Business guidance
Rules, requirements and how-tos for running your business — organised by topic, with industry-specific guidance on the sector pages.
Guidance for professional & financial services
Show all guidanceAccess the Lloyd's of London insurance market
How to participate in the Lloyd's insurance market. Covers routes to market (managing agents, coverholders, brokers), capital requirements under Solvency UK, and FCA conduct rules including general insurance pricing practices.
Professional & Financial ServicesAdvertising and market research compliance checklist
Use this checklist to confirm you have met every regulatory obligation that applies to your advertising or market research business — from workplace health and safety through to broadcast advertising standards, electronic marketing consent, misleading marketing and unfair commercial practices.
Professional & Financial ServicesAI compliance for financial services firms
How FCA-regulated firms must govern AI through Consumer Duty, SM&CR, and operational resilience frameworks. Covers model risk management, transparency obligations, and practical steps for compliant AI deployment in financial services.
Professional & Financial ServicesAnnual compliance checklist for law firms
A checklist of annual regulatory obligations for SRA-authorised law firms in England and Wales. Covers practising certificate renewal, professional indemnity insurance, Compensation Fund contributions, accountant's reports, AML reviews, COLP and COFA returns, price transparency, and continuing competence.
Professional & Financial ServicesAnti-money laundering compliance for law firms
How to meet anti-money laundering obligations as a solicitor or law firm in England and Wales. Covers the firm-wide risk assessment, client due diligence in conveyancing and trust work, source of funds verification, legal professional privilege, suspicious activity reporting, and what the SRA expects as your AML supervisor.
Professional & Financial ServicesApply for ABS licensing as an alternative business structure
How to apply for alternative business structure (ABS) licensing from the SRA when non-lawyers will hold ownership or management roles in your law firm. Covers when ABS status is required, the role of the HOLP and HOFA, the application process, fees, conditions, and ongoing compliance.
Professional & Financial ServicesApply for FCA authorisation under Part 4A FSMA
How to apply to the Financial Conduct Authority for permission to carry on regulated activities under Part 4A of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Covers scoping permissions, preparing the regulatory business plan, Senior Managers approvals, the Connect submission, fees, and the statutory determination clock.
Professional & Financial ServicesAppointed representative or direct FCA authorisation: choosing your route
A strategic comparison of the three routes into the FCA-regulated perimeter: direct authorisation, becoming an appointed representative (AR) of an authorised principal, or joining a third-party network. Covers what each route can and cannot reach, where liability sits, the post-2022 oversight regime, and the practical trade-offs for small firms.
Professional & Financial ServicesArchitects' and engineers' design duties
If you design buildings or infrastructure — as an architect, engineer, surveyor or other designer — you carry statutory duties under the Building Regulations, the CDM 2015 designer duties and, for higher-risk buildings, the Building Safety Act 2022. Only "architect" is a protected title, so architects must also register with the ARB. This guide explains what every designer must do, and where the rules differ by nation.
Professional & Financial ServicesArchitecture, engineering and testing compliance checklist
A confirmation checklist for architecture, engineering and technical testing businesses. Work through the cross-cutting duties every professional practice shares, then every section that describes what you do — architect, designer, or testing and analysis laboratory (architects are also designers). Several design duties differ by nation, so check the rule for where you work.
Retail & Consumer GoodsBuy Now Pay Later regulation: what businesses need to know
Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) and other Deferred Payment Credit products come under FCA regulation from 15 July 2026. This guide explains what is changing, who needs to act, how the temporary permissions regime works, and the key compliance requirements for providers and merchants.
Professional & Financial ServicesClient account reconciliation: quick reference
Quick reference for client account reconciliation obligations under the SRA Accounts Rules 2019. Covers five-weekly reconciliation requirements, central record keeping, SRA reporting triggers, accountant's report deadlines, and COFA responsibilities.
