Learn what you should and shouldn’t do when registering a trading name that’s different from your firm’s registered company name.
You can add trading names to the Financial Services Register (FS Register).
The FS Register displays firms’ names, and anyone can check these details. This helps consumers check they’re dealing with an authorised firm. You should only add genuine trading names that your firm uses.
To add a trading name, you'll need to:
- Read this page in full, and then
- Update your firm's details on our Connect system.
Using sensitive words in your trading name
Including certain sensitive financial services terms may be misleading depending on your firm’s business.
You must seek a view from us before trading under or registering a business name containing sensitive words.
Preventing consumer harm
Where a trading name is used in communications with customers, it should be clear, fair and not misleading.
A trading name could mislead if it suggests that:
- Your firm is carrying out regulated activities which it doesn’t have permission for.
- Consumers can access the Financial Ombudsman Service or Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) when they can't.
- Your firm is, or holds itself out as being, associated with another unconnected firm – including where it impersonates or misrepresents another organisation (for example, an authorised firm, charity, or government body).
Trading names and regulatory breaches
Registering a trading name with us has no legal effect.
Adding a third party as one of your firm's trading names does not:
- Change that person’s regulated status.
- Mean that an unauthorised person can carry out regulated activities.
If that person carries out regulated activities without being authorised or exempt, they’re likely to be carrying out unlawful unauthorised business.
Registering a trading name is not an alternative to becoming authorised or appointed as an appointed representative.
A trading name describes a name under which your firm carries on its own business.
By contrast, an appointed representative is a separate legal person, carrying on its own business for which the principal firm has accepted responsibility.
You should therefore carefully consider the consistency of these concepts. Presenting an appointed representative as a trading name of the principal firm is likely to be misleading, as it may obscure the identity of the entity carrying on the business, and give a false impression about regulatory status.
It's a criminal offence for a person who isn’t authorised or exempt to carry on regulated activity in the UK – with a potential penalty of 2 years’ imprisonment, a fine or both.
The authorised person that registered the trading name may also be in breach of our rules, because inappropriate registration or use of trading names could mislead consumers and create risk of harm.
You should not engage in this practice, as doing so may breach our requirements, including the obligation to communicate with customers in a way that is clear, fair and not misleading.
Actions we can take
We supervise how trading names are used. If we find firms aren’t following our rules, we will act.
This can include:
- Fines.
- Removing trading names from the FS Register.
- Securing compensation for consumers.
- Stopping firms from trading – or preventing them from trading without getting our prior written consent.
