What is SECR?

SECR stands for Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting. It is the UK regulation that makes large companies and LLPs publish their energy use and carbon emissions inside the annual report they already file at Companies House. There is no separate form, portal or return — filing your accounts files the disclosure with them.

It was introduced by the UK government in 2018 (in force for financial years from 1 April 2019), replacing the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. The policy is owned by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ); the calculation methodology is set by DEFRA.

If you only need to know whether it applies to you, the SECR eligibility checker answers that in about 30 seconds. Otherwise, here is everything that matters, in order.

Who has to comply with SECR

Three types of UK-incorporated organisation are caught. You only need to fit one of them to be in scope.

Quoted companies

If your equity is listed on the LSE Main Market, an EEA regulated market, the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ, you report under SECR regardless of size — there is no threshold test. AIM-listed companies are not quoted for SECR purposes (AIM is not a regulated market); they are assessed as large unquoted companies instead.

Large unquoted companies

An unquoted UK company is in scope if it meets two or more of these three tests in the financial year:

Two of the three is enough; one on its own is not. The most common self-assessment error is netting off liabilities on the balance sheet test — it is gross total assets that count, which catches firms that thought they were below the line.

Large LLPs

Large limited liability partnerships meeting two of the same three thresholds file an Energy and Carbon Report alongside their accounts, with the same content as a large unquoted company. The 2018 regulations brought LLPs into scope so they sit on the same footing as companies.

The 2025 change that catches companies out

On 6 April 2025 the government raised the general Companies Act size thresholds — a medium-sized company is now one under £54M turnover / £27M balance sheet. The SECR thresholds did not move. They remain £36M / £18M / 250, and the government's own guidance confirms SECR "no longer aligns with the definition of 'large'."

The trap: a company now reclassified as medium-sized for ordinary accounts purposes can still be in SECR scope. Don't use the new "large company" definition to rule yourself out. Apply the £36M / £18M / 250 tests directly — those are the only thresholds that decide SECR.

How the size test works over time

You never average the figures across years. But the Companies Act applies a two-consecutive-years rule to your size category: after your first financial year, you generally only become — or stop being — "large" once you have met (or failed) the test for two years running. In your very first financial year, meeting it once is enough.

In practice: cross the thresholds for the first time and you are usually caught from the second qualifying year; drop below them after years of reporting and you usually file once more before you can stop.

What goes in the SECR report

Whatever category you fall into, the core content is the same. Inside the Directors' Report you disclose:

• Energy use for the period, in kWh — from electricity, gas and transport fuel.
• Scope 1 and scope 2 greenhouse gas emissions, in tonnes of CO₂ equivalent, calculated with the DEFRA methodology.
• An intensity ratio — emissions against a metric you choose, such as tonnes of CO₂e per £M turnover or per employee.
• A narrative describing the energy efficiency actions taken during the year, plus the methodology behind the figures.
• A prior-year comparison, from your second year of reporting onwards.

Scope 3 (your wider supply-chain emissions) is encouraged but not mandatory under SECR.

The one difference between categories is geographic scope:

To turn raw consumption into emissions you apply the DEFRA conversion factors. The carbon calculator gives you a quick estimate.

Why SECR exists

When a company has to publish its energy use and emissions next to its financials, it pays attention to them. SECR's aim is to surface energy waste, prompt efficiency measures, and let investors, lenders and customers compare like with like — supporting the UK's wider net zero goals. It builds on the older CRC scheme and runs alongside the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS), so larger businesses often face both — see how they differ in our ESOS guide.

Group reporting and subsidiaries

For groups, the size test runs at the consolidated parent level, and the group report covers the whole structure. A UK subsidiary that would otherwise report can opt out if all three of these hold:

• its parent prepares a group SECR report that covers it;
• the subsidiary's Directors' Report contains an opt-out statement; and
• the group report is on the public record at Companies House.

A UK subsidiary of a non-UK parent cannot opt out using a foreign parent's report — the duty stays with the UK entity. Group structures are also the most common reason a report slips, because the data has to be pulled from several sets of books before the parent's deadline.

Exemptions

Even in scope, three narrow exemptions can apply. Each needs a director-signed statement in the Directors' Report:

• Low energy users — 40,000 kWh (40 MWh) or less in the period. You replace the full disclosure with a short statement confirming the position. This is the only common exemption.
• Impractical to obtain the information — genuine first-year edge cases only, with a plan to fix it next year.
• Seriously prejudicial disclosure — a high bar: real commercial harm, not merely "it would help a competitor".

Being medium-sized under the new Companies Act definition is not an exemption.

Deadlines

Because the disclosure sits in the Directors' Report, the deadline is your accounts filing deadline at Companies House:

• Private companies and LLPs — 9 months after the financial year-end.
• Public companies — 6 months after the financial year-end.

The figures must cover the same reporting period as your accounts. Model your exact date with the deadline calculator.

Penalties

The energy and carbon report is part of the statutory Directors' Report, so the stakes are higher than a missed form. Leaving it out is a criminal offence under the Companies Act 2006, with unlimited fines on conviction and every director personally liable. A knowingly false or incomplete disclosure carries the same exposure. Delaying your accounts to fix a SECR gap also triggers Companies House late-filing penalties. See SECR penalties for the full picture.

How to actually do it

The work that takes time is gathering accurate energy data across every site, picking the right DEFRA factor for each source, and writing a narrative that satisfies the regulations without overclaiming. A sensible order:

1. Confirm which category you fall into and your exact filing deadline.
2. Collect and quality-check a full year of energy consumption across every UK site.
3. Calculate scope 1 and scope 2 emissions and a defensible intensity ratio.
4. Draft the Directors' Report disclosure and energy efficiency narrative.

Start a few months ahead and it stays calm; leave it to the accounts deadline and it becomes a scramble. The same energy data also forms the baseline for any later net zero strategy or carbon footprint work, so the effort is rarely wasted.

Not sure? Check in 30 seconds

Answer four quick questions with the SECR eligibility checker and we will tell you where you stand. We don't file SECR reports or sell software — we match you with a vetted, IEMA-qualified SECR specialist who confirms your exact position, your deadline and what the disclosure needs to say. It is free and there is no obligation. You can also talk to us directly.