SERFF tracking numbers explained

What the number is made of

SERFF's own training materials describe the tracking number as two parts joined together, chosen to make every number unique and to support auditing.

• Instance identifier. A four-character code. The state training lesson describes it as a unique ID the SERFF Help Desk assigns to an instance, and notes that both states and filers are assigned one. (NAIC's EFT instructions explain that SERFF accounts are called instances.) The SERFF Glossary describes the industry version as four letters representing the first four characters of the company name.
• Generated part. The rest of the number, created by the application. The two documents describe it differently: the state lesson calls it a numeric string (its example is ABCD 000004382), while the glossary calls it nine alphanumeric characters (its example is ABCD 12A34B56C).

Because NAIC's own documents differ on the second part, treat a tracking number as an opaque identifier. Copy it exactly as SERFF shows it rather than rebuilding it from a company name.

The number exists before the filing reaches the state. The glossary defines a Draft filing as one that "has been assigned a tracking number" but has not been completed and submitted to the state. A filer can therefore reference the number internally from the day the filing is started.

Three tracking numbers on one filing

The Filing at a Glance area at the top of every SERFF filing can show three different numbers. They serve different owners and are easy to mix up.

The state tracking number is optional. SERFF's state training shows reviewers entering it when they update a filing, and describes the Receiver role, where a state uses it, as responsible for making sure fields such as the State Tracking Number and State Status are filled in.

The company tracking number is whatever the filer chooses to put there, if anything. It is a convenient place for an internal project reference that ties the same product's filings in several states together.

Where the number gets used

• Inside SERFF. Messages in SERFF's Message Center link to the filing they concern through its SERFF tracking number.
• Correspondence. Objection letters, responses and amendments all sit on the filing the tracking number identifies, so quoting it in any email or call with a reviewer removes ambiguity.
• Resubmissions. States often want the earlier filing identified when a filer tries again. New Hampshire's Ins 5000, for example, provides that a corrected resubmission of a disapproved form filing must cite the previous SERFF tracking number. SERFF's own Submission Type field asks, for a resubmission, for the state tracking number of the prior submission if the state provided one.
• Public search. On SERFF Filing Access, the tracking number is the most direct way to reach one filing. North Carolina's property and casualty filing search page, for example, points readers who are searching by SERFF tracking number or company name to its SERFF lookup.

Finding a filing by its tracking number

Each state has its own SERFF Filing Access site. NAIC lists them on a hub page at serff.com, and state insurance department sites usually link to their own. The search flow is similar from state to state.

South Carolina's department describes the first steps: select the Begin Search button, click Accept once you have reviewed the User Agreement, then enter your search criteria. Georgia's page notes that Business Type is required and explains how to select every attachment in a filing and download them as a zip file.

NAIC is rebuilding SERFF Filing Access state by state as each state moves to the modernized SERFF. Its February 2026 steering committee summary says the rebuilt sites currently work much like the legacy ones, so these steps should carry over, though screens and labels may change.

When the number finds nothing

A correct tracking number can still return no result. The usual reasons:

• The filing is not public yet. Many states publish a filing only after review closes or the filing takes effect. Are insurance rate filings public? covers when states release filings.
• The filing predates the state's online coverage. Coverage start dates differ. Texas says filings received after April 13, 2014 can be searched on SERFF Filing Access. Kentucky's site covers filings made after November 1, 2018, and earlier filings can be requested through an open records request.
• The filing or a document was withheld. Material a state accepted as confidential or trade secret is usually not shown, even when the rest of the filing is.
• Wrong state or business type. A tracking number searched on another state's site, or under the wrong business type, will not match.

When a filing cannot be found online, the department can usually help through a records request. Texas, for example, directs readers to an open records request for filings not found in SERFF Filing Access.

Practical tips

• Record all three numbers. Keep the SERFF, state and company tracking numbers together in your filing log, along with the state, so any of them can be matched to the others later.
• Quote the tracking number with every precedent. When a memorandum or response relies on another filing, cite it by state and SERFF tracking number so a reviewer can open the same filing.
• One number per state. In a multistate project, track each state's filing separately. An amendment to one state's filing does not change the others, and each one has its own number, reviewer and outcome.
• Do not reuse a withdrawn filing's number. A refiled product is a new SERFF filing with a new tracking number. Reference the old number in the new filing's description or cover letter if the state wants the history. See SERFF objections for how disapprovals and refilings work.