How Congress stock trade disclosures work

Members of Congress must disclose their stock trades publicly. The process runs from a law (the STOCK Act) to a specific filing (a Periodic Transaction Report) to a public record anyone can read - usually weeks after the trade itself.

The law: the STOCK Act

The STOCK Act (Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act) requires members of Congress, certain officials, and their spouses and dependents to report qualifying securities transactions. The goal is transparency: the public can see what lawmakers are trading.

The filing: a Periodic Transaction Report

Each disclosure is a Periodic Transaction Report, or PTR. A PTR lists the filer, the security, whether it was a purchase, sale, or exchange, the transaction date, and an amount range rather than an exact dollar figure.

The record: public disclosure

House PTRs are published by the Clerk of the House and are free to read. Capitol Gains reads these official filings and turns each newly reported trade into a plain-language email so you do not have to monitor the source yourself.

The delay

A trade is not public the day it happens. Filers have a window to report (see the deadlines below), so a disclosure can surface weeks later. That is why an alert tells you when a trade was reported, not when it was made.

Common questions

Are these disclosures public?
Yes. US House Periodic Transaction Reports are published by the Clerk of the House and are free to access.