Find out whether you need to file a structured Annual Financial Report (AFR), how to submit it and which technical guide to follow.
Reporting manual requirements
Later in 2026, we’ll start to accept AFRs prepared using the 2025 European Single Electronic Format (ESEF) taxonomy[1].
Until then, issuers should prepare AFRs using the 2024 ESEF taxonomy.
After the change, we encourage issuers to adopt the 2025 ESEF taxonomy. We’ll continue to accept AFRs using previous taxonomies. Currently, there’s no end date for using previous taxonomies.
Who must file a structured Annual Financial Report
Issuers with transferable securities admitted to trading on a UK regulated market may need to submit a structured AFR.
Filing AFRs has been mandatory for in-scope issuers for financial years beginning on or after 1 January 2021.
Before you prepare your report, review:
Read more information on the ESEF initiative[4].
File a structured Annual Financial Report
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1
Register and get authorisation
If you have not used the Electronic Submission System (ESS) before, you must register.
You must be authorised by the issuer before you can submit on its behalf.
We recommend registering and requesting authorisation before your filing deadline.
User guides:
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2
Prepare your report
Before submitting your report, review the technical requirements carefully.
Structured reporting is complex. You may need to support from specialist advisers or software providers. The documents you must review include the following.
Regulatory requirements
Reporting manuals
Technical specifications
These documents explain:
- tagging requirements
- taxonomy requirements
- technical submission standards
- file naming requirements
- report package requirements
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3
Submit your report
Use the NSM submission process to file your structured AFR.
The NSM submitter user guide[5] provides step-by-step instructions. The guide includes information on how to submit a tagged report for validation only (test submissions), how to view any warnings/errors and how to raise a support ticket.
The NSM help and FAQs[12] provides support for some frequent issues, including how to resolve common validation errors.
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4
Checks and validation
We check all structured submissions against our filing requirements. Where a report includes tagging, we also check it against the taxonomy rules.
If your submission contains errors, we will reject it and it will not be filed on the NSM. We will notify you and you will need to correct the errors and submit a new case.
To resolve errors, you may need to:
- review the guides listed in step 2
- contact the relevant taxonomy providers
- seek support from a specialist adviser or software provider
Warnings do not stop a report from being filed on the NSM. However, you should investigate them before submission. If you have reviewed a warning and concluded there is no underlying issue, you do not need to take any further action.
If your submission passes all checks, we will file it on the NSM[13].
See the NSM user guide[13] for instructions on how to view and download structured AFRs.
Contact and support
If you need help preparing or submitting a structured AFR, review the NSM submitter user guide before contacting us.
For issues related to the FCA’s submission process that are not covered in the published information, please raise a support request in ESS. If you do not have access to ESS, please email [email protected].