Professional & Financial ServicesCOLP and COFA: Roles, Responsibilities, and Reporting
Understand what the Compliance Officer for Legal Practice (COLP) and Compliance Officer for Finance and Administration (COFA) do, who can be appointed, what records they must keep, how to report to the SRA annually, and how to manage non-compliance within your firm.
Professional & Financial ServicesComply with Buy Now Pay Later regulation
How Buy Now Pay Later and Deferred Payment Credit providers must comply with FCA regulation from 15 July 2026, including authorisation, temporary permissions and the treatment of earlier agreements.
Retail & Consumer GoodsComply with credit advertising rules
How to advertise consumer credit products compliantly under FCA rules. Covers representative APR requirements, triggered information, social media advertising, risk warnings for high-cost credit, and the FCA financial promotions approval process.
Professional & Financial ServicesComply with credit broking rules
How to comply with FCA credit broking requirements. Covers who counts as a credit broker, the difference between full and limited permission, exemptions that may apply, initial disclosure obligations, fee transparency, and commission disclosure rules.
Professional & Financial ServicesComply with debt collection rules
How to collect consumer debts compliantly under FCA rules. Covers CONC 7 requirements for arrears and default handling, forbearance obligations for customers in financial difficulty, default notice requirements, communication standards, vulnerable customer identification, and enforcement restrictions for improperly executed agreements.
Professional & Financial ServicesComply with high-cost short-term credit rules
Additional compliance requirements for firms providing high-cost short-term credit (HCSTC), including the price cap regime, enhanced affordability assessments, mandatory risk warnings, repeat borrowing interventions, and persistent debt rules for credit cards.
Professional & Financial ServicesComply with SRA Price Transparency Rules
Publish pricing information for specified legal services as required by the SRA Transparency Rules. Covers which services are in scope, what must be disclosed, format and website requirements, and how to monitor and update your published information.
Professional & Financial ServicesComply with SRA Standards and Regulations
Implement the SRA Standards and Regulations in your law firm. Covers the SRA Principles, Codes of Conduct for solicitors and firms, appointing compliance officers, conflict checks, confidentiality systems, supervision, and file management.
Professional & Financial ServicesConduct and document affordability assessments for consumer credit
How to conduct, evidence, and document affordability assessments when lending to consumers. Covers the distinction between creditworthiness and affordability, income verification, expenditure analysis, proportionality, vulnerable customers, and the Consumer Duty overlay for credit products.
Professional & Financial ServicesConsequences of carrying on regulated financial business without FCA authorisation
A strategic explainer of what happens if you breach the FSMA general prohibition. Covers the criminal offence under section 23, civil unenforceability of customer contracts under sections 26 to 28, FCA enforcement powers, and personal consequences for directors. Read alongside the guide on whether you need FCA authorisation.
Construction & PropertyConstruction payment rights and adjudication
Your statutory rights to payment and rapid dispute resolution under the Housing Grants, Construction and Regeneration Act 1996. Covers payment notices, pay-less notices, stage payments, suspension rights, retention, and the 28-day adjudication process including 'smash and grab' claims.
Professional & Financial ServicesConsumer credit compliance checklist
Annual compliance checklist for consumer credit firms covering FCA permissions, CONC requirements, advertising, pre-contract obligations, Consumer Duty, complaints handling, and regulatory reporting.
Professional & Financial ServicesConsumer credit rates and thresholds reference
Quick reference for consumer credit rates, thresholds, and regulatory limits. Covers Section 75 thresholds, HCSTC price cap, FCA fees, FOS award limits, persistent debt thresholds, early settlement compensation, and exempt agreement limits.
Professional & Financial ServicesCyber security for financial services firms
FCA operational resilience requirements for cyber security, including the 31 March 2025 compliance deadline, SM&CR responsibilities for cyber risk, third-party outsourcing requirements, and preparing for DORA-style regulations.
Professional & Financial ServicesDo I need FCA authorisation?
