FCA Firm Checker and Companies House: a finance product comparison

A finance creators product comparison can go wrong before any supplier is shortlisted if the reviewer uses the wrong public service. The FCA Firm Checker, Financial Services Register and Companies House search are complementary records, not interchangeable verdicts.

The moneyinfluence.co.uk editorial research team compared their official descriptions on 5 September 2026. Criteria were intended user, entities covered, permission detail, history, update caveats and the decision each can support. No live query, firm, protection claim or account journey was tested. All three are free to access, but that common unit says little about their different functions.

What to take away

FCA Firm Checker: a guided consumer check

The FCA Firm Checker is designed for a person considering a financial product or service. It checks whether a firm is authorised and has permission for the selected service. That guided purpose is useful when a creator or editor wants an initial match between a consumer proposition and a regulated entity.

Its own page lists material exclusions: it omits some professional-only services, historic fines, the right to approve financial promotions, and the ability to hold client money. Updates may take 24 hours on average, and firms supply some information.

Use it for a defined current consumer question. Preserve the result date, then move to the fuller record where the brief requires more.

Financial Services Register: regulatory depth

The FCA describes the Financial Services Register as the official public record for firms, individuals and other bodies it authorises or registers. It includes fuller regulatory history, individuals, historic fines and financial-promotion approval rights.

The Register is the stronger of the two FCA services for a commercial partnership review. It can reveal a restriction or appointed-representative relationship that a simple name match misses.

The trade-off is interpretation: the reviewer must connect the exact permission and principal relationship to the proposed activity. "Authorised" by itself is not a grade, endorsement or promise of consumer protection for every product.

Companies House: corporate identity and filings

Find and update company information searches the UK company register. It can show company numbers, registered offices, officers, people with significant control, filing history and document images. Those fields help reconcile the contract party, website owner and regulated trading name.

It cannot answer whether a financial service is permitted. Companies House's register-search guidance also warns that its information is not comprehensive and that occasional inaccuracies occur. Incorporation therefore proves neither product quality nor regulatory standing.

Which service fits the task?

For a consumer-facing sense check, start with Firm Checker. For permissions, history, people, approval rights or appointed representatives, examine the FS Register. For legal identity, ownership clues and filings, add Companies House. A finance partnership will often require all three in that order, plus first-party terms and product evidence.

Record exact names, numbers and access time instead of pasting a green status icon into a deck. Compare website contact details with the official record, because clone firms can copy genuine credentials. If identities conflict or the permission does not clearly cover the proposition, hold the work for qualified review.

This comparison does not assess ease of use, uptime or result accuracy through hands-on testing. Recheck each record at approval and publication; a dated register result cannot guarantee later status or make the underlying claim suitable for an England audience.

Before you act

Common questions

What can the FCA Firm Checker not show?

Its own page lists material exclusions: it does not show every professional-only service, historic fine, right to approve financial promotions or ability to hold client money. It also says updates may take 24 hours on average and that some information is supplied by firms.

When should a reviewer use the Financial Services Register instead?

The Register is the stronger FCA service for a commercial partnership review. It includes fuller regulatory history, individuals, historic fines and financial-promotion approval rights. It can expose a restriction or appointed-representative relationship that a simple name match misses.

Why is Companies House not enough for a finance partnership check?

Companies House cannot answer whether a financial service is permitted. Its register-search guidance warns that information is not comprehensive and occasional inaccuracies occur. Incorporation proves neither product quality nor regulatory standing, so it must be paired with FCA records.