How to check a firm is authorised on the Financial Services Register

Before you move money, take out a loan, accept investment advice or hand over pension savings, one check takes a few minutes and can save everything: is this firm actually authorised? The Financial Services Register, at register.fca.org.uk, is the official public record of every firm and individual the UK regulators have authorised¹. It shows what each firm is allowed to do, whether it is still trading, and whether the regulators have published warnings about it². The FCA also offers a simplified consumer tool, the Firm Checker, which answers the same question in a friendlier format³.

The check matters because fraudsters routinely impersonate authorised firms, and because some firms simply operate without permission at all, which the FCA states is against the law¹. A firm that is not authorised leaves you outside the Financial Ombudsman Service and, in most cases, outside FSCS protection, so if things go wrong you are unlikely to get your money back⁴. This page walks through how to search the register, how to read an entry, how to spot a clone firm, and exactly what authorisation does and does not protect you against.

What the Financial Services Register shows

The Financial Services Register is the official public record for all firms and individuals involved in regulated activities. It contains the FCA's full regulatory record for each one, including historic fines, whether the firm has the right to approve financial promotions, and whether it is permitted to handle client money¹. The register lists all the firms and individuals involved with regulated activities, and you can search it by name or reference number, narrowing the results by adding a location such as a postcode or town³.

The register answers three practical questions. First, does the firm exist and is it authorised? Second, what is it allowed to do? The FCA register will tell you what the firm is allowed to do, and whether it is still trading². Third, what has happened to it? Because the register holds the FCA's full regulatory record, you can use it to find out whether a firm was authorised when you first bought a product or service, which matters if a dispute arises years later¹.

The FSCS, the body that compensates customers when authorised firms fail, directs people to the same source: you can check the Financial Services Register on the FCA's website at register.fca.org.uk to see if the firm mentioned in an offer is authorised⁷. The register is also the place to confirm a firm held a specific permission at the time you dealt with it, for example the permission to provide targeted support, which customers are told to verify on the register⁸.

Unexpected offers are likely to be high risk or scams

The register itself carries a blunt warning: if you have been contacted unexpectedly about an opportunity, it is likely to be high risk or a scam³. That covers the cold call about an investment, the text about a pension review, the social media message about a loan or the email promoting a trading platform. The FCA's ScamSmart campaign directs anyone suspicious of an investment or pension offer to check the details of the investment and whether the provider is genuine on the FCA's website⁹.

The scale of the problem is documented by the regulators themselves. In one FCA crackdown, firms that held UK authorisation but misused it faced actions including restricting their trading abilities, requiring independent reviews of their business and opening enforcement investigations¹⁰. Boiler room schemes, where fraudsters cold-call with shares that are worthless or do not exist, are countered with the same advice: check the FCA register or call 0800 111 6768⁹.

Loan fee fraud works the same way. MoneyHelper advises anyone offered a loan to check they are using a legitimate loan provider by searching the FCA Firm Checker and using the contact details listed there, not the ones given to you¹¹. Age UK adds a note for the age of artificial intelligence: before investing a penny, check the firm on the FCA Register, and if it is not listed, walk away¹².

The consequences of skipping the check are set out plainly by the FSCS: if you do not use an FCA-authorised firm, you also will not have access to FSCS or the Financial Ombudsman Service, so you are unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong⁴. The wider warning signs of a scam, the pressure tactics and the payment methods fraudsters prefer, are covered in how to spot a scam, and what to do in the first hour after paying a fraudster is covered in first steps for victims.

How to search the register by name, reference number or postcode

The register can be searched by firm name or by reference number, and you can narrow the results by adding a location³. A search needs at least two characters³. If a firm has given you its firm reference number (FRN), use it: the FSCS advises searching the FCA register using your adviser's firm reference number for the most accurate results¹³, and the same advice applies to insurance providers¹⁴. Names can be shared, abbreviated or deliberately imitated, but an FRN points to one record.

