This guide covers where you can perform a search on the Handbook website and how to search effectively. It sets out:
- the basics of searching on the Handbook website;
- how to use Boolean search parameters to achieve more nuanced results;
- how to perform a search on a specific page of the website;
- how to use the advanced search; and
- what to do if you can’t find what you’re looking for.
Getting started
We’ve improved how you can search across the Handbook website by providing you with richer search functionality. There are multiple ways to search – from localised page searches to a granular advanced search function. The entire website is searchable, including any content within the Handbook or Technical Standards, legal instruments, forms and user guides.
No matter what page you're on, our richer search function will allow you to search for whatever you need. You can search for individual provisions, specific terms, phrases or strings (up to 500 characters long). You can also refine your search using Boolean parameters and filters.
Once you’ve submitted your search query, a list of matching search results will appear, sorted by relevance. The searched-for term(s) from your search query will be highlighted in the search results. Clicking on an item in the list of search results will open the relevant page of the website in a new tab. You’ll be able to see the total number of results for your search term at the top of the page, and the search results will be ordered by relevance by default.
Boolean search parameters
To get to the information you need quickly, you can use Boolean search parameters or apply filters. The filters available depend on which page you are performing your search. For more information on the search functionality available on each page, jump to Searching on specific pages.
Boolean search parameters enable you to broaden or narrow down a set of search results by specifying exactly what you want to see. They provide a more tailored searching experience. You can use the following parameters when performing a search anywhere on the Handbook website. These parameters work in combination with any filters you apply (for example, you can apply a parameter and then filter the results by when they were published).
To ensure your search results are accurate, it’s important to structure the syntax of your search query exactly as indicated against each parameter in the sections below.
General guidelines for all search queries
Your queries must be at least 4 characters long, excluding wildcards (* and ?). The exception would be where short official codes (term names such as EG, FCA, ESG, etc.), These are allowed even if fewer than 4 characters.
Your queries should not entirely consist of only special characters (such as !!!, or %%). Include letters or numbers in your search queries.
If your search query uses parentheses for grouping, ensure each ( has a matching ). For example, the search query (finance AND regulation) employs both an opening parentheses and a matching closing one on either side of the text.
You can use brackets (different from parentheses) to specify a range. For example, you can use […] or {…} to specify a range in your search query like [term1 to term2] or {date1 to date2}.
Do not use consecutive or misplaced wildcards operators. For example, do not use the search queries: **term, ?*term, or *?, ?*
However, you can use wildcard operators inside or at the end of words. For example, the following valid search queries: auto*, or fin?cial
Ensure that you trim extra spaces before or after your search terms to prevent your results from being invalidated.
Note that search queries are case insensitive. This means that, for example, the following terms when searched will yield equivalent results: finance, Finance, FINANCE.
You should use double quotes if your search term includes special characters (ie, "FCA 2025/35" instead of FCA 2025/35).
If your search query leads to more than 5000 results, only the first 5000 results will be shown. Try narrowing down your results using filters, more granular or detailed search terms, or search parameters.
Simple Boolean parameters
I want to search for an exact phrase
I want to search for related phrases
I want to exclude a term from my search
I want a particular term to appear in all results
Adding a plus sign before a term indicates that the term is mandatory – ie, the results returned must include that term.
Searching for market +finance will show you a list of results where the term ‘market’ is optional but the term ‘finance’ must be included.
I want more than one term to appear in all results
AND or && Adding the word ‘AND’ (in capital letters) or ‘&&’ between two terms indicates that the terms joined by it are both mandatory – that is, they are both required components of the search.
Searching market AND finance or market && finance specifies that both the word ‘market’ and the word ‘finance’ must be present in the search results.
Do not repeat the AND operator consecutively. For example, the following syntax will invalidate your search query: AND AND
Do not combine the AND operator with wildcard operators. For example, the following syntax will invalidate your search query: AND *, AND ?
I want to search for one term or another term
By default, when two terms are entered into the search field, the search results will include either or both of those terms – you don’t need to enter any parameters.
Searching market finance will return results that include either the term ‘market’ or the term ‘finance’, or both ‘market’ and ‘finance’.
If you’re creating a complex search query, you can specify that two or more terms should be treated in this way by adding the word ‘OR’ (in capital letters) or ‘||’. For example, searching (SUP AND PRIN) OR (MAR AND COBS) will return results that either contain both ‘SUP’ and ‘PRIN’ or ‘MAR’ and ‘COBS’./p>
Do not repeat the OR operator consecutively. For example, the following syntax will invalidate your search query: OR OR
Do not combine the OR operator with wildcard operators. For example, the following syntax will invalidate your search query: OR *, OR ?
Complex Boolean parameters
I want to group certain terms together
Adding parentheses around two or more terms indicates that those terms are to be grouped in the search results. Using parentheses enables you to chain together parameters into a more complex search query.
Searching (market finance) && abuse indicates that the search result must include either ‘market’ and ‘abuse’, or ‘finance’ and ‘abuse’, or ‘market’, ‘finance’ and ‘abuse’.
Searching (market finance) NOT abuse will return all results that contain the word ‘market’ or the word ‘finance’, or the words ‘market’ and ‘finance’, apart from those that also contain the word ‘abuse’.
I want to prioritise one search term over another
Adding ‘^’ followed by a number (indicated by ‘x’) indicates that a higher priority should be given to a term that it is appended to.
The number you add indicates the level of higher priority you want the term to have in the search.
Searching market finance^2 indicates that the search results must include either ‘market’ or ‘finance’, with the term ‘finance’ given a higher priority or preference than the term ‘market’.
The results will look similar to the results produced if you search for market finance, except that any results containing the term ‘finance’ will be considered as more relevant and so will appear higher up the list.
