Guides
How congressional stock disclosure actually works
Every figure this site publishes comes from a document the law requires. These guides explain that law, the form it produces, and the three or four things almost everyone gets wrong about the numbers on it. No filings needed — all of this is true today.
Start here
5 guides- The STOCK Act, explained7 minWhat the 2012 law actually requires members of Congress to disclose, who it covers, and the three things people most often get wrong about it.
- The 45-day rule, and what a late filing actually costs5 minThe only hard number in the law, why most filings arrive in the last week they can, and why the $200 penalty is weaker than it sounds.
- Why a disclosed amount is a range and never a number6 minMembers report one of ten brackets, not a figure. This is the single most misread feature of the data, and the reason this site publishes no portfolio values and no returns.
- How to read a periodic transaction report6 minEvery field on the form, which three actually matter, and the two that are most often misread.
- Which committees oversee which industries5 minThe jurisdiction map behind every overlap flag on this site — and a precise statement of what an overlap does and does not mean.
How these are written
Every factual claim is either statutory or carries a source link at the foot of the guide. Where a rule is discretionary rather than automatic — the late-filing fee, for instance — the guide says so instead of flattening it into something tidier. These are general explanations of a public disclosure law, not legal or investment advice.