ISO 10962-2021 PDF

Full title and description

St ISO 10962-2021 — Securities and related financial instruments — Classification of financial instruments (CFI) code. This International Standard defines the structure and rules for the CFI six‑character code used to classify financial instruments for trading, administration and reference data purposes.

Abstract

ISO 10962:2021 specifies an internationally valid, machine- and human-readable code (the CFI code) that captures fixed characteristics of a financial instrument at issuance. The standard covers code structure, permitted characters, assignment principles and events that may trigger a code change; it is intended for use across exchanges, central securities depositories, national numbering agencies and data vendors.

General information

• Status: Published.
• Publication date: 18 May 2021 (Edition 5, 2021-05).
• Publisher: ISO — International Organization for Standardization.
• ICS / categories: 03.060 (Finances. Banking. Monetary systems. Insurance).
• Edition / version: Edition 5 (2021).
• Number of pages: 9 pages.

Scope

ISO 10962:2021 defines the code structure and rules for the Classification of Financial Instruments (CFI) code to support consistent identification and grouping of securities, derivatives and other financial products. The standard applies to instruments negotiated both internationally and domestically and is intended for any application in trading, settlement, reporting and securities administration. The 2021 edition also establishes maintenance arrangements and an electronic codelist to keep codes up to date with market innovation.

Key topics and requirements

• Definition of the CFI code structure (six alphabetic characters, each position representing a specific characteristic of the instrument).
• Rules for character sets, permitted values per position and interpretation guidance for each code element.
• Assignment principles: when and how a CFI is attributed (normally at issuance) and which events may require reclassification.
• Maintenance model and operation of a dedicated Maintenance Agency / codelist to keep the classification responsive to new products and market needs.
• Interoperability considerations with other reference identifiers and market data processes (used alongside ISINs and other instrument identifiers).

Typical use and users

Primary users include national numbering agencies (NNAs) that assign ISINs, stock exchanges, central securities depositories, broker‑dealers, data vendors, clearing and settlement systems, regulators and enterprise reference‑data teams. The CFI is used in ISIN allocation workflows, trade reporting, data feeds, instrument lookups and risk/portfolio classification. The 2021 edition’s electronic codelist supports automated integration by market data platforms and straight‑through processing.

Related standards

ISO 10962 is commonly used together with: ISO 6166 (ISIN — International Securities Identification Number) for unique instrument identifiers; ISO 18774 (Financial Instrument Short Name, FISN) for standardized short names; and ISO 17442 (Legal Entity Identifier, LEI) for party identification. These standards are all developed within ISO technical work on financial services and are complementary for securities reference data and market infrastructure.

Keywords

CFI, Classification of Financial Instruments, CFI code, securities classification, ISIN companion, reference data, maintenance agency, instrument taxonomy.

FAQ

Q: What is this standard?

A: ISO 10962:2021 is the International Standard that defines the Classification of Financial Instruments (CFI) code — a six‑character code used to describe and classify financial instruments.

Q: What does it cover?

A: It covers the code structure, permitted values for each of the six positions, assignment rules (normally at issuance), events that can trigger a code change and the maintenance process (including an electronic codelist) to keep the classification current.

Q: Who typically uses it?

A: National numbering agencies (ISIN issuers), exchanges, depositories, brokers, data vendors, regulators and enterprise reference‑data teams use the CFI in issuance, reporting, settlement and data distribution workflows.

Q: Is it current or superseded?

A: The 2021 edition (Edition 5) is the current published version; it revised and replaced earlier editions (including the 2019 edition, which was withdrawn).

Q: Is it part of a series?

A: It forms part of ISO’s financial services/reference data family and is frequently used alongside other ISO identifiers and naming standards (for example ISO 6166 for ISIN, ISO 18774 for FISN and ISO 17442 for LEI). The standard is maintained through ISO’s TC 68 work and a designated Maintenance Agency.

Q: What are the key keywords?

A: CFI, classification, financial instruments, securities, code, ISIN companion, maintenance agency, reference data.