Corrected MTOT flux as a function of time for two example emerging active region candidates. The solid line represents the time, t_s, when NOAA first recorded a numbered sunspot region. The top panel shows an example of an emerging sunspot group, AR 11418, which we rejected from our survey. While an increase of new flux is apparent near the time t_s, it is obvious that considerable flux already exists within the SHARP boundary. The bottom panel shows an example, AR 11158, which we included in the survey. The thick dashed line indicates the emergence time t₀ when the flux was 10% of its peak value within the interval bounded by the solid and dotted lines, t_s and t_s + 36 h, respectively.