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7. Your first file

A step-by-step run through, best done in practice mode.

1. Download the template from the template guide. It contains worked examples.
2. Delete the example rows, keeping the header row.
3. Add one row for each trade from the last working day. Start with two or three trades.
4. Fill in the columns marked needed, then the ones that apply to the trade. The template guide explains every column, and the lessons cover the ideas behind them.
5. Save as CSV (in Excel: Save as, then CSV UTF-8).
6. Upload it on the Upload page.
7. Read the feedback on the file's page. Fix anything held back, decide on anything with a warning, and upload the corrected rows.
8. In practice mode, answers arrive within 15 minutes. Open the Reports page to see each report's status.
9. When your files come through clean, you can choose Test with DTCC on the Account page. We set up your LEI and email you when it is ready. Your files then reach DTCC's test system, but not the FCA, and you can go back to practice at any time.

Tips

• Keep the header row exactly as in the template; columns may be in any order, and those you never use may be left blank.
• Dates are YYYY-MM-DD; trade times are UTC, for example 2026-09-01T09:30:15Z, and at least to the millisecond for a trade on a UK or EU venue under your own membership.
• References are capital letters and digits only.
• One-off trades are easier to enter on the Single report form.
• Send each day's trades the same day or the next morning: reports are due by the end of the working day after the trade.

When you are ready to go live

Subscribe from the Account page. We then ask DTCC to set up your LEI for live reporting and email you when you are live. Keep reporting through your current arrangements until then.

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