has worked at the company for years, not that they have just acquired anything.
Later filings only make sense against this baseline. If a Form 3 is missing from a person's history, their holdings column will start mid-story.
Related terms
5 entries- Beneficial ownership
- The count of securities a person can vote or dispose of, which is not the same as the number registered in their name.
- 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.
- Insider
- A person or entity whose relationship with a company obliges them to report their transactions in its securities.
- Section 16
- The part of U.S. securities law that requires officers, directors and large holders to report their dealings in the company's shares.