How to Write a SEBI-Compliant Research Report: Format and Disclosures (2026)
A research report is not just your analysis. For a SEBI-registered Research Analyst it is a regulated document with mandatory disclosures, a defined rating system, a disclaimer, a signature and a five-year retention rule. Get the format right once, turn it into a template, and every report after that is fast and clean. Here is the structure and the disclosures SEBI expects.
Note: General information for Research Analysts, not legal advice. The disclosure requirements are summarised here; confirm the exact wording against the SEBI (Research Analysts) Regulations and the latest SEBI FAQs before publishing.
The structure of a compliant report
A SEBI-compliant research report has a predictable shape. Build it once as a template and you stop thinking about compliance and start thinking about the analysis:
1. Header and identity
Report title, date, subject company and ticker, your name or entity, and your SEBI registration number.
2. Summary and recommendation
The headline takeaway and, if you rate, the rating with its defined meaning, time horizon and benchmark.
3. Factual basis
What the filing, result or event actually says: the numbers, the facts, the source. This is the part AI can draft for you.
4. Analysis and rationale
Your view and the reasoning behind any recommendation. This is the part only the registered analyst can write.
5. Risks
The key risks to the view, stated plainly.
6. Disclosures
Financial interest, 1%+ ownership, other conflicts, associate details, and the extent of AI-tool use.
7. Disclaimer and sign-off
The standard disclaimer (minimum 10 font), the not-regulated-services note, your signature and the date.
The mandatory disclosures
These are the parts SEBI specifically requires, and the parts an auditor or an aggrieved client will look for first:
- Identity: your name or research entity, SEBI registration number, the nature of your business, terms and conditions, and details of associates.
- Financial interest and ownership: whether you or your associates or relatives have any financial interest in the subject company, and whether you hold actual or beneficial ownership of 1% or more, at the time of publication.
- Other conflicts: any other material conflict of interest.
- AI use: under Regulation 19, the extent to which AI tools are used in providing the research service.
- Disclaimer: a prominent disclaimer in at least 10 font size, including that any other services you offer are not regulated by SEBI.
If you use a rating system
Many RAs label recommendations (buy, hold, sell, or their own terms). If you do, SEBI requires you to define the meaning of each rating, the time horizon it applies over, and the benchmark it is measured against. A rating with no defined meaning or horizon is a common audit finding. Keep the rationale for each recommendation on record so you can show why a call was made.
Signed, dated, kept for five years
A research report must be duly signed and dated, and preserved for five years under Regulation 25. The signature and date are not a formality: they fix the moment a recommendation was made, which is the entire point of the record. A Word file with an editable modified date does not demonstrate when the call was first published. This is why a tamper-evident archive matters.
Where AI fits, and where it does not
AI can write the boring 80%: the factual summary of a filing, the key numbers, the standard structure, the first draft. That is genuinely most of the time you spend on a report. What AI cannot do is make the recommendation or carry the responsibility. The registered analyst reviews the draft, checks it against the source, adds the view, and signs.
Aktai is built around exactly that split. It reads the BSE or NSE filing and drafts a factual note in under 10 seconds, with no buy or sell language unless you add it, then you edit, add your view, and send it under your own name. Every send is SHA-256 hashed and retained for five years, so the signed-and-dated record the regulations require exists automatically, and your AI-use disclosure is honest because you know exactly what the tool did.
FAQ
What disclosures are mandatory in a SEBI research report?
Your name and SEBI registration number, the nature of your business, your terms and conditions, and details of associates. You must disclose any financial interest in the subject company, actual or beneficial ownership of 1% or more, and any other material conflict of interest at the time of publication. If you use a rating system, define each rating with its time horizon and benchmark. Add a clear disclaimer (minimum 10 font size) that any other services you offer are not regulated by SEBI.
Does a research report have to be signed and dated?
Yes. A research report should be duly signed and dated, and preserved for a period of 5 years under Regulation 25. The signature and date matter because they fix when a recommendation was made; an editable file with a recent modified date does not satisfy this.
Do I have to disclose the use of AI in a research report?
Yes. Under Regulation 19, a Research Analyst must disclose the extent to which AI tools are used in providing research services, and you remain fully responsible for the output and for client-data security regardless of the tools you use.
What goes in the rating or recommendation section?
If you give a rating (buy, hold, sell, or your own labels), you must define what each rating means, the time horizon it applies over, and the benchmark it is measured against. Keep the rationale for the recommendation on record. Aktai keeps factual filing notes and explicit calls separate so the compliance record stays clean.
Can AI draft my research reports for me?
AI can draft the factual base, the summary of a filing, the key numbers, the structure, and save you most of the writing time. It cannot make the recommendation or carry the responsibility. The registered analyst reviews, edits, adds the view, and signs. Aktai works exactly this way: it drafts the factual note from the filing in seconds, and you remain the author.