Abstract Near-surface mounted (NSM) FRP systems have a number of advantages over externally bonded (EB) FRP systems. Relying exclusively on epoxy-filler bond, however, conventional NSM FRP systems cannot ensure the tensile strength of FRP reinforcements to be fully developed. The liquid characteristics of epoxy filler before curing also narrow NSM FRP applications down to negative moment regions. In this study, an anchored NSM FRP system has been developed to fully develop the FRP tensile strength with a minimum epoxy filler. Anchorages are the extended parts of FRP reinforcements embedding into predrilled holes and then overlapping FRP material within anchor regions. Experiments were conducted to validate the proposed NSM FRP system and investigate the impacts of key parameters, i.e. location and density of grooves as well as the amount of epoxy. Experimental results also suggest a great potential extending the anchored NSM FRP system to positive moment regions.