A step-by-step check looks like this:

1. Go to register.fca.org.uk, or use the FCA's Firm Checker for a simplified version³.
2. Enter the firm's name or, better, its FRN. Add a postcode or town if the name is a common one³.
3. Read the status line: is the firm shown as authorised, and is it still trading?²
4. Check the permissions: does the entry cover the activity you are being offered?¹⁵
5. Compare the contact details on the entry with the ones the firm gave you¹⁶.
6. Look for warnings: the FCA publishes warnings about unauthorised firms, and these appear on the Firm Checker and register when you search for the firm¹.

If you cannot find the firm at all, do not assume the register is at fault. The FSCS protection checker, which is based on the FCA's Financial Services Register, tells users who cannot find their firm that they can search the register themselves to check if the firm is authorised¹⁴. A firm that cannot be found is very likely unauthorised, and the FCA's own guidance is that some financial services firms work without authorisation, which is against the law¹. One curiosity: FCA employees are not listed on the register or Firm Checker¹.

Checking permissions, not just authorisation

Authorisation is not a single licence. A firm is authorised to carry out specific activities, and the FCA's Firm Checker exists to help consumers check whether firms are authorised and have permission to sell the products and services they are offering³. A firm can be perfectly genuine, on the register, and still not permitted to do what it is offering you.

The FSCS sets out the two-step check. First, check your provider is authorised by the FCA. Second, find out if the particular activity that the authorised firm is carrying out for you is regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the FCA¹⁵. Both steps matter, because FSCS protection applies only where the authorised firm's activity is regulated by the PRA or the FCA². The scale behind the register explains why the permissions line matters: there are around 38,000 firms with permissions, around 5,000 of which are lenders¹⁸.

For lending specifically, the FCA gives a worked route: search the firm by name, select the category covering borrowing money, including credit card lending and credit information, and check that the firm is 'Authorised' and has permission to 'Lend you money on an unsecured basis'¹⁹. Payday lenders must be authorised by the FCA, which publishes a list of licensed lenders on the register²⁰. Credit brokers must appear on the register too: the Financial Ombudsman Service advises making sure any broker you use is on the Financial Services Register, which means they are authorised and regulated²¹.

Claims management companies are also on the register. National Debtline advises using the online FCA Firm Checker tool to check whether a business is currently registered with the FCA and has permission to provide claims management services²². The exception is legal practitioners: if a solicitor or firm of solicitors provides the claim management service as part of their usual business, they will not be regulated by the FCA for that activity²².

Clone firms: match the contact details, not just the name

Finding a firm on the register is not the end of the check. Fraudsters know people have heard the advice to check the register, so they borrow the identity of a genuinely authorised firm: the same name, the same FRN, sometimes a website copied line for line. These are clone firms, and the FCA issued 1,053 alerts between January and October 2020, of which 401 were about clone firms where fraudsters pretend to be authorised firms⁵.

The defence is to match the contact details. The Financial Ombudsman Service, in its guidance on fraud and scams, tells consumers to use the FCA's Firm Checker to confirm the firm is authorised, and also to check the contact details match those listed on Firm Checker, to avoid scammers pretending to be a real firm¹⁷. Its guidance on insurance says the same¹⁶. MoneyHelper's advice on loan fee fraud is more blunt still: use the contact details listed on the Firm Checker, not the ones given to you¹¹.

The register is kept current enough for this to work. Most firms the FCA authorises must update or confirm their contact information at least once a year¹. So the check is: find the firm's entry, take the phone number and website from the register itself, and use those to make contact, ignoring any number, email address or link the firm or its representatives gave you.

If a caller pressures you to act quickly, or discourages you from checking, that pressure is itself a warning sign. The dedicated guide to clone firms covers how these impersonations work in detail, and how to check your bank is really contacting you covers the same problem when the impersonated firm is your own bank.

Warnings, investigations and unauthorised firms

The FCA maintains a Warning List alongside the register. It is a list of firms and individuals that the FCA knows are operating without its authorisation²³, and it can be used to check if a firm or individual is known to the FCA to be operating without permission or running scams²⁴. Scottish Government guidance notes the Warning List is updated daily²⁵. If the FCA has published a warning about an unauthorised firm, it will appear on the Firm Checker and the register when you search for the firm, and the full list is on the FCA Warning List¹.

