SEC Seeks Input on Extending Employee Stock Form Filings
Published Date: 11/28/2025
Notice
Summary
The SEC is asking to keep using Form S-8, which companies file to register stocks for employee benefit plans. About 2,500 companies spend around 28 hours each year on this form, costing nearly $22 million in professional fees. You’ve got until December 29, 2025, to share your thoughts on this paperwork extension!
Analyzed Economic Effects
3 provisions identified: 1 benefits, 2 costs, 0 mixed.
High annual professional fee burden
If your company hires outside professionals to prepare Form S-8, the SEC estimates 14.125 external hours per filing at a rate of $600 per hour. The total estimated annual external cost across all respondents is $21,534,975.
Companies' annual filing time burden
If your company files Form S-8, preparing it takes about 28.25 hours per year. The SEC estimates half of that (14.125 hours) is done by your staff, and total internal reporting time across all companies is 35,892 hours per year.
Investor information available on EDGAR
Form S-8 collects information intended to ensure adequate information for investors, and Form S-8 filings are publicly available on the SEC's EDGAR system. That makes the registration information viewable by investors and the public.
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