Every US senator and representative is legally required to disclose their personal stock trades. Most people have no idea this data exists — or how to find it. This guide explains everything from scratch.
Step 1: Understand the STOCK Act
The Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge (STOCK) Act was signed into law in 2012. It requires all members of Congress to publicly disclose any stock trade over $1,000 within 45 days of the transaction date.
- Covers purchases, sales, and exchanges of stocks, bonds, and options
- Applies to the lawmaker and their immediate family members
- Violations carry a $200 fine — widely considered far too low
- All disclosures are public record
Step 2: Know Where the Data Lives
The official sources are the House Clerk portal (disclosures.house.gov) and the Senate filing system (efts.senate.gov). Both are functional but painful to use — PDFs, slow search, no alerts, no aggregation. This is why third-party trackers exist.
Step 3: Choose Your Tracking Method
Option A: Manual (Free, Slow)
Visit the House and Senate disclosure portals directly. Search by name or date. Download PDFs. Extract trade data manually. You'll always be behind — and the 45-day window means you're already late by definition.
Option B: Third-Party Tracker (Recommended)
Aggregator tools like Congressional Trades automatically parse all STOCK Act filings and present them in a clean, searchable format. Filter by politician, stock, party, date range, and trade type.
Option C: Real-Time Alerts
The most actionable approach. Subscribe to a tracker that sends an alert the moment a new disclosure is filed. Our Telegram alerts go out within minutes of a filing appearing in the system.
Step 4: Know Who to Watch
Not all congressional traders are equal. The most active in recent years:
- Ro Khanna — 4,100+ trades in 2025, $53M+ volume
- Nancy Pelosi — large concentrated positions, deep-in-the-money calls
- Josh Gottheimer — active in tech and financials
- Sheldon Whitehouse — recent large NVDA sale
Step 5: Interpret the Data Correctly
- The 45-day delay is real. By the time you see a trade, the market has often already reacted.
- Ranges, not exact amounts. Disclosures show ranges ($1K–$15K, $15K–$50K), not exact figures.
- Spousal trades count too. Many disclosures are trades made by a lawmaker's spouse.
- Not financial advice. Congressional trade data is one signal, not a complete strategy.
The Bottom Line
Congressional trade data is public, legal to track, and genuinely useful as a market signal. The best way to access it in 2026 is through a real-time tracker with alerts. Start the free trial at Congressional Trades to see all current disclosures.