Whether you need Financial Conduct Authority authorisation depends on the "perimeter" set by the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA). This explainer walks you through the four-part test in s.19 and s.22, names the activities that pull non-financial businesses inside the perimeter, and points you to the FCA's Perimeter Guidance manual for marginal cases.
Professional & Financial ServicesFCA authorisation application readiness checklist
Audit-style yes/no checklist confirming your Part 4A application is ready before submission via FCA Connect. Covers business plan, governance, threshold conditions, people, dual regulation and fees.
Professional & Financial ServicesFCA authorisation for insurance brokers
How to get FCA authorisation as an insurance intermediary. Covers Insurance Distribution Directive requirements, permission types, professional indemnity insurance, capital requirements, and Appointed Representative arrangements.
Professional & Financial ServicesFCA consumer credit authorisation
How to get FCA authorisation to offer consumer credit, including lending, credit broking, and debt collection. Covers application process, fees, responsible lending requirements, and high-cost credit rules.
Professional & Financial ServicesFCA Consumer Duty: compliance requirements
How to implement the FCA Consumer Duty in your firm. Covers the four outcomes (products/services, price/value, consumer understanding, consumer support), cross-cutting rules, governance requirements, and practical implementation steps for delivering good outcomes to retail customers.
Professional & Financial ServicesFCA threshold conditions reference
Quick-reference page for the five FCA threshold conditions in Schedule 6 FSMA 2000 (as substituted by FSA 2012) and supplemented by SI 2013/555. Sets out the statutory wording, the FCA Handbook (COND) practical application, common refusal and cancellation grounds under section 55J, and the regulatory business plan evidence the FCA expects.
Professional & Financial ServicesFinancial adviser and intermediary rules
If you advise on investments, arrange mortgages or credit, or run a claims management company, your rules sit on top of the duties every regulated firm shares: the right FCA permission for each activity, qualification and professional standing requirements for retail investment advice, suitability assessment and reporting, and the dedicated regimes for mortgage intermediaries, credit intermediaries and claims management.
Professional & Financial ServicesFinancial intermediary compliance checklist
A confirmation checklist for financial intermediaries — insurance distributors and loss adjusters, advisers and intermediaries, investment firms and trading venues, fund managers, and pension administrators. Work through the duties every regulated firm shares, then the sections for what you do.
Professional & Financial ServicesFintech regulation and FCA authorisation
How to navigate FCA regulation for fintech businesses. Covers e-money and payment services, Open Banking, crypto-assets, and innovation support programmes including the Regulatory Sandbox.
Professional & Financial ServicesFund and asset management rules
If you manage portfolios or collective investment funds, your rules sit on top of the duties every regulated firm shares: the managing investments permission, the UCITS management regime for retail funds, the UK AIFM regime — including, for full-scope managers, depositary appointment and the AIFM remuneration rules — and climate-related financial disclosure for larger managers.
Professional & Financial ServicesGet authorised as a payment institution or e-money institution
How a payments or fintech firm gets Financial Conduct Authority status to provide payment services or issue electronic money. Covers the authorised payment institution and small payment institution regimes under the Payment Services Regulations 2017, the authorised e-money institution and small e-money institution regimes under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011, safeguarding of relevant funds, initial capital, and anti-money laundering obligations.
Professional & Financial ServicesGet FCA authorisation for financial services
How to apply for Financial Conduct Authority authorisation to carry on regulated financial activities. Covers the application process, fees, capital requirements, and ongoing compliance obligations including Consumer Duty.
Professional & Financial ServicesGet FCA authorisation to carry on a regulated activity
How a firm gets Financial Conduct Authority Part 4A permission under the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000. Covers the general prohibition, identifying your regulated activities, meeting the threshold conditions, the Connect application, Senior Managers and Certification, and anti-money laundering obligations.
Professional & Financial ServicesGet SRA authorisation for your law firm
How to apply to the Solicitors Regulation Authority for authorisation to set up a law firm in England and Wales. Covers choosing your entity type, the mySRA application process, appointing compliance officers, fees, and expected processing times.
