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DEF 14A

Shareholder Rights API: board structure, voting and takeover defenses

Rights shareholders hold and defenses boards keep, from the proxy: classified boards, dual class, vote standard, special meetings, proxy access, rights plans.

Newfilling from 2020 onward
curl -H "Authorization: Bearer $SECFEED_KEY" \
  "https://secfeedapi.com/v1/shareholder-rights?ticker=AAPL"
import os, requests

r = requests.get(
    "https://secfeedapi.com/v1/shareholder-rights",
    params={'ticker': 'AAPL'},
    headers={"Authorization": f"Bearer {os.environ['SECFEED_KEY']}"},
)
print(r.json())

Overview

A company's charter and bylaws decide how much power shareholders have: whether all directors stand for election each year, whether one class of stock controls the vote, whether holders can call a special meeting or act by written consent, and what defenses the board can use. The proxy summarizes these provisions and puts changes to them on the ballot.

The Shareholder Rights API returns them as fields, one record per proxy, with each governance proposal on the ballot, its category, the document it amends, the vote required and the board's recommendation.

What you get

Built for developers who would rather not parse EDGAR.

Board structure

Classified, declassifying or annual board, number of classes and directors up for election.

Voting power

Each share class with votes per share and voting power percent, plus any controlling holder.

Rights and defenses

Special meeting and written consent rights, supermajority provisions, rights plans, exclusive forum, proxy access.

Governance ballot items

Each proposal to change the charter or bylaws, with vote required and board recommendation.

Endpoints

Authenticate with Authorization: Bearer YOUR_KEY. Responses are JSON.

GET|POST/v1/shareholder-rightsReference →

Rights shareholders hold and defenses the board holds: board cycle, voting classes, election standard, charter/bylaw provisions and governance ballot items.

Parameters: ticker | cik, accessionNo, startDate, endDate, data.<path>=value, from, size (max 50)

Response fields

The main fields in every result. The raw filing data is always one level down.

FieldMeaning
accessionNo, filedAt, entitiesThe proxy statement and the company.
meetingDate, meetingType, meetingFormatThe meeting, including virtual or hybrid.
incorporation.state, reincorporationProposedState of incorporation and any move.
boardStructure.classifiedBoard, numberOfClassesHow directors are elected.
votingStructure.dualClass, classes[].votesPerShare, votingPowerPctShare classes and who holds the vote.
directorElection.voteStandard, resignationPolicyMajority or plurality voting.
shareholderRights.specialMeetingThresholdPct, writtenConsentRight, rightsPlan, proxyAccessKey rights and defenses.
advanceNotice.windowStart, windowEndWindow for nominations and proposals.
governanceProposals[].category, voteRequiredPct, boardRecommendationGovernance items on the ballot.

Use cases

Datasets behind this API

The SEC forms this API reads, with live filing counts.

FAQ

How far back does it go?

These datasets launched in October 2026 and are being filled newest first, starting with filings from 2020 onward. The live counter on this page shows what is loaded today. Older years are added after that.

How is the data produced?

Each record is extracted from the filing text by an AI model and validated against a fixed schema before it is published; see our AI Disclosure. A value the filing does not state is returned as null, never guessed.

Is this read from the charter itself?

No. It is read from the proxy statement, which summarizes the charter and bylaw provisions. Provisions the proxy does not mention are null.

Try the Shareholder Rights API free

125 free API calls to start. No sales call.

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