Form

NNDR3: national non-domestic rates - validation notes

Updated 9 April 2025

Applies to England

Please read this form before submitting NNDR3.

The National Non-Domestic Rates (NNDR) Return 2024-25 is designed to report your authority’s non-domestic rating contribution for 2024-25 under the business rates retention system. On receipt of your form, we carry out a number of checks to satisfy ourselves that the form has been completed without errors, but it is also useful to understand why the data varies significantly from that provided from the previous year’s NNDR3 on key items within the form. To do this, we ask that you review and provide explanations in the ‘Main validation’ tab.

NNDR3 form

A number of validation checks are built into the NNDR3 form and there is space on the ‘Main Validation’ sheet for local authorities to comment on any data that have flagged the validation checks. Details of the validation fields that are included in the validation sheet in the NNDR3 form are set out below.

Even where the reason for the variance may be obvious, or out of the authority’s control (e.g. changes to relief values), please still check that the data matches your internal figures and provide comment. This ensures there have been no data entry errors and also helps us to inform policy colleagues of the scale of known issues.

Messages highlighting potential errors have also been included in the form, so do please double check calculations where an error message has appeared in the form. The ‘Main validation’ tab includes a general comments box which you could use to provide further explanations on any error message remaining. We will contact you for an explanation if the error messages have not been explained.

Please note we may need to contact the local authority for additional information following the validation in our database, so it is essential that full contact details are entered in the appropriate place in Part 1 of the NNDR3 form. These details will not be shared outside of the MHCLG data collection team.

General checks

Certification

The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government requires the NNDR3 to be certified by the Chief Financial Officer or Section 151 officer. The Excel copy of the NNDR1 form should be sent by the Chief Financial or Section 151 officer with their e-signature and a confirmation they are happy with the figures in the form.

The first deadline, to submit the form containing data aligned to provisional accounts is Friday 30 May 2025.

There will be a deadline of Friday 28 November for either a final post-audit form (if available) or revised provisional form (if necessary).

The audit deadline for 2024-25 is Friday 27 February 2026 and we will confirm our deadline in relation to submitting final, post-audit forms to this in due course.
We ask that you select the status of the form being submitted each time from the drop down options in Part 1, so that we have a clear understanding of the status and changes being submitted.

The confirmation by the Chief Financial or Section 151 officer should be as follows, for the provisional form:

“I confirm that the amounts entered in this form are in accordance with schedule 7B of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and regulations made under it.”

And for the final post-audit form:

“I certify that the amounts entered in this form are in accordance with schedule 7B of the Local Government Finance Act 1988 and regulations made under it and are consistent with the amounts for non-domestic rates in the authority’s post-audit opinion Statement of Accounts.

I further certify that the amounts of s.47 rate relief for which the authority claims s.31 grant have been given to ratepayers in accordance with the relevant guidance issued by the government.”

Alterations

The NNDR3 form is an auditor-certified form. If alterations need to be made to the form, please submit a revised form, clearly indicating that the form is revised. A copy of the revised form must be certified by your CFO / S151 officer and resubmitted by email.

Arithmetic calculations

Before returning the form, please ensure that all arithmetic calculations are correct and that data are specified to the correct number of decimal places. Data should be entered in £s only – pence should not be reported.

We are not allowed to alter the form, even the smallest changes will need to be amended and signed by the CFO / S151 officer. The completing officer needs therefore to ensure that the correct rounding conventions are used.

Validation checks in the ‘main validation’ sheet

Mandatory reliefs (Tests 1 - 7)

We compare the mandatory reliefs reported for 2024-25 with those that were provided in the NNDR3 for 2023-24. Please note that this will use the updated data that was published on 23 January 2025.

Explanation will be required if the figure for 2024-25 has changed by more than the following amounts. The line references in brackets relate to the 2024-25 NNDR3 form and will compare data in the total column (column 7).

Test 1

The cost of Small Business Rate Relief granted (Part 3 Line 7) - by more than 5% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £500,000.

Test 2

The cost of Charity relief (Part 3 Line 12) - by more than 15% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £300,000.

