It typically refers to an SEC-registered offering of shares of an issuer's capital stock where the issuer is a non-reporting company offering its equity securities to the public for the first time. The issuer registers the offering with the SEC under a registration statement filed with the SEC. The offering may be a primary offering, a secondary offering, or a combined primary and secondary offering.

In the context of certain SEC and FINRA rules, the term initial public offering may refer to an offering of securities by a company that has not previously been required to file reports under Section 13(a) or Section 15(d) of the Exchange Act. For more information, see these Practice Notes: