ESG rating providers face UK authorisation from June 2028
Environmental, social and governance (ESG) rating providers will enter Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulation on June 29, 2028. The final rules target transparency, reliability and comparability; authorisation applications open from June 24, 2027.
Preparation starts before authorisation
Providers of ESG ratings and assessments must check their scope, review final rules and guidance and prepare for implementation.
From June 29, 2028, UK providers need authorisation and the relevant permission unless exempt.
Applications begin June 24, 2027, with staggered windows; the FCA urges early applications within each window.
Requirements cover transparency, governance, systems and controls, conflicts of interest and engagement with ratings users and rated entities.
They are proportionate to firm size and activities.
Laura Dawes, director of authorisations and sustainable finance, urged firms to prepare now.
The FCA offers scope guidance, webinars and its Pre-Application Support Service.
Policy Statement PS26/22 contains the final regime.
Legislation precedes the final rules
Government legislation brought ESG ratings within the FCA's remit in October 2025; 95 percent of respondents to its consultation supported regulation.
FCA consultation CP25/34 ran from December 1, 2025, to March 31, 2026.
The approach draws on existing standards and International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) recommendations.
In the FCA's Financial Lives Survey 2024, 72 percent of adults with investments or a defined contribution pension wanted investments to do good as well as deliver a financial return.
Production standards, not sustainability prescriptions
The regime regulates ratings production, governance and communication, not a prescribed sustainability view or methodology.
Ratings assess entities, assets and financial products against ESG criteria.
Asset managers, lenders and benchmark administrators use them for capital allocation and risk management.