SEDAR Filing Formats

All documents submitted to SEDAR must be in PDF Format. Although you may send us PDF documents for filing, we can convert many different document formats, including paper, word-processing, spreadsheet and desktop publishing files into PDF for you.

If you will be sending us a PDF file, please read the section below titled, “SEDAR PDF Requirements and Tips.”

PDF Format

PDF stands for Portable Document Format. Documents in PDF must be viewed using the Adobe Acrobat Reader. It is a proprietary standard, set forth by the Adobe Corporation, for conveying graphic/multi-media-intensive document information across multiple platforms. It is the only official file format presently accepted by the SEDAR system.

XBRL Format

XBRL (eXtensible Business Reporting Language) is an emerging XML-based standard to define and exchange business and financial performance information. The standard is governed by a not-for-profit international consortium (XBRL International Incorporated) of approximately 450 organizations, including regulators, government agencies, infomediaries and software vendors.

XBRL data is considered interactive, which means it can be presented to investors and analysts quickly in a format they can most easily use. Interactive data pinpoints all of the facts and figures trapped in dense documents, allowing the analyst to immediately identify exactly the information they want, extract and compare it to the results of other companies, performance in past years, industry averages – in whatever manner the analyst wishes to present comparatives.

Reporting issuers may voluntarily submit unofficial XBRL documents alongside official PDF filings.

SEDAR PDF Requirements and Tips

SEDAR only accepts PDF documents in versions 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, or 1.5. To check the version of your PDF, open it in Adobe Acrobat and select File, Document Info, General.

Whenever possible, ensure PDFs are created from an electronic version of the document. PDFs created from a paper document will result in large file sizes and be of poorer quality.

The file may not contain annotations (attached files or embedded objects) or it will be rejected by SEDAR. Additionally, we will not be able to work with your file if it is password-protected or read only. If your working file contains such features, please remove them before sending us the file. Hyperlinks are not permitted.

SEDAR Filing Format History

In developing SEDAR, the Canadian Securities Administrators tried to balance the needs of filers seeking a way to efficiently file their documents on SEDAR against the desire to make the documents easily available to the public. When SEDAR was first initiated, CDS determined that the three most common electronic document formats used by filers were MS Word, WordPerfect and PDF. The decision was made to adopt these common formats as the standard for SEDAR filings. With Release 6 of the SEDAR filing application in September, 1999, PDF is now the only official filing format for filers’ documents. Because documents filed previous to this date remain in their original filing format, some of the documents you retrieve are in MS Word or WordPerfect. In 2007 the CSA introduced a voluntary XBRL filing program, enabling reporting issuers to file unofficial XBRL documents alongside their respective official PDF versions.

SEDAR Filing Fees

There are a variety of filing fees applicable to SEDAR filers:

1. Annual SEDAR and SEDI filing fees. These fees are for using the SEDAR and SEDI systems and are due when Annual Financial Statements are submitted to SEDAR. These fees are based on a several variables; visit the SEDAR site to learn more about SEDAR annual fees.

2. Annual securities commission filing fees. An annual fee is applicable for each jurisdiction a filer reports to. Fees vary across jurisdictions. Securities commission filing fees are due when Annual Financial Statements are submitted via SEDAR.

   If an issuer reports to the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) it must complete and submit with its Annual Financial Statements a Form 13-502 variant. This form determines the amount of fees payable to the OSC. These forms can be downloaded from the OSC web site.

   If an issuer reports to the Alberta Securities Commission (ASC) it must complete and submit with its Annual Financial Statements a Form 13-501 variant. This form determines the amount of fees payable to the ASC. These forms can be downloaded from the ASC web site.

   We provide a convenient fee estimation tool for annual filings on request.

3. Filing specific fees. Certain SEDAR filings require a fee to be transmitted when they are filed. These fees vary based on the filing type and the reporting jurisdictions.

The filer should contact Offistra prior to the date of the filing in order to determine the total amount of fees.

Paying Filing Fees

All fees are paid electronically from our bank account at the time of filing. The issuer must submit payment for the fees to Offistra Inc. prior to the filing, by cheque or wire transfer. An invoice including our fees will be issued to the filer showing the disbursement of funds.