AlphaYouHow to Track Congress Stock Trades: The STOCK Act Explained
Learn how to legally track congress stock trades, what the STOCK Act actually requires, and why "real-time" congress trackers all work around a built-in reporting lag.
Direct answerMembers of Congress must publicly disclose stock trades within 45 days under the STOCK Act — trading itself isn't restricted, only hiding it is. You can check the House/Senate portals yourself, or use a tracker that surfaces filings the moment they post.
- Yes. The STOCK Act (2012) doesn't ban trading — it requires disclosure. Any trade over $1,000 must be reported in a Periodic Transaction Report (PTR) within 45 days.
- No tracker — including ours — can show you a congress trade in real time. The trade may be over a month old by the time it's filed. A good tracker closes the gap between "filed" and "you know," not between "traded" and "filed."
- Ticker, transaction type, and an amount range (e.g. "$50,001–$100,000") — not an exact figure. Treat every number as a band, not a precise dollar amount.
Is It Legal for Congress to Trade Stocks?
Yes. The STOCK Act (2012) doesn't ban trading — it requires disclosure. Any trade over $1,000 must be reported in a Periodic Transaction Report (PTR) within 45 days.
The 45-Day Gap Nobody Mentions
No tracker — including ours — can show you a congress trade in real time. The trade may be over a month old by the time it's filed. A good tracker closes the gap between "filed" and "you know," not between "traded" and "filed."
What a Filing Actually Contains
Ticker, transaction type, and an amount range (e.g. "$50,001–$100,000") — not an exact figure. Treat every number as a band, not a precise dollar amount.
Staying Current Without Checking Two Government Portals by Hand
Manual re-checking doesn't scale past a couple of names. AlphaYou pulls congress filings — plus insider Form 4s, 13Fs, and government contracts — into one feed, alerted the moment each posts.
FAQ
How fast are congress trades disclosed?
Up to 45 days after the trade, under STOCK Act rules.
Can I get real-time congress trade alerts?
You can be alerted the instant a filing goes public — not the instant the trade happened, since disclosure itself has a legal lag.