Any firm giving debt advice or negotiating with your creditors must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and you can verify that yourself in about two minutes on a public register. The check that catches most problems is not whether the firm appears at all — it is whether the trading name that contacted you is listed against the authorised firm, and whether that firm actually holds debt permissions rather than some unrelated authorisation.
The register is at register.fca.org.uk. It is free, public, and the definitive source. No firm can object to you checking.
What has to be authorised
Two regulated activities matter here. Debt counselling is advising someone on how to deal with their debts. Debt adjusting is negotiating with creditors or handling payments on someone’s behalf. A firm arranging a debt management plan, recommending an IVA, or dealing with your creditors needs the relevant permission.
Insolvency practitioners who supervise IVAs and act as trustees are additionally regulated by their own professional bodies. Free advice charities are FCA-authorised too — being free does not place a provider outside regulation.
The check, step by step
1. Search the name you were given. Enter the firm or trading name on the register. If nothing is found at all, stop there and do not proceed.
2. Confirm the permissions. Open the firm’s entry and look at what it is permitted to do. A firm authorised for something unrelated — consumer credit broking, insurance distribution — is not authorised to advise you on debt merely because it appears on the register. This is the step most people skip.
3. Match the trading name. Firms operate under trading names, and those are recorded on the register against the authorised entity. If the brand that contacted you does not appear as a trading name of the firm you were pointed at, that mismatch is the finding. It is the single most common indicator of a problem.
4. Check the status and the reference number. The entry shows whether authorisation is current. Note the firm reference number and use it in any later correspondence, because names change and numbers do not.
5. Check how you are being contacted. Compare the phone number, website domain and email domain against the details on the register entry. Clone firms copy a genuine firm’s details and change the contact route — the FCA publishes warnings about known clones.
What each result means
| What you find | What it means |
|---|---|
| Firm listed, debt permissions, trading name matches, details match | Authorised — proceed to the questions about fees |
| Firm listed but no debt permissions | Not authorised for this. Do not proceed |
| Trading name not shown against the firm | Query it directly. Do not rely on a verbal explanation |
| Contact details differ from the register | Possible clone. Contact the firm using the register’s details only |
| Not on the register at all | Do not share information or make any payment |
| Appointed representative of another firm | Legitimate structure — check the principal firm’s permissions |
Authorised is not the same as suitable
Authorisation is a floor, not a recommendation. An authorised firm can still charge a fee for something a free charity would arrange for nothing, and can still present one solution rather than comparing them. Our comparison of fee-charging debt firms against free charities covers what the fee actually buys — the answer is administration, not a different statutory outcome.
So the register check answers “may this firm do this?” It does not answer “is this the right route for me?” That question is answered by a full budget and a comparison of every option your circumstances allow.
Warning signs that should prompt a check
- An unsolicited call, text or social media message offering to write off debt
- Pressure to decide on the same call, or a “limited time” arrangement
- A specific write-off percentage promised before anyone has seen your figures
- Reluctance to state fees in cash terms
- Being told a single solution is your only option
- Any suggestion that free advice does not exist or is somehow inferior
- A request for an upfront payment before any advice has been given
Free charities do not cold-contact people, so an unsolicited approach is by definition commercial. That is not automatically improper — but it is the moment to open the register.
The other registers worth knowing
Scotland’s statutory routes are administered by the Accountant in Bankruptcy, which maintains its own registers — relevant if you are considering a protected trust deed or the Debt Arrangement Scheme. Insolvency practitioners are regulated by recognised professional bodies, which publish their own membership records. For Northern Ireland, see debt solutions in Northern Ireland. FCA authorisation is still required for the advice element in each case.
If a firm is not authorised
Do not share bank details, do not make a payment, and do not sign. Report it to the FCA — reports feed the warning list that protects other people. Then start again with a free regulated service.
If you have already paid or handed over details, contact your bank immediately, and tell a free debt adviser what has happened. Being caught by this is common and nobody at a charity will be surprised or judgemental.
Check before you share anything
Do the register check before you hand over figures, not after. Once a firm has your income, your creditors and your contact details, that information can be passed on, and unwinding it is far harder than a two-minute search would have been.
The same applies to documents. There is no reason to send bank statements or credit agreements to a firm you have not verified, and no legitimate adviser will press you to do so before you are satisfied about who they are.
If you are ever unsure mid-conversation, end the call and ring back on the number listed on the register entry rather than the one you were given. A genuine firm will not mind. A clone will not survive the call.
Common questions
Does the register tell me if a firm is any good?
No. It tells you what a firm is permitted to do and whether it is currently authorised. Quality, fees and whether the route suits you are separate questions.
What is an appointed representative?
A firm operating under the authorisation of a principal firm, which takes responsibility for it. It is a legitimate arrangement — check the principal firm’s permissions, and confirm the relationship is shown on the register.
The firm says it is “government approved”. Is that a thing?
No. There is no government approval scheme for debt firms. Statutory solutions are administered by the Insolvency Service or the Accountant in Bankruptcy, and firms are regulated by the FCA. Language of that kind is a reason to check more carefully, not less.
Can I check an insolvency practitioner?
Yes. They are regulated by recognised professional bodies which publish records, and the firm arranging the arrangement should still be FCA-authorised for the advice element.
What if the register is ambiguous?
Contact the FCA’s consumer helpline, or ask a free debt adviser to look at it with you. Do not accept the firm’s own explanation of its register entry as the last word.
Next step
Before any firm sees your figures, search it on the register, confirm the debt permissions, and match the trading name. Then ask what a free service would say about the same situation — our list of free debt advice charities and helplines is the place to start, and the documents to gather makes that conversation productive.
Regulatory permissions, register content and firm status change. Nothing on this page is regulated debt advice. Check the FCA register directly at register.fca.org.uk, and confirm anything decision-critical with an FCA-regulated adviser.