Professional & Financial ServicesHandle client complaints at your law firm
Set up and run a complaints procedure at your SRA-regulated law firm. Covers the mandatory written procedure, the 8-week resolution window, informing clients about the Legal Ombudsman, and using complaints data to improve your service.
Professional & Financial ServicesHandle consumer credit complaints and the Financial Ombudsman
How to set up internal complaints handling for consumer credit, meet the 8-week resolution deadline, issue final response letters, and prepare for Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) referrals. Covers FOS jurisdiction, award limits, case fees, common credit complaint categories, and root cause analysis requirements.
Professional & Financial ServicesInsurance and pension compliance checklist
A confirmation checklist for insurers, reinsurers and occupational pension schemes. Work through the duties every business in this division shares, then the section for what you operate — answer only the items for the activities you actually carry on.
Professional & Financial ServicesInsurance distribution and loss adjusting rules
If you distribute insurance — broking, advising on or arranging policies — or adjust losses and handle claims, your rules sit on top of the duties every regulated firm shares: the insurance distribution permission and conduct rulebook, demands-and-needs and product information duties, client money protections, professional indemnity cover, and the permissions and professional standards for loss adjusting and claims handling.
Professional & Financial ServicesInsurer authorisation and prudential rules
Effecting and carrying out contracts of insurance are PRA-regulated activities: an insurer or reinsurer needs Part 4A permission, applied for through the Prudential Regulation Authority with the FCA's consent, and must then hold capital and governance to the Solvency UK prudential standard. Life insurers have additional long-term fund rules, and all insurers must meet operational resilience requirements.
Professional & Financial ServicesInsurer conduct and accountability rules
Alongside the prudential regime, the FCA supervises how an insurer treats its customers and who runs it: senior managers need approval under the SM&CR, retail business carries the Consumer Duty, promotions must comply with the financial promotion restriction, complaints follow the FCA's DISP rules with referral to the Financial Ombudsman, claims must be paid within a reasonable time, home and motor pricing must not penalise loyalty, and you must belong to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
Professional & Financial ServicesInvestment firm and trading venue rules
If you deal in investments as agent, hold client money or assets, or operate a trading venue, your rules sit on top of the duties every regulated firm shares: the dealing permission, best execution when executing client orders, the CASS client money and custody rules, the IFPR prudential regime with its remuneration code, and — for venues — MTF and OTF authorisation or recognised investment exchange status and transaction reporting.
Professional & Financial ServicesLegal professional privilege and SAR reporting: when the exemption applies
When legal professional privilege exempts solicitors from suspicious activity reporting obligations and when it does not. Covers the POCA 2002 s.330(6) privilege exemption, the meaning of privileged circumstances, the crime/fraud exception that disapplies it, SRA guidance on the boundary, and a practical decision framework for fee earners facing reporting decisions.
Professional & Financial ServicesManage client money under SRA Accounts Rules
Set up and manage a client account to comply with the SRA Accounts Rules 2019. Covers what counts as client money, when to pay money in and out, reconciliation procedures, residual balances, record keeping, and the accountant's report requirement. Applies to all SRA-authorised firms in England and Wales.
Professional & Financial ServicesManagement consultancy: compliance checklist
Use this checklist to confirm your management consultancy, business advisory firm or head office meets its obligations. Work through each item and answer yes or no. If you answer no to any item, follow the linked guide before you proceed.
Professional & Financial ServicesMeet FCA threshold conditions for authorisation
Understand and demonstrate compliance with the five statutory threshold conditions required for FCA authorisation under Schedule 6 of FSMA 2000. Covers location of offices, effective supervision, appropriate resources, suitability, and business model requirements.
Professional & Financial ServicesMeet pre-contract disclosure requirements for credit
How to provide the required pre-contract information to borrowers before entering a consumer credit agreement. Covers the SECCI form, adequate explanations duty, creditworthiness assessments, APR disclosure, and agreement execution requirements.
