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approval .co.uk

Data Sources and Methodology

Last updated: March 2026

1. Overview

approval.co.uk aggregates publicly available data to help consumers find FCA-authorised financial advisers. We believe in full transparency about where our data comes from and how we use it. This page explains our data sources, methodology, and how search results are presented.

Adviser data is sourced from: the FCA Financial Services Register (firm name, FRN, authorisation status, permissions, disciplinary history), Companies House (incorporation date, accounts category, company status), Postcodes.io (geolocation from ONS Postcode Directory), and Google Places API (review ratings, review count). Chartered status is verified against the Personal Finance Society / Chartered Insurance Institute public directories. VouchedFor 'Top Rated' status is from VouchedFor's publicly published annual guide.

2. FCA Financial Services Register

The FCA Financial Services Register is the primary source of data for our directory. It is maintained by the Financial Conduct Authority and is publicly available. From the register, we extract:

  • Firm details: Firm name, Financial Reference Number (FRN), registered address, and postcode.
  • Authorisation status: Whether the firm is currently authorised, has applied for authorisation, or is no longer authorised.
  • Regulated activities and permissions: The specific financial activities the firm is authorised to carry out, including investment advice, mortgage advice, insurance mediation, and pension transfers.
  • Individual advisers: Named individuals approved to carry out regulated activities on behalf of the firm.
  • Disciplinary history: Any public disciplinary actions, fines, or restrictions imposed by the FCA.

We refresh our data from the FCA Register periodically to ensure listings are reasonably current. However, there may be a short delay between updates on the FCA Register and changes appearing on our website. You should always verify an adviser's current status directly on the FCA Register.

3. Companies House

We use publicly available data from Companies House to supplement adviser firm profiles. From Companies House, we extract:

  • Incorporation date: When the company was first registered, which can indicate how long the firm has been established.
  • Company status: Whether the company is active, dissolved, or in another state.
  • Accounts category: The size classification of the company (micro, small, medium, etc.), which provides an indication of the firm's scale.

4. Google Places

We use the Google Places API to display review information for adviser firms where available. This includes:

  • Aggregate star rating: The average review score on Google.
  • Review count: The total number of Google reviews for the business.

Source: Google Reviews. Ratings and reviews are third-party content hosted by Google, not verified, moderated, or endorsed by approval.co.uk.

5. How Search Results Are Ordered

Search results on approval.co.uk are ordered by proximity only. When you search for advisers by postcode, we calculate the distance between your postcode and each adviser's registered business postcode, and display results from nearest to furthest.

Results are ordered by proximity to your postcode. This order does not indicate quality, suitability, or any form of recommendation. Always verify an adviser's current FCA authorisation at register.fca.org.uk before engaging their services.

We do not accept payment from advisers to appear higher in search results. We do not use quality scores, review ratings, or any other factors to influence the order of search results. The ordering is purely geographic.

6. How Specialisms Are Derived

The specialism categories displayed on adviser profiles (such as "Pensions", "Investments", "Mortgages", or "Protection") are derived from the adviser's FCA-authorised permissions. We map specific FCA permission codes to consumer-friendly category names.

For example, if a firm holds FCA permissions for "advising on investments (excluding P2P)" and "advising on pension transfers and pension opt-outs", we display specialism tags for "Investments" and "Pensions" on their listing.

These specialism tags are informational only and are derived automatically from regulatory data. They do not constitute a recommendation or endorsement of the adviser's expertise in any particular area. You should discuss your specific needs directly with any adviser before engaging their services.

7. Data Accuracy and Limitations

While we take reasonable steps to ensure the data we display is accurate and up to date, we cannot guarantee the accuracy, completeness, or timeliness of any information on our website. Specific limitations include:

  • There may be a delay between changes on public registers and updates on approval.co.uk.
  • Postcodes used for distance calculations are based on registered business addresses, which may not reflect where the adviser actually meets clients.
  • Google review data may not be available for all firms and is updated periodically.
  • Specialism categories are derived automatically and may not reflect the full range of services an adviser offers.

8. Contact

If you believe any data displayed on approval.co.uk is inaccurate, or if you have questions about our data sources and methodology, please contact us at hello@approval.co.uk.