Financial services register checks
Instantly verify candidates against the UK Financial Conduct Authority’s public register for FCA and PRA regulated firms. Spot restrictions, identify risks to your business, and hire with confidence.
Check individuals at both FCA and PRA regulated firms
Identify candidates with FCA-recorded disciplinary history
Prove candidates meet FCA standards for competence and integrity
What you need to know
Available in
United Kingdom
Covers individuals at both FCA and PRA-regulated firms
Quickly identify non-financial misconduct and protect your business.
Stay SMCR compliant
FS Register checks identify if your candidate is a member of the register, and if their status is active, authorised, or subject to restrictions. In the event of an FCA audit, it’s a strong proof point for a candidate’s integrity, alongside fitness and propriety.
Spot business risk
FS Register checks, combined with regulatory references or professional qualification verification, give you confidence that candidates are competent to perform their role, and helps prevent non-financial misconduct that can still impact your bottom line.
Build a positive company culture
An FCA survey found that reported incidents of non-financial misconduct, like bullying, increased by 72% from 2021 to 2023. Surfacing formal disciplinary outcomes, including those related to conduct, helps you make sure every new hire positively contributes to company culture.
See it in action
Book a demo and choose a time to speak with one of our experts about a custom solution for your business.
20
+
Integrated ATSs and HRISs
48,597
+
Finance companies sending checks with Zinc
2,510,274
Checks with Zinc (so far)
Prove ‘fit and proper’ in seconds, and get results straight to your preferred HR platform.
Stay ahead of SMCR requirements
Layered checks for stronger compliance
Instant results, straight to your ATS or HRIS
Award-winning candidate experience
SMCR, accelerated.
“A lot of our SMCR checks have been completed quicker. These checks go out to a lot of the more senior people in the business, and it was really nice to get feedback from them that it took less of their time up to get those checks done.”
Assess ‘fit and proper’ and scan the FS Register in just a few quick steps.
Step one
Candidates provide their Individual Reference Number (IRN) as part of their Zinc screening journey. If we’ve already done identity verification, we’ll pull it automatically from their verified documents, no extra steps needed from you.
Step two
We check the candidate’s IRN directly against the Financial Services Register, confirming their current authorisation status, any firm associations past and present, and whether any disciplinary history or restrictions are recorded against them.
Step three
Results come back almost instantly, and include the candidate’s registration status, current and previous firm associations, and disciplinary history. Everything sits in your Zinc dashboard, giving you a clear, auditable record for your fitness and propriety assessment.
Integrations
Background checks, integrated
Zinc connects directly with your ATS or HRIS at no additional cost. Send checks, get results, and store reports without leaving your preferred platform.
Why businesses love using Zinc
%%An intuitive, easy platform%% with support that's far quicker than other providers. The answers are always reliable, especially when we're dealing with different countries.
%%The candidate experience is excellent.%% Integration was straightforward, the pricing is among the best on the market, and support is quick and consistently helpful.
%%It automates the screening of new employees%% and integrates well with our ATS and HRIS. The initial setup was super easy and we're really happy with the product.
Onboarding takes just a few minutes and %%running checks for international contractors is seamless%%. The pay-per-use model is a huge plus for a small company like ours.
%%It has made my role, and my colleagues' day to day, much easier and more efficient%%, while significantly improving the overall experience for our candidates.
Checks and paperwork sync automatically with our recruitment and HR systems, %%saving us so much time%% not having to check multiple systems. The support teams are always incredibly helpful.
For teams of every size
Flexible background checks
Whether you’re hiring a little or a lot.
Under 20 hires annually
Pay As You Grow
Get started in minutes. Our Pay As You Grow plan is built for lower hiring volumes — a flat rate per check, with no hidden costs or setup fees.
Start checking in minutes, no setup needed
Flat rate per check, no hidden fees
Pay only for what you use
20+ hires annually
Custom solutions
For larger volumes, our experts build a package around your needs. Flexible with your hiring and never expires, with integrations, setup, training, and support all included free.
A custom package built around your hiring
Credit pool that never expires or rolls over
Integrations, setup, and training included free
More from Zinc
Check out more resources, straight from our experts
Start screening in days, not weeks
Combine this check with right to work, references, criminal records and more, across 195 countries, in a single candidate journey.
What information does the FCA Financial Services Register show for SMCR compliance?
The FCA Financial Services Register records three things relevant to SMCR compliance:
- Current authorisation status (whether the individual is currently authorised, approved, or registered, and the nature of their permissions)
- Firm associations (current and previous firms they've been associated with, including the roles they held and the dates)
- Disciplinary history (any regulatory actions, restrictions, prohibitions, or enforcement outcomes the FCA has recorded against them)
One practical caveat: the register reflects the FCA's update cycle, which may not be in real time. Very recent changes in status may not yet be reflected when you run a check. Running the check close to the appointment date is more reliable than relying on a result from several weeks earlier.
Which roles require a FS register check under SMCR?
FS register checks are most clearly required for candidates being appointed as Senior Managers (who need FCA approval), Certified Persons — individuals certified by their firm as fit and proper to perform a function that could significantly harm the firm or its customers — and Approved Persons under the legacy regime. These include significant influence functions, client dealing functions, and algorithm control functions, among others.
Beyond formally designated roles, FS register checks are relevant for any candidate who'll be FCA-registered in connection with their new role, or who previously held an FCA-registered role at another firm.
The register check is one of the tools you can use to see whether a candidate has a relevant disciplinary history. If you're unsure whether a specific role requires an FS register check, our team can advise.
How quickly does Zinc return Financial Services Register check results?
FS Register check results come back in seconds. Once the candidate's Individual Reference Number (IRN) is confirmed, Zinc queries the register directly and returns their current authorisation status, all firm associations past and present, and any disciplinary history, all in one view in your dashboard.
This is the main advantage over manual FCA register lookups, which are time-consuming and easy to get wrong, particularly when cross-referencing past firm associations or spotting subtle disciplinary markers. Zinc surfaces everything automatically, and the result sits alongside all other candidate screening data.
View all of Zinc's live turnaround times
What happens if a candidate's FCA register check reveals a disciplinary record?
A disciplinary record on the FS register requires careful consideration as part of the fitness and propriety assessment.
The nature and age of the action matters significantly. A formal prohibition or withdrawal of approval is materially different from a historical fine or conditions that have since been lifted. Zinc's FS register check surfaces the nature and date of any action, giving your compliance team the detail they need for an informed assessment.
The FCA's expectation is that disciplinary history is assessed on the specific facts of the case, not treated as an automatic disqualifier. Your compliance team should document the assessment: what was found, how it was evaluated, and what decision was made.
That documentation forms part of the fitness and propriety record for SMCR purposes. If the history raises material concerns, taking advice from your compliance function or legal team before proceeding is the right step.
What’s the difference between an FS register check and regulatory references for financial services hiring?
These checks are complementary and cover different things. A Financial Services Register check is an automated query of the public FCA register. It confirms a candidate's current authorisation status, their full history of firm associations, and any disciplinary actions formally recorded by the FCA. It's fast (seconds), covers anyone ever FCA-registered, and gives you objective, regulator-sourced data.
A regulatory reference is a mandatory direct enquiry to a candidate's previous FCA-regulated employers, required under SYSC 22 for Senior Managers and Certified Persons. It covers the previous six years of employment and must address specific questions about conduct, fitness, and any compliance matters from that period.
The reference captures information that won't appear on the public register: internal disciplinary matters, performance concerns, and conduct observations from actual line managers.
For SMCR roles, both the FS register check and regulatory references are typically needed as part of a complete fitness and propriety assessment.