Professional & Financial ServicesMeet your advertising and market research regulatory duties
If you create, place or distribute advertising, or run electronic marketing campaigns, you must comply with broadcast advertising standards, electronic marketing consent rules, and the statutory prohibitions on misleading B2B marketing and unfair commercial practices directed at consumers. This guide covers each regime and what you need to do.
Professional & Financial ServicesMeet your professional, scientific and technical regulatory duties
If you practise as a patent attorney or registered trade mark attorney, you must be registered with the Intellectual Property Regulation Board (IPReg). This guide explains the registration requirement and ongoing professional obligations. This duty does not apply to other professional, scientific or technical businesses.
Construction & PropertyPay Stamp Duty Land Tax (SDLT)
When and how to pay SDLT on property purchases in England and Northern Ireland, including rates, reliefs, and deadlines.
Construction & PropertyPay stamp duty on shares
How to pay stamp duty or SDRT when buying UK company shares, including rates, exemptions, and the stamping process.
Professional & Financial ServicesPII renewal checklist for law firms
Annual checklist to verify your firm's PII renewal is on track. Covers claims history, risk management review, insurer notification, SRA confirmation, cover verification, and run-off planning.
Professional & Financial ServicesProfessional indemnity insurance for law firms
Understand your professional indemnity insurance obligations as an SRA-authorised law firm. Covers how to obtain qualifying PII, the annual renewal cycle, what the SRA Minimum Terms require, run-off cover on closure, and the SRA Compensation Fund levy.
Professional & Financial ServicesProfessional, scientific and technical compliance checklist
Use this checklist to confirm you have met every regulatory obligation that applies to your professional, scientific or technical business — from workplace health and safety through to IPReg registration for patent and trade mark attorneys.
Professional & Financial ServicesRegister a money service business or crypto-asset business for AML supervision
How a money service business registers with HMRC, and how a cryptoasset business registers with the FCA, for anti-money laundering supervision under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017. Covers which regime applies to you, the fit-and-proper test, registering before you trade, the offence of operating unregistered, and the financial promotions rules for qualifying cryptoassets.
Professional & Financial ServicesRespond to an SRA investigation of your law firm
What to do when the SRA investigates your firm. Covers types of investigation, your cooperation obligations under the Code of Conduct, obtaining specialist regulatory defence representation, and how to respond to conditions, fines, referral to the Solicitors Disciplinary Tribunal, and intervention. Includes appeal rights and escalation scenarios.
Professional & Financial ServicesRun a barristers' practice or IP attorney firm
Barristers in England and Wales practise under a Bar Standards Board practising certificate, with separate extensions for conducting litigation and public access work. Patent and trade mark attorneys register with IPReg — the protected titles and the reserved legal activities flow from registration, although anyone may act before the Intellectual Property Office itself.
Professional & Financial ServicesRun a compliant architecture or engineering practice
Whether you are an architectural practice, an engineering or design consultancy or a testing laboratory, the same core duties apply: protect the personal data you hold, do not discriminate, insure your employees, manage health and safety, and carry professional indemnity cover. Put these in place before you take on staff, clients or projects.
Professional & Financial ServicesRun a compliant insurance or pension business
Whether you carry insurance risk or fund pensions, the same workplace and data duties apply alongside your regulatory regime: protect the personal data you hold and pay the ICO fee, insure your employees, and keep your offices and call centres safe, fire-safe and free of discrimination. Put these in place alongside your PRA, FCA or TPR obligations.
Professional & Financial ServicesRun an accountancy, audit or insolvency practice
General accountancy and bookkeeping are not reserved activities — but statutory audit needs registration with a Recognised Supervisory Body overseen by the FRC, insolvency appointments need individual authorisation by a Recognised Professional Body, every accountancy and tax firm needs an anti-money-laundering supervisor, and tax advisers who deal with HMRC must now register with HMRC.