Boost values less than 1.0 reduce the relative importance of a term in the search query. For example, searching market^0.2 finance indicates that the term ‘market’ should have one fifth of the importance in the search results than the term ‘finance’. This is equivalent to searching market finance^5.
Searching (market && abuse)^5 (finance && abuse)^2 abuse indicates that the term ‘market abuse’ should be prioritised five times more than the term ‘abuse’ on its own. The term ‘finance abuse’ should be prioritised twice as much as the term ‘abuse’ on its own.
I want to search for two terms in proximity to one another
Adding ‘~’ followed by a number (indicated by ‘x’) after two search terms in double quotes indicates that the search terms must be within that number of words apart, in any order.
You might use this operator where you are looking for where the terms searched for occur close to one another, implying that they are related in context. This is useful if you want the terms to be contextually linked but not necessarily as an exact phrase.
Searching for “market finance”~5 specifies that both ‘market’ and ‘finance’ should occur in the search results. The two terms can occur in any order in those results (ie, ‘market’ can come before or after ‘finance’ or vice versa), but the 2 terms must be within five words of each other.
Searching for market “finance abuse”~5 shows you all results that contain the words ‘market’, and also both terms ‘finance’ and ‘abuse’, which must be within 5 words of each other.
Please note that use of any number after ~ that is larger than 9 will invalidate the search query. Therefore, an invalid search query example would be: finance~10.
Page search
When you click on any of the pages of the Handbook website via the left-hand menu, you’ll see a search bar at the top of each page. These search bars search only the content of the particular page on which they sit.
You can use the Boolean search parameters set out above when performing a search on any individual page. You can also use page-specific filters to narrow down the set of results (you can reset your search term(s) and any filters applied by clicking on the clear button). You can find further information about what search functionality is available on each page of the Handbook below.
| Page | Further information |
|---|---|
| Handbook tree | This search operates as a filter, searching only on the titles of modules, sourcebooks, chapters and sections in the Handbook. It will help you find where in the Handbook you need to be. This search applies across the timeline. For further information, see Using the timeline. |
| Handbook provisions | You can search for information in a particular chapter or section of the Handbook by navigating through the Handbook tree and performing a search on the relevant page. For more information about navigating through the Handbook, see Handbook reader’s guide. You can also use the search bar on chapter and section pages when using the timeline features. For further information, see Using the timeline.. If you want to search across the whole Handbook, you can use the Advanced search feature (jump to Using the advanced search for further information). The floating banner at the top of the provisions page can be used to toggle provisions on and off depending on their status and whether they have been deleted. |
| Latest news | When searching on this page, you can enter a date range to see only those results that were published during that time. You can also sort the list of results by date (ie, by when the items were published). The search works across the titles and content of the news items on this page. |
| Glossary | On the Glossary page, you can search to find any Glossary term. All Boolean features apply. You can also use our new ‘Filter by provision’ filter, which enables you to find the Glossary terms that include your selected provision in their definitions. You can also sort the list of results by the order in which they were added or amended, and by alphabetical order (ascending or descending). You can use the search bar on the Glossary page when using the timeline features. For further information, see Using the timeline. |
| Instruments | When searching on this page, you can filter the results by:
You can also select to see only those instruments that were made at the last FCA Board meeting by ticking the ‘Made by last Board’ box. You can sort the list of results by the order in which they were published, and by alphabetical order (ascending or descending). The search works across the titles and content of the instruments on this page. |
| Forms | When searching on this page, you can filter the results by effective date – the date on which the form came into force. You can also enter a date range to find forms that came into force within a particular period. In future, you will also be able to filter results by Type. You can also sort the list of results by most recent effective date (amended/added), and by alphabetical order (ascending or descending). The search works across the titles and content of the forms on this page. |
| Technical Standards tree | This search operates as a filter, searching only on the titles of the articles and chapters of the Technical Standards. You can also use this search bar when viewing the Technical Standards on a particular date using the timeline feature. For further information, see Using the timeline. |
| Technical Standards articles | You can search for information in a particular chapter, section or article of a Technical Standard by navigating through the Technical Standards tree and performing a search on the relevant page. You can also use the search bar on chapter, section or article pages when viewing those pages on a particular date or comparing a timeline. For further information, see Using the timeline. If you want to search across all Technical Standards content, you can use the Advanced search feature (jump to Using the advanced search for further information). |
| Level 3 materials | When searching on this page, you can filter the results by dossier (ie, by the original EU regulation). You can also sort the results by alphabetical order (ascending and descending). The search works across the titles and content of the materials on this page. |
Advanced search
The Advanced search page enables you to search across all content on the Handbook website. To access the Advanced search page, click on ‘Advanced search’ in the left-hand side menu. Advanced search can also be accessed by clicking on ‘Advanced search’ in the menu at the top of any screen.
When you perform a search using the ‘Advanced search’ feature, the results provided are broken down by where they are located on the Handbook website (i.e., on which page you can find them). This gives you a comprehensive picture of where to find further information. To browse the results, click into the individual page tabs.
For a more nuanced set of results, you can use Boolean search parameters (jump up to Boolean search parameters for further information). You can also apply filters to the results in any page tab by clicking on the filter button in the top-right corner of the page. The filters that are available in each page tab are the same as those that are available on the individual pages (jump up to Page search for further information). You can reset your search term(s) and any filters applied by clicking on the clear button.
Troubleshooting search results
If you can’t find what you’re looking for, try the following troubleshooting steps:
- check the spelling of key search phrases or terms;
- check that the syntax used in the search query is correct;
- if the search results are too specific, try broadening your search using more general equivalent terms;
- if the search results are too broad, try narrowing down your search using more granular or detailed terms, or using quote marks to search for exact phrases (jump up to Boolean search parameters for further information); and
- check the filters and/or sorting options you have applied.