Find out what anti-money laundering (AML) supervision reform means for professional body supervisors (PBSs) and the businesses they oversee.
What is changing
The Government plans to reform the AML and counter-terrorist financing (CTF) supervision regime.
In October 2025, the Government announced the FCA will take over responsibility for AML and CTF supervision for:
- legal service providers
- accountancy service providers
- trust and company service providers
These businesses are currently supervised by PBSs or HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).
Read the Government consultation on AML supervision reform[2].
What businesses need to do now
Nothing changes immediately. The reform relies on the Government passing new legislation.
If you’re a legal, accountancy, or trust and company service provider, you do not need to take any action now. You should continue to follow existing AML processes and speak to your current PBS if you have questions.
The reform aims to:
- simplify the supervisory landscape
- improve consistency
- strengthen the UK’s approach to tackling financial crime
The Government will make the legal changes through the Financial Services Bill and secondary legislation, including changes to the Money Laundering Regulations (MLRs)[3].
We do not expect to begin taking on supervision until autumn 2028, the transition is likely to happen in phases and complete around 2030.
Does this apply to me?
The changes are expected to affect around 60,000 businesses and sole practitioners. This includes around:
- 34,000 accountancy businesses supervised by PBSs
- 7,500 law businesses supervised by PBSs
- 18,000 accountancy businesses and trust and company service providers supervised by HMRC
(These figures are estimates and may change as we develop the transition plan.)
See a list of PBSs currently overseen by OPBAS[4].
If you’re already supervised by the FCA under the MLRs, the changes won’t affect you. Follow our existing guidance[5].
How the transition will work
We expect a phased transition.
We will continue to engage with PBSs, HMRC, representative bodies and the public as we develop our plans.
Timeline for AML supervision reform
2026
We’re working with stakeholders on plans for taking on AML supervision.
2027
Following expected Government legislation, we’ll complete our operating model review.
Late 2028
We’ll start phased transition and launch new supervision.
Initial systems built, tested and ready for transition.
2030
Remaining PBSs move over to FCA supervision.
We’ll monitor and continuously improve the system.
For more detail on specific topics, expand the sections below.
Our approach to supervision
We already supervise firms carrying out certain financial activities under the MLRs.
We also oversee PBSs through OPBAS.
We will build on this experience as we develop our approach for legal, accountancy and trust and company service providers.
Our approach will be risk based, targeted and proportionate. We will also build the sector-specific expertise we need, including expertise in the Scottish and Northern Irish legal sectors.
Find out more about the FCA[7].
How we’re engaging with stakeholders
We’ve started gathering views from businesses, PBSs, membership organisations and other stakeholders to help shape our approach.
This work includes meetings, workshops and webinars to understand how the changes may affect different sectors and the practical issues that we’ll need to consider during the transition.
We’ll also publish some of our speeches on AML supervisory reform:
- Financial crime: protecting the hive[8], Steve Smart at the Law Society Economic Crime Conference 2026.
Next steps
What the Government will do
In June 2026, the government published its response to the consultation on AML/CTF supervision reform: duties, powers and accountability[9].
The response outlines sets out the roadmap next steps for implementation, including legislative changes and further engagement with supervisors and stakeholders to support a smooth transition to the new supervisory model.
The Government has included some of the key legal changes for AML supervisory reform in the Financial Services and Markets Bill[10], which is currently going through Parliament. It will also make many of the needed legal changes through secondary legislation, such as amendments to the MLRs.
What the FCA will do
We’ve started preparatory work. For our current plans, we assume the transition will start in late 2028.
We’ll continue to work with professional body supervisors, HM Revenue and Customs, the Government and other stakeholders.
We’ll provide updates as the legislation and our transition plan develop. This may include consultation, registration arrangements, fees, supervision arrangements and implementation milestones.
Contact us
If you have a question, email [email protected].
You can also request an FCA speaker[11] on AML reform.
