The move lets investors see the paper exchange between SEC examiners and the companies they review.

"We believe it is appropriate to expand the transparency of our comment process by making this information available, free of charge, to an unlimited audience," said Alan Beller, director of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance.

Comment letters and response letters relating to reviewed disclosure filings will begin to be released individually on a filing-by-filing basis through the SEC's public Web site, EDGAR. The process will commence with some of the oldest eligible filings, but as it continues, letters will be released no earlier than 45 days after the review of the disclosure filing is complete.

The SEC said in an earlier statement that certain information will be held confidential in accordance with the Freedom of Information Act. Confidential treatment is outlined in Rule 83, which requires the filer seeking confidentiality to submit its response letter using two separate documents -- a response to the comment letter without the confidential information, referred to as the redacted version, and a separate paper document including the confidential information.