UK FCA PS26/5 Final Rules on Short Selling Regime
Summary
The UK FCA published policy statement PS26/5 final rules for the UK short selling regime, creating a new Short Selling Sourcebook within the FCA Handbook. The rules take effect in two phases: Phase 1 on 13 July 2026 (new short selling rules, aggregate net short position disclosures, reportable shares lists) and Phase 2 on 30 November 2026 (bulk position reporting submissions). Key changes include a simplified single 'activity based' notification for market makers instead of per-instrument notifications, annual attestation requirements, and an extended implementation period of three months.
What changed
The FCA's PS26/5 introduces a new Short Selling Sourcebook consolidating existing requirements and reducing regulatory burden on market makers. The most significant operational change is the replacement of per-instrument exemption notifications with a single activity-based notification, combined with a new annual attestation requirement to demonstrate compliance with market maker exemption conditions. The FCA also confirmed it will not implement automated notification systems at outset, continuing email-based submissions, and will consider future adaptations of DTR 5 for short selling disclosure purposes.
Affected market participants and issuers should prepare for the 13 July 2026 commencement date by reviewing current notification procedures against the new simplified activity-based framework. Firms relying on market maker exemptions must implement annual attestation processes. The three-month implementation window (extended from two months) provides adequate time for operational changes, with Phase 2 bulk submission capabilities available from 30 November 2026.
Archived snapshot
Apr 21, 2026GovPing captured this document from the original source. If the source has since changed or been removed, this is the text as it existed at that time.
April 21, 2026
UK FCA final rules on changes to the UK short selling regime
A&O Shearman + Follow Contact LinkedIn Facebook X ;) Embed
The UK Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has published policy statement PS26/5, setting out its new rules and final statement of policy for the UK short selling regime. In addition, the FCA published an operational guide to provide more detailed information on the operational changes required and the timeframe for implementation. This follows the introduction of the Short Selling Regulations 2025 (SSR 2025) under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2023 and the October 2025 consultation on the draft rules. The FCA has created a new Short Selling Sourcebook within its Handbook, to consolidate existing requirements and to introduce targeted changes to reduce regulatory burdens and improve market efficiency. Following consultation feedback, the FCA's final rules make further changes in the following areas to provide additional clarity and enhance its proposals:
- Removing the requirement for market makers to notify each financial instrument they want to benefit from the market maker exemption. They will only be required to submit a single "activity based" notification which will enable them to use the exemption for market making activities in any financial instrument. Market makers must also submit an "annual attestation" to demonstrate their compliance with the conditions to use the exemption.
- Considering, as part of its forthcoming review of the disclosure guidance and transparency rules (DTRs), whether the existing disclosure framework in DTR 5 could be used or adapted to require issuers to publish issued share capital specifically for short selling purposes.
- Confirming that it will not introduce automated notification arrangements at the outset of the new regime. The FCA will continue to receive notifications via email from the start of the new regime on 13 July. However, it will consider alternative ways for market makers to more efficiently submit notifications and attestations in the future.
- Extending the implementation period from two months to three months from the date of the publication of these final rules. To allow adequate time to make any operational changes, the FCA will continue to implement the new regime in two phases. It has also changed the dates for each phase to occur on a Monday. The new short selling rules will enter into force on 13 July, with phase 1 taking effect on this main commencement date. Phase 1 includes: the implementation of the new short selling rules and the final statement of policy; changes to the FCA's systems to facilitate the disclosure of new aggregate net short positions; and the reportable shares lists. Phase 2 will take effect on Monday 30 November. This includes an update to the FCA's system for position reporting to facilitate persons uploading and submitting multiple submissions in a single "bulk submission".
[View source.]
;) ;) Report
Related Posts
- UK FCA on consumer duty progress and what comes next
- UK FCA consults on cryptoasset perimeter guidance
- UK FCA Primary market bulletin No. 62
- UK FCA consults on changes to the UK short selling regime
Latest Posts
DISCLAIMER: Because of the generality of this update, the information provided herein may not be applicable in all situations and should not be acted upon without specific legal advice based on particular situations.
Attorney Advertising.
©
A&O Shearman
Written by:
A&O Shearman Contact + Follow more less
PUBLISH YOUR CONTENT ON JD SUPRA
- ✔ Increased readership
- ✔ Actionable analytics
- ✔ Ongoing writing guidance Join more than 70,000 authors publishing their insights on JD Supra
Published In:
Disclosure Requirements + Follow Final Rules + Follow Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) + Follow New Legislation + Follow New Regulations + Follow Regulatory Oversight + Follow Regulatory Reform + Follow Regulatory Requirements + Follow Reporting Requirements + Follow Securities Regulation + Follow Short Sales + Follow Short Selling + Follow UK + Follow Finance & Banking + Follow Securities + Follow more less
A&O Shearman on:
"My best business intelligence, in one easy email…"
Your first step to building a free, personalized, morning email brief covering pertinent authors and topics on JD Supra: Sign Up Log in ** By using the service, you signify your acceptance of JD Supra's Privacy Policy.* - hide - hide
Related changes
Get daily alerts for JD Supra Finance & Banking
Daily digest delivered to your inbox.
Free. Unsubscribe anytime.
Source
About this page
Every important government, regulator, and court update from around the world. One place. Real-time. Free. Our mission
Source document text, dates, docket IDs, and authority are extracted directly from A&O Shearman.
The summary, classification, recommended actions, deadlines, and penalty information are AI-generated from the original text and may contain errors. Always verify against the source document.
Classification
Who this affects
Taxonomy
Browse Categories
Get alerts for this source
We'll email you when JD Supra Finance & Banking publishes new changes.
Subscribed!
Optional. Filters your digest to exactly the updates that matter to you.