How to track Congress stock trades
Members of Congress report their stock trades under the STOCK Act, weeks after the fact and in dollar ranges. Here's what the reports contain, where to find them, and how to read them honestly.
The InsiderBeacon team ยท October 23, 2026
In short: senators and representatives file a Periodic Transaction Report for trades over $1,000, due 30 days after they learn of the trade and no later than 45 days after it. Amounts are ranges like $15,001 to $50,000. The reports are public on the House Clerk's and the Senate's disclosure sites.
The STOCK Act
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act of 2012 confirmed that members of Congress can't trade on information from their work, and required them to report their trades quickly. Members (and senior staff) file a Periodic Transaction Report (PTR) for each purchase, sale or exchange of stocks, bonds and similar assets over $1,000, including trades by their spouse and dependent children.
The deadline
A PTR is due by the earlier of 30 days after the member is notified of the trade and 45 days after the trade. Late reports carry a fee, starting at $200, and there are no extensions. In practice, many trades are reported weeks after they happen, and some well past the deadline. That lag is the most important thing to keep in mind: by the time a trade is public, the price has had up to six weeks to move.
What's in a report
- Who owns it: the member, a spouse (SP), a joint account (JT) or a dependent child (DC).
- The asset, usually with its ticker, and its type (stock, option, bond, fund).
- Purchase, sale (full or partial) or exchange, and the trade date.
- The amount, as a range: $1,001 to $15,000, $15,001 to $50,000, $50,001 to $100,000, up to "over $50,000,000". Exact amounts are never given, so any total is a range too.
Some reports, mostly older ones, are filed on paper and published as scanned images, which no software can read reliably.
Where to find them
House reports are on the Clerk's financial disclosure site (disclosures-clerk.house.gov); Senate reports are on the Senate's electronic financial disclosure site (efdsearch.senate.gov), which asks you to accept its terms first. The law restricts using these reports for commercial purposes other than by news media, which is why many trackers, InsiderBeacon included, keep Congress data free.
Reading them honestly
- Mind the lag. Look at how many days after the trade it was reported before drawing conclusions.
- Ranges, not amounts. A "$1 million to $5 million" trade could be either.
- Spouses trade too. Many of the most-watched trades are a spouse's account.
- Returns are guesses. With ranges and a weeks-long lag, any "performance" of a member's trades rests on assumptions.
InsiderBeacon reads both chambers' reports every few minutes on weekdays and shows each trade with how late it was reported. Every member has a page with their trades, and in the app you can follow a member, get an alert when anyone in Congress trades a stock you follow, or hear about every trade of $250,000 or more.
Questions
How long do members of Congress have to report stock trades?
Until the earlier of 30 days after they're notified of the trade and 45 days after the trade itself, under the STOCK Act. Late filers pay a fee starting at $200.
Do Congress stock reports show exact amounts?
No. They give ranges, such as $1,001 to $15,000 or $1,000,001 to $5,000,000, so totals can only be ranges too.
Can I get alerts when a member of Congress trades?
Yes, free in InsiderBeacon: follow a member to hear about each new report, or get an alert when any member trades a stock you follow.
For information only, from public SEC and congressional filings. Not investment advice. Disclaimer