National Security and Investment Act 2021
Guidance and information about the National Security and Investment Act.
The Government has now published a report on the NSI Act Notifiable Acquisition Regulations. This report sets out the assessment and conclusions of the review of the National Security and Investment Act (Notifiable Acquisition) (Specification of Qualifying Entities) Regulations 2021.
The National Security and Investment Act (NSI) came into force on 4 January 2022.
The NSI Act gives the government powers to scrutinise and intervene in business transactions, such as takeovers, to protect national security, while providing businesses and investors with the certainty and transparency they need to do business in the UK.
This page provides links to guidance on the rules and the accompanying legislation.
Submitting a notification about an acquisition
We have provided guidance on the information you need to complete a notification form.
We have also published the forms here so you can collect all the information you need before submitting your answers via the NSI notification service.
In exercising its statutory functions under the National Security and Investment Act 2021, the Investment Security Unit within the Cabinet Office may observe, monitor, record, retain and share within government internet data which is available to anyone. This is known as ‘open source’ material and includes:
- News reports
- Internet sites
- Public records such as Companies House and Land Registry
- Blogs and social networking sites where no privacy settings have been applied
The Cabinet Office may also use third party service providers, including aggregators of open-source information, to obtain information.
Submit a notification about an acquisition via the NSI service
Statement on the use of the call-in power
The Section 3 Statement sets out how the Secretary of State can exercise the power to give a call-in notice, as set out in section 3 of the NSI Act.
Principal guidance on the rules about acquisitions that could harm the UK's national security
- NSI Act guidance overview: this guidance sets out what types of acquisitions are covered, when you need to tell the government about an acquisition, and how the government will scrutinise the acquisition
- Guidance on notifiable acquisitions in the 17 mandatory areas: If an entity you are acquiring performs a certain activity, it could put you in scope of the National Security and Investment Act and you may be legally required to tell the government about it (known as a ‘mandatory notification’). This guidance tells you what these activities are.
- How to submit a notification form: assists parties when completing a notification form and explains the information parties might need to include when completing the form. This is accompanied by a privacy notice explaining how the ISU processes personal data and how it applies data protection principles.
- This flowchart is to help you decide whether you need to notify the government about an acquisition
- Market Guidance notes: we will publish regular updates to the market on various aspects of the NSI Act.
Other related guidance and documents
Notice of final orders made under the Act
Annual reports
Legislation
Read the National Security and Investment Act 2021 on legislation.gov.uk.
Secondary legislation
- Notifiable acquisition statutory instrument - this sets out the acquisitions of qualifying entities in the 17 areas of the economy that are subject to the mandatory notification requirements
- Monetary Penalties statutory instrument - this sets out the methods for calculating business turnover in the event of the Secretary of State issuing monetary penalties for non-compliance with the National Security and Investment Act
- Form and Content of Notification Forms Statutory Instrument - this sets out the information required in the notification forms that parties can submit to the government under the Act
- Procedure for Service Statutory Instrument - this sets out how the government sends and receives documents under the Act
Review of the operation of the NSI Act processes
A wide variety of parties invest in the UK economy, including private enterprises, institutional investors, sovereign wealth funds, state-owned enterprises, and individuals. The test for whether an acquisition is a qualifying acquisition, and whether it requires mandatory notification, relies on the facts of that acquisition and whether it meets the relevant tests of the NSI Act, rather than the characteristics or nature of the acquirer.
The ISU has been asked whether there are any plans to exempt certain businesses and investors. The NSI Act gives the government power to create exemptions from mandatory notification requirements based on the “characteristics” of the acquirer. There are currently no exemptions for any specific type of acquirers made under this power.
The government is monitoring closely how the NSI Act works in practice, analysing trends and risks to determine whether it would be appropriate to make exemptions to the mandatory notification requirements.
Any regulations which define exemptions to the mandatory notification system under the NSI Act would be subject to Parliamentary scrutiny.
Updates to this page
Published 11 November 2020Last updated 19 December 2024 + show all updates
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Updated to include a link to the page: Report on the NSI Act Notifiable Acquisition Regulations
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Removed a message regarding now completed maintenance
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Added a message regarding upcoming maintenance of the system
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Removed a message regarding now completed maintenance
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Added a message regarding upcoming maintenance of the system
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Removed a message regarding now completed maintenance
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Added a message regarding upcoming maintenance of the system
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Updated to include a link to the page: National Security and Investment Act 2021: Annual Report 2023-24
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Removed a message regarding maintenance
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Added a message regarding maintenance
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Removed notice of planned maintenance
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Added a note regarding planned maintenance
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Added a link to the page: Government response to the Business and Trade Committee’s submission to the National Security and Investment Act Call for Evidence 2023
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Updated to remove a notice on maintenance work due to it being completed
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Added a note that the NSI notification service will be unavailable for much of the day on Saturday 17th of February 2024 while essential maintenance takes place.
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Removed notification of maintenance as it has completed
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Added a notice regarding planned maintenance of the NSI notification service
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Updated the collection: Review of the operation of the NSI Act processes
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Updated to remove the notice of the call for evidence as it has now closed.
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Updated to remove the notice for maintenance as it has now been completed.
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Added a note that the NSI notification service will be unavailable for much of the day on Saturday 18th of November 2023 while essential maintenance takes place.
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Added a link to the page: Call for Evidence - National Security and Investment Act
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Adding a message to say that the NSI notification service will be unavailable for much of the day on Saturday 28th October 2023 while essential maintenance takes place.
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Updated to reflect the maintenance work was completed and the service is available again.
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Added a notice that the NSI notification service will be unavailable for much of the day on Saturday 23rd of September 2023 while essential maintenance takes place. We apologise for any inconvenience.
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Added a link to the following page: National Security and Investment Act 2021: Annual Report 2023
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Removed an update regarding maintenance on the system as it has been completed.
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Added a message to inform users that the NSI notification service will be unavailable for much of the day on Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th of July 2023 while essential maintenance takes place. We apologise for any inconvenience.
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Made text changes to accommodate the lates version of the National Security and Investment: Market Guidance April 2023
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Added a new section: Information gathering
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The NSI notification service will be unavailable for much of the day on Monday 10 April 2023 while essential maintenance takes place.
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Added link to Memorandum of Understanding concerning Parliamentary scrutiny of the work of the Investment Security Unit (ISU).
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The NSI notification service will be unavailable on Saturday 4 March 2023 while essential maintenance takes place.
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NSI notification service back online.
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The NSI notification service will be unavailable on the weekend of 14-15 January 2023 while essential maintenance takes place. We apologise for any inconvenience.
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Added link to Notice of Final Orders made under the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
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Added guidance for new build downstream gas and electricity assets.
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Added NSIA annual report 2022, and a Memorandum of understanding on the operation of the National Security and Investment Act 2021.
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Added National Security and Investment Act 2021: guidance on compliance and enforcement.
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The NSI notification service will be unavailable from 4:00pm Sunday 20 March to 9:00am Monday 21 March 2022, due to routine maintenance work. If you have any notifications in progress they will not be affected.
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The National Security and Investment notification service will not be available on Saturday 15 January 2022 between 8:00am and 9:00am while we undertake maintenance. If you have a notification in progress it won't be affected.
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The National Security and Investment (NSI) Act came into force on 4 January 2022. The new rules have now started and the National Security and Investment notification service is open.
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Added NSI notification service forms to provide details of the information that will be required when you submit a notification. The service goes live on 4 January 2022.
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First published.