How to Check a Car Finance Broker on the FCA Register

A correct FCA reference number is not enough to establish that the person offering car finance is genuine. A scammer can copy an authorised firm’s name and number. You need to match the business, its permission for the service and the contact details you are using.

The FCA’s Firm Checker is a consumer-friendly starting point. The full Financial Services Register provides more detail, including trading names and appointed representative relationships. Use the FCA website itself, rather than a screenshot supplied with a quote.

1. Identify the business behind the quote

Have these details beside you when you search:

• Legal and trading names.
• Firm reference number, if supplied.
• Website domain, telephone number and email address.
• The service being offered—for example, arranging car finance as a broker.

A Companies House number and an FCA firm reference number are different things. Registering a limited company does not establish permission to arrange regulated car finance. Similarly, a professional-looking website or a collection of positive reviews does not replace a regulatory check.

A broker introduces applications to lenders, so the eventual lender’s name can differ. The agreement should identify that role clearly. The wider car-finance arrangement includes both finding credit and the agreement with its supplier.

2. Find the current record and relevant permission

Type the FCA website address into your browser and find Firm Checker or the Financial Services Register there. Do not use an emailed screenshot as proof, and be cautious about a link supplied by someone whose identity you are trying to establish.

Search using the firm reference number if one is available, then compare the result with the name you were given. If searching by name produces several similar results, check the location and legal entity carefully. A close spelling is not a match.

Look at the current status. A historical Register entry can remain visible after a firm's permission has ended. “No longer authorised” or “revoked” does not mean that the business is currently authorised to arrange your finance.

The relevant question is whether the business can carry out the activity involved in your application. For a car finance broker, check the information concerning consumer credit and credit broking, including any limitations or requirements shown.

Do not assume that authorisation for an unrelated financial activity covers arranging car finance. Nor does a firm describing itself as “registered” necessarily have the authorisation required for your transaction. The FCA regulates and registers different types of business for different purposes.

You do not need to interpret an unclear permission alone. Note the wording and ask the FCA for help before sending documents or money. A genuine firm should also be able to explain its role, which lender will provide the agreement and how its services are paid for.

If the broker is an appointed representative

An appointed representative carries out agreed activities under the responsibility of an authorised principal firm. The representative is not necessarily directly authorised in its own right, so its Register entry needs to be read in that context.

Identify the principal shown on the Register, check that the relationship is current, and use the principal's verified contact details to confirm the representative is permitted to arrange the service you want. Some representatives have more than one principal, making it especially important to identify the right relationship.

Ask the principal to confirm the scope of the appointment if anything is unclear. Do not assume every product offered on the representative's website falls within that scope. The permitted activity, rather than the mere existence of a relationship, is what matters.

3. Break the contact chain and verify the caller

Compare the phone number, web domain and other contact details against the official record. Then make a fresh call or visit using the verified details. This breaks the chain if someone has approached you while impersonating an authorised firm.

Small differences deserve attention: an extra word in a domain, a switched letter or a personal email address might be easy to overlook when you are keen to secure a car. If someone claims the official details are outdated, check with the FCA instead of taking their word for it.

For example, a quotation carrying the correct reference number but asking you to transfer a fee to an unrelated individual needs explanation. Do not send payment while that identity mismatch remains unresolved. Keep the message, payment instructions and any account details as evidence.

4. Read the offer once identity is established

Correct authorisation does not guarantee approval, a particular interest rate or that the deal is best for your circumstances. The FCA's tools also cannot confirm that compensation or access to the Financial Ombudsman will apply to every dispute or product.

Once identity and permissions are clear, still read the quote. Ask about fees, the lender panel, commission information, the searches that will be performed and when you become committed. Our guide to car finance credit searches can help you frame that conversation.

Keep a dated record of the search with your quote. If information does not match, pause and contact the FCA using its official details. Once the identity issue is resolved, the normal used-car finance checks still apply to the price, vehicle and borrowing.