What order records and instrument reference data does MiFIR require?

Under Article 25(1), an investment firm keeps at the disposal of its competent authority, for five years, the relevant data on all orders and all transactions in financial instruments it has carried out, whether for its own account or for clients. For client transactions, the records hold all the details of the client's identity and the information required under the anti-money laundering rules. The Article still cites the 2005 AML Directive, and that reference is now read as a reference to the AML legislation that replaced it. ESMA may also ask for access to the data under its founding Regulation.

These MiFIR records sit alongside two other record-keeping duties with their own rules. Recordings of client telephone calls and electronic communications are covered in What must an investment firm record of telephone calls and electronic communications? AML records are covered in How is a risk assessment kept up to date, and how long must AML records be kept?

Under Article 25(2), as replaced by the Listing Act (Regulation (EU) 2024/2809) from 4 December 2024, the operator of a trading venue keeps the relevant data on all orders in financial instruments advertised through its systems for at least five years. Since that date the Regulation requires the data to be kept in a machine-readable format using a common template, and the competent authority may request them on an ongoing basis rather than case by case. The records contain all the data that make up each order's characteristics, including the data that link an order to the transaction or transactions that result from it. ESMA facilitates and coordinates the authorities' access to this information. The detailed content is set by RTS 24 (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/580), which has not been changed. In June 2025 ESMA decided not to propose changes to it for now, so the common template has not been defined and the existing standards still apply in practice. The retention period itself did not change in 2024.

Reference data describe each financial instrument, starting with its identifier and main characteristics. Under Article 27(1), trading venues provide identifying reference data for the instruments admitted to trading or traded on them. The data must be ready in a standardised electronic format before trading in the instrument begins, and updated whenever they change. Since 1 January 2022, following Regulation (EU) 2019/2175, venues send the data directly to ESMA. ESMA publishes them immediately on its website, through its financial instruments reference data system (FIRDS), and gives competent authorities access without undue delay. The data serve transaction reporting and, since 28 March 2024, transparency too. For OTC derivatives, reference data are based on a globally agreed unique product identifier (UPI) plus other identifying data. Delegated Regulation (EU) 2025/1003 sets 1 September 2026 as the date from which this applies to OTC interest rate swaps and credit default swaps, for transparency purposes. ESMA has proposed that the new identifiers be used together with the revised derivatives transparency rules, from 1 March 2027.

The exam material describes the route that applied before 1 January 2022: data submitted to CySEC, which forwarded them to ESMA without delay for publication. It also says systematic internalisers supply reference data. Since 28 March 2024 Article 27(1) no longer names SIs, and it makes designated publishing entities responsible for reference data on OTC derivatives that venues do not cover. ESMA has said these changes apply only once RTS 23 (Delegated Regulation (EU) 2017/585) is revised. It has not been, so the earlier arrangements continue for now, and systematic internalisers still supply reference data. ESMA, after consulting the competent authorities, makes sure the data are received, are of adequate quality and are exchanged efficiently, so that the authorities can supervise firms' conduct and the integrity of the market.