The Warning List is not the same as an investigation. The FCA takes enforcement action against firms that misuse authorisation as well as those that lack it: in its crackdown on firms misusing UK authorisation, firms faced a range of actions, including restricting their trading abilities, requiring independent reviews of their business and opening enforcement investigations¹⁰. Two investigations were opened in that crackdown¹⁰. But an investigation is not a finding of wrongdoing, and a firm under investigation may still appear on the register as authorised.

For the consumer, the practical rule is simple. A firm on the Warning List, or one that appears on the register with a warning attached, is not a firm to send money to. A firm that is not on the register at all is unauthorised, and offering regulated financial services without authorisation is against the law¹. The FCA is the go-to contact if you want to check whether a firm is legitimate or report a possible scam²⁶.

The FCA Warning List and the ScamSmart campaign have their own guide at the FCA Warning List and ScamSmart, and where to report a scam in each part of the UK is covered at reporting a scam.

Checking by phone: the FCA consumer helpline

Not everyone wants to search online, and the official guidance in every nation of the UK offers the same alternative: you can use the online FCA register or telephone the FCA consumer helpline²⁶. The helpline number is 0800 111 6768, and the same number can provide information in large print, Braille or audio format⁶. The FSCS repeats the number in its own fraud guidance: check the FCA register or call 0800 111 6768⁹.

The helpline is useful in three situations. First, when you cannot find a firm on the register and want to confirm it is genuinely absent rather than listed under a slightly different name. Second, when you are unsure how to read an entry, for example whether a permission covers the activity you are being offered. Third, when you want to report a firm or individual you believe is operating without authorisation, since the FCA is the go-to contact for checking a firm's legitimacy or reporting a possible scam²⁶.

Calling the helpline does not change what the register says: the helpline staff read the same record. But they can help you search it, confirm what a status or permission means, and take a report. If you have already paid money to a firm that turns out to be unauthorised, the priority is your bank and the police, covered in first steps for victims, not the helpline.

What authorisation does and does not protect

Authorisation opens two doors. The first is the Financial Ombudsman Service. The ombudsman may be able to help with a complaint about a financial adviser or pensions provider that is regulated by the FCA¹⁷, and its guidance on fraud and scams tells consumers to check the firm is regulated using the FCA's Firm Checker before complaining¹⁷. The same principle runs through its guidance on banking and payments²⁷ and on insurance¹⁶. The second door is the FSCS. If the FCA search results show the adviser's status as 'authorised', FSCS may be able to compensate you if they fail¹³.

Both doors close if the firm is not authorised. If you do not use an FCA-authorised firm, you also will not have access to FSCS or the Financial Ombudsman Service, so you are unlikely to get your money back if things go wrong⁴. The FSCS also relies on authorised firms for the machinery of compensation: FCA authorised firms are required to provide the information FSCS needs in a timely manner as a result of the FCA's COMP rules²⁸.

Authorisation has limits even when it is in place. FSCS protection applies only where the particular activity the authorised firm is carrying out for you is regulated by the PRA or the FCA². The PRA is the part of the Bank of England responsible for the prudential regulation of banks, building societies, insurers and major investment firms²⁹, so some firms are authorised by the PRA rather than the FCA, and the register covers both¹. Some bodies are outside the system altogether: Homes England and the Help to Buy: Equity Loan product are exempt from FCA authorisation and regulation, with complaints handled through a separate procedure³⁰.

Nor does authorisation mean the FCA vouches for a firm's products or its solvency. The FCA cannot pay compensation, and it cannot order a firm such as a claims management company to compensate you even if you have received poor service; complaints about a claims company's conduct go to the FCA, but money disputes go elsewhere³¹. The register itself carries a disclaimer: the FCA cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information and does not accept liability for errors or missing information³. That is why the full check is a chain: authorised status, the right permissions, matching contact details, and no warnings.

For a scam that has already happened, the protections that matter are different: bank transfer fraud is dealt with through your bank under the authorised push payment rules, covered in authorised push payment reimbursement, and the differences between FSCS cover and scam reimbursement are set out at FSCS protection or APP reimbursement. What you lose by dealing with an unauthorised firm is covered in full at protections you lose by dealing with an unauthorised firm.