How to check a firm or individual is authorised

Using authorised firms

Using an authorised firm, with the correct permissions, will greatly reduce the risk of harm. It won’t remove all risk.

If you deal with a firm that isn’t authorised, or that doesn’t have permission for the activities you need, you won’t have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service if you want to complain.

You also won’t be protected by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) if the firm goes out of business. This means that it’s unlikely you’d get your money back.

What to do if a firm is unauthorised

Unfortunately, there are firms that work without our authorisation. This is against the law.

If we’ve published a warning about an unauthorised firm, this will appear on the FS Register and the Firm Checker when you search for the firm.

Some unauthorised firms might appear as clone firms. A clone firm is a copy of a genuine, authorised firm. As part of a clone firm scam, fraudsters pretend to work for the authorised firm to con you.

For a full list of the firms we’ve published warnings about, you can search our Warning List. 

Find out more about how to protect yourself from scams.

No longer authorised or revoked firms

On the FS Register, if you see a firm that's 'No longer authorised' or 'Revoked' it means that the firm's authorisation has been cancelled and you should avoid dealing with it.

These firms won’t appear on the Firm Checker unless they get authorised again.

Products and services we do and don't regulate

Financial firms offer a wide range of products and services, some of which we regulate, and some of which we don't.  

Firms we authorise can offer both regulated and unregulated products and services. But we have more limited powers over unregulated products and services.  

Below we’ve listed a few common types of financial products and services which we do and don’t regulate. 

Appointed representatives

You may notice that some firms on the FS Register and the Firm Checker are listed as appointed representatives (ARs). This means they’re carrying out activities on behalf of another firm, known as their principal.

ARs can have more than one principal. The principal agrees what activities the AR can do and is responsible for that business.  

It’s important you check with the principal if you have concerns about an AR or the products and services it can offer. If an AR has gone beyond the activities the principal has allowed, you may not be protected by the Financial Ombudsman or the FSCS if something goes wrong.  

You can find contact details for ARs and principals on the FS Register and the Firm Checker. You can ask the principal to confirm what activities the AR has permission for and how you'd be protected if something went wrong.