Meet your rental and leasing regulatory duties
If you hire goods to consumers, rent out vehicles, hire out plant or machinery, or sell hire services …
Retail & Consumer Goods
UK-wide
Vehicle Dealer Regulation
Understand FCA authorisation, consumer rights, and trading standards for motor dealers.
Guide summary
Register with your local authority if required, and get FCA authorisation before you offer vehicle finance or act as a credit broker. Follow consumer rights law: let customers reject faulty vehicles within 30 days and give a 14-day cooling-off period for online sales. Never sell an unroadworthy vehicle – this is a criminal offence.
- Get FCA authorisation before offering finance or brokering deals
- Register with your local authority if they require it
- Give customers 30 days to reject a faulty vehicle
- Offer 14-day cooling-off for online or telephone sales
- Never sell an unroadworthy vehicle – this is a crime
- Do a Pre-Delivery Inspection (PDI) before handing over vehicles
- Disclose all material information about the vehicle to buyers
- Display the new-car CO2 label on vehicles that need it
On this page
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Motor dealers must comply with consumer protection law, and those offering vehicle finance need FCA authorisation. Understanding your obligations helps avoid enforcement action and builds customer trust.
Finance offerings
If you introduce customers to lenders or offer credit agreements (hire purchase, PCP, etc.), you need FCA authorisation. This includes acting as a credit broker even if you don't provide finance directly.
For the full set of duties when selling vehicles — material-information disclosure, the new-car CO2 label, FCA finance and type approval — see sell vehicles: rules for dealers and which motor trade rules apply to your business.