The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued an “Operations Plan Under a Lapse in Appropriations and Government Shutdown” (“Operations Plan”), which describes how the SEC will operate in the event of a government shutdown. While it is not clear how long the SEC would be able to operate during a shutdown, the Operations Plan states that the agency has sufficient funds to operate on a temporary basis, but these funds are not sufficient to maintain full operations over the quarter.

Under the Operations Plan, the EDGAR filing system should remain fully operational. However, the SEC staff will be unavailable to review these filings. The SEC staff will be available for processing requests for EDGAR access codes and password resets, answering questions about fee-bearing EDGAR filings, and answering other emergency questions regarding EDGAR submissions. Other electronic filing systems, including the IARD and CRD filing systems, are expected to remain fully functional, with SEC staff performing limited functions. The SEC staff will also be unavailable to provide interpretive advice, approve applications for registration by investment advisers, issue no-action letters, etc.

Please note that the Operations Plan does not delay a filer’s filing obligations.