Professional & Financial ServicesRun an occupational pension scheme
Trust-based occupational pension schemes are not FCA-authorised — they register with and are supervised by The Pensions Regulator. Trustees and scheme operators must register the scheme, meet the statutory funding regime for defined benefit schemes, satisfy trustee knowledge and understanding requirements, connect to the pensions dashboards ecosystem, and — where the scheme is used for automatic enrolment — meet the qualifying-scheme requirements including the default fund charge cap.
Professional & Financial ServicesRun a regulated financial services firm
Every financial intermediary shares a core of regulated-firm duties: hold the right FCA permissions for what you do, operate the Senior Managers and Certification Regime, deliver the Consumer Duty on retail business, keep promotions compliant, handle complaints under the FCA's rules, run anti-money-laundering controls, meet operational resilience requirements, and protect personal data. Pension administrators have their own section — The Pensions Regulator's regime applies to them even where no FCA permission is held.
Professional & Financial ServicesRun a technical testing or analysis laboratory
Testing, calibration, inspection and analysis is a distinct business from design. Running a laboratory is not itself licensed, but your work usually depends on UKAS accreditation, and some testing — notably asbestos sampling and clearance — is anchored to a statutory regime with its own competence and accreditation requirements.
Professional & Financial ServicesRunning a crowdfunding or P2P lending platform
How to get FCA authorisation to operate a loan-based (P2P) or investment-based crowdfunding platform. Covers capital requirements, investor restrictions, client money rules, and wind-down arrangements.
Professional & Financial ServicesSet up and run a safe advertising or market research business
Every advertising or market research business — whether you run an advertising agency, a media buying house, a public relations consultancy, a market research firm or a direct marketing operation — must meet the same workplace health and safety, fire safety, insurance, equality and data protection duties before you begin operating. This guide walks you through each one.
Professional & Financial ServicesSet up and run a safe legal or accounting practice
Legal and accountancy practices are office businesses with deep duties of confidentiality. Beyond your professional regulator, you carry the same employer obligations as any office: health and safety (including display-screen equipment and stress), fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality, and data protection — where client files and special-category data make the ICO duties especially live.
Professional & Financial ServicesSet up and run a safe management consultancy
Management consultancies and head offices face typical office-based risks — display-screen equipment, workstation assessment, stress and mental health. On top of those workplace duties, if you market by email, text or automated calls, the PECR electronic-marketing rules bite. This is the universal spine: it takes you through your core workplace health and safety duties, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality, data protection and PECR.
Professional & Financial ServicesSet up and run a safe professional, scientific and technical business
Every professional, scientific or technical business must meet universal workplace duties before it tackles any activity-specific regulatory requirements. This guide covers the five foundational obligations — health and safety, fire safety, employers' liability insurance, equality and data protection.
Professional & Financial ServicesStart an insurance broking business
How to set up an insurance broking business in the UK. Covers FCA authorisation versus Appointed Representative routes, capital requirements, professional indemnity insurance, and regulatory fees.
Professional & Financial ServicesUnderstand how the Consumer Duty applies to credit products
How the FCA Consumer Duty applies to consumer credit providers, brokers, and debt collectors. Explains the four outcomes for credit products, the annual board report requirement, how the Duty interacts with existing CONC rules, and current FCA supervisory priorities.
Professional & Financial ServicesUnderstanding legal services regulation in the UK
How the regulation of legal services works in England and Wales under the Legal Services Act 2007. Explains the role of the Legal Services Board, approved regulators, reserved legal activities, and the regulatory objectives that shape how law firms and individual lawyers are supervised.
Professional & Financial ServicesUnderstanding UK consumer credit regulation
What consumer credit regulation is, why it exists, and who it applies to. Covers the relationship between the Consumer Credit Act 1974, the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, and the FCA's CONC sourcebook, including when FCA authorisation is required and when exemptions apply.
Construction & PropertyUnderstand property transaction taxes
Overview of SDLT, LBTT, and LTT -- the three separate property transaction taxes across the UK. Covers rates, thresholds, reliefs, filing processes, and penalties for England/Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.
