Can members of Congress trade stocks?
Yes. Members of Congress may buy and sell individual stocks, but the STOCK Act of 2012 requires them to report each trade over $1,000 within 45 days, and it confirms that insider-trading law applies to them. As of October 8, 2026, no ban on members' stock trading has become law.
In brief
- Trades over $1,000 must be reported within 30 days of the member learning of the trade, and never later than 45 days after it.
- The rule covers trades by the member, their spouse and their dependent children.
- The standard penalty for a late report is a $200 fee.
- Amounts are reported in ranges, not exact dollars.
- The House passed a bill restricting members' stock purchases on July 22, 2026; it did not advance in the Senate on September 30, 2026.
Is it legal for members of Congress to trade stocks?
Yes. No federal law stops a senator or representative from owning or trading individual stocks. What the law requires is disclosure: every purchase, sale or exchange of a stock, bond or similar security worth more than $1,000 has to be reported in a public filing called a periodic transaction report, or PTR.
The rule comes from the STOCK Act (the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act), signed in April 2012. The same law states that members and their staff are not exempt from insider-trading law: they owe a duty not to trade on important information that is not yet public and that they learned through their position.
What exactly must be reported, and how fast?
A member must file a report within 30 days of being told about a trade, and in no case later than 45 days after the trade itself. The second limit is why you will see "45 days" quoted as the deadline: a broker's statement can arrive late, but the outer limit does not move.
The report covers trades in accounts owned by the member, by their spouse, or by a dependent child. It lists the asset, whether it was bought or sold, the date, and a dollar range. It does not give the exact amount, the price, or the reason. Our guide to reading a trade report walks through one line by line.
Some holdings do not need a transaction report at all, including widely held mutual funds and exchange-traded funds, bank accounts and real estate. A member whose savings sit in index funds may never file one.
What happens if a member reports late?
The usual consequence is a $200 late fee, charged when a report arrives more than 30 days past its due date. The ethics committee of the member's chamber can waive the fee in unusual circumstances. Knowingly failing to file, or filing something false, can bring a much larger civil penalty.
This site marks a trade as late when the report was filed more than 45 days after the trade. See late disclosures for how the count works and what it does not show.
Has Congress banned its members from trading stocks?
No. As of October 8, 2026, no ban or restriction on members' stock trading has been enacted.
The closest any bill has come is the Stop Insider Trading Act (H.R. 7008). The House passed it on July 22, 2026 by 232 to 198 (House roll call). On September 30, 2026 the Senate voted 53 to 47 on a motion to take the bill up, short of the 60 votes needed (Senate roll call), so it did not move forward. Several other proposals, some stricter, have been introduced in both chambers and remain in committee.
Until a bill is signed into law, the rules described on this page are the rules in force.
Why do some people want a ban, and why do others oppose one?
Supporters of a ban argue that members vote on laws, sit on committees and receive briefings that can move share prices, so even well-timed legal trades damage public trust. In their view disclosure after the fact is too slow and the $200 fee too small to matter, and the simplest fix is to keep members out of individual stocks altogether.
Opponents argue that members already face insider-trading law and public disclosure, that a ban would deter people with business or investing experience from running for office, and that forcing sales could impose real costs on families whose wealth was built before taking office. Others support restrictions in principle but disagree about the details: whether spouses are covered, whether existing holdings can be kept, and how blind trusts should work.
This site takes no side. It shows the filings so you can read them yourself.
Where can I see the trades?
On this site, the Congress page lists the newest reports, each member has a page with their trades, and the trade map shows which stocks members bought and sold over a period you choose. There are 7,275 congressional trades on record here from 135 members. Every row links to the original document.
The official sources are the House Clerk's disclosure site and the Senate's eFD search.
Questions and answers
Can members of Congress legally buy and sell stocks?
Yes. Members of Congress may trade individual stocks. The STOCK Act requires them to report each trade over $1,000 within 45 days and confirms that insider-trading law applies to them.
Has Congress passed a stock trading ban?
No. As of October 8, 2026, no ban has become law. The House passed the Stop Insider Trading Act (H.R. 7008) on July 22, 2026, but a Senate vote to take it up fell short on September 30, 2026.
Do spouses of members of Congress have to report trades?
Yes. A member's report covers trades in assets owned by the member, their spouse or a dependent child, and each row says whose asset it was.
What is the penalty for a late congressional stock disclosure?
The standard penalty is a $200 late fee for a report filed more than 30 days past its due date. The chamber's ethics committee may waive it in unusual circumstances.
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Not investment advice. This guide explains public records and how this site presents them. It makes no recommendation to buy or sell anything. All guides · All questions · Report an error