Test 3

The cost of Community Amateur Sports Clubs relief (Part 3 Line 14 - by more than 10% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £10,000.

Test 4

The cost of Rural rate relief (Part 3 Line 16) - by more than 5% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £10,000.

Test 5

The cost of Public lavatories relief (Part 3 Line 19) - by more than 10% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £3,000.

Test 6

The cost of Partly Occupied “relief” (Part 3 Line 25) - by more than 20% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £100,000.

Test 7

The cost of Empty Property “relief” (Part 3 Line 27) - by more than 25% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £500,000.

Discretionary reliefs (Tests 8 - 13)

We compare the discretionary reliefs reported for 2024-25 with that provided in the NNDR3 for 2023-24. Explanation will be required if the figure for 2024-25 has changed by more than the following amounts.

The line references in brackets relate to the 2024-25 NNDR3 form and will compare data in the total column (column 7)

Test 8

The cost of Charity relief (Part 3 Line 30) - by more than 15% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £50,000.

Test 9

The cost of Non-Profit bodies’ relief (Part 3 Line 32) - by more than 15% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £50,000.

Test 10

The cost of Community Amateur Sports Clubs relief (Part 3 Line 34) - by more than 5% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £2,000.

Test 11

The cost of Other Small Rural Businesses relief (Part 3 Line 37) - by more than 5% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £2,000.

Test 12

The cost of Retail, Hospitality and Leisure (RHL) relief (Part 3 Line 59) – by more than 15% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £500,000.

Test 13

The cost of other s47 discretionary relief (Part 3 Line 39) - by more than 25% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £75,000.

Below are a few examples of the type of explanations we might expect:

• councils may have had a change of policy and approved more/fewer reliefs
• Charity Relief increased due to relief being given to a large leisure centre and this was not known when completing the NNDR1
• following publicity there is a greater number of applications received than anticipated

We will seek further explanations if the comment provided is not adequately descriptive. Examples that are not adequate and will prompt us to send further queries are

• figures gone up/down
• figures OK

Other checks (Tests 14 - 25)

We also carry out some further checks, mostly comparing figures reported for 2024-25 with those provided on the NNDR3 for 2023-24. Explanation will be required if the figure for 2024-25 has changed by more than the following amounts.

Test 14

The non-domestic rating income (Part 1 line 11) - by more than 20% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £15,000,000.

Test 15

Gross rates payable (Part 3 reconciliation line 1 column 7) - by more than 10% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £10,000,000.

Test 16

The net rates payable (Part 2 line 1 column 3) - by more than 15% (either up or down).

Test 17

The sums written off (Part 2 line 3 column 3) - by more than 10% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £1,000,000.

Test 18

The sums outstanding from ratepayers (Part 5 line 11 column 5) - by more than 20% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £2,000,000.

Test 19

The sum, outstanding due to ratepayers (Part 5 line 12 column 5) - by more than 20% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £2,500,000.

Test 20

The non-collection closing balance (Part 5 line 17 column 5) - by more than 15% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £2,000,000.

Test 21

The provision for backdated appeals adjustment, closing balance (Part 5 line 27 column 5) - by more than 25% (either up or down) and the actual difference is more than £5,000,000.

The following three tests (tests 22 -24) seek an explanation for the adjustments made to previously reported opening balance figures. This will allow us to confirm this against submitted returns and understand why these figures are being adjusted.

Test 22

The allowance for non-collection opening balance adjustment (Part 5 Line 14 column 5) is not zero

Test 23

The appeals adjustment opening balance adjustment (Part 5 Line 19 column 5) is not zero

Test 24

Collection Fund opening balance adjustment (Part 5 Line 29 column 5) is not zero

Test 25 is looking to check whether the total COVID-19 Addition Relief Fund relief to be provided in respect of 2021-22 (taken as a sum across the 2021-22to 2024-25 forms) has exceeded the amount of compensation that will be paid. If this is the case, then confirmation would be helpful.

Test 25

The difference between the CARF relief to be paid (Part 3 Line 62 plus amounts reported in previous year’s forms) and the maximum amount of compensation to be paid is more than £0.