Professional & Financial ServicesUse FCA innovation services to test and launch fintech products
How to use the FCA's innovation support services including the Regulatory Sandbox, Digital Sandbox, and Innovation Pathways. For fintech firms developing new financial products who need regulatory guidance or want to test with customers before full authorisation.
Professional & Financial ServicesWhich advertising and market research regulations apply to your business
Advertising agencies, media buyers, market research firms, public relations consultancies and direct marketing businesses share a workplace-safety foundation, then face sector-specific duties on broadcast advertising standards, electronic marketing consent, misleading marketing and unfair commercial practices that other businesses do not.
Professional & Financial ServicesWhich architecture, engineering and testing rules apply to your business
Architecture, engineering and technical testing cover very different businesses — designing buildings as an architect, providing engineering or other design consultancy, and carrying out technical testing and analysis in a laboratory. Each has its own rules, on top of the duties they all share. Work out which description fits you and follow the right guide.
Professional & Financial ServicesWhich financial intermediary rules apply to your business
This guidance is for the firms around the risk carriers and lenders — insurance distributors and loss adjusters, financial advisers and mortgage or credit intermediaries, investment firms and trading venues, fund managers, and pension administrators. Almost all are FCA-authorised and share a core of conduct duties. Each then has its own permission and rulebook. Work out which you are and follow the right guides.
Professional & Financial ServicesWhich insurance and pension funding rules apply to your business
This guidance is for the risk carriers and scheme operators themselves — insurers, reinsurers and occupational pension schemes. Insurers and reinsurers are dual-regulated: the Prudential Regulation Authority for prudential soundness and the Financial Conduct Authority for conduct. Trust-based occupational pension schemes follow a different regime under The Pensions Regulator. Work out which you are and follow the right guides — and if you broker or advise on insurance rather than carry the risk, different rules apply.
Professional & Financial ServicesWhich legal and accounting rules apply to your business
Legal and accountancy practices are regulated by profession, not premises. Solicitors answer to the SRA, barristers to the Bar Standards Board, patent and trade mark attorneys to IPReg, statutory auditors to a Recognised Supervisory Body overseen by the FRC, and insolvency practitioners to a Recognised Professional Body. Almost every firm in this sector also needs anti-money-laundering supervision, and all share the same office workplace duties.
Professional & Financial ServicesWhich management consultancy regulations apply to your business
Head offices, management consultancies and business advisory firms carry the same workplace-safety and employment duties as any office employer. On top of that, if you market your services by email, text or automated calls, the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations 2003 (PECR) apply.
Professional & Financial ServicesWhich professional, scientific and technical rules apply to you
If you operate or plan to operate a professional, scientific or technical business in the UK — specialised design, photography, translation, interpretation or other professional services — you must comply with workplace health and safety, fire safety, insurance, equality and data protection duties that bind every employer. Patent and trade mark attorneys face additional registration requirements. This guide introduces the rules and routes you to the detail.
General rules
Common requirements shown separately from guidance directly classified to this sector.
Check if you need to register for VAT
Find out if your business must register for VAT based on your taxable turnover. Covers the £90,000 threshold, what counts as taxable turnover, the rolling 12-month test, and when voluntary registration makes sense.
Business StructureMandatory registrations every business must complete
Step-by-step guide to the registrations every business must complete before trading, regardless of sector. Covers HMRC tax registration, ICO data protection fee, mandatory insurance, and pension auto-enrolment.
Premises & OperationsMeet your business waste duty of care
Understand your legal responsibilities when producing, storing, or disposing of business waste. Covers using registered waste carriers, completing waste transfer notes, and the stricter rules for hazardous waste.
Compliance & LegalPre-trading compliance checklist
A concise yes/no checklist to verify you have completed all mandatory pre-trading requirements, including business registration, tax, insurance, licences, premises approvals, and data protection.
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