FAQ

We have been involved with the supply of FCA data since 1988, just after the Financial Services Act came into force. We have worked with hundreds of clients supplying FCA data, as well as the FCA itself

For the Firms Upload template:

• FRN (Firm Reference Number): As issued by the FCA. (required)

• Name: Your internal name for the company.

• Reference: Your internal reference for the company.

• Principal: If you wish to supply a Principal Firm Reference Number, this will be used for the applicable permissions of the FRN, most commonly associated with appointed representatives.

For the Individuals Upload template:

• IRN (Individual Reference Number): As issued by the FCA. (required)

• Name: Your internal name for the person.

• Reference: Your internal reference for the individual.

No, the data is exactly as provided by the FCA

Yes. Unlike with the FCA register extract, all control functions are included.

The Principals associated with a New firm are updated overnight and then we only look for major Principals for New firms i.e. Principals with more than 10 Appointed Reps. If you would like us to add one please email us at info:watchdogsservices.co.uk

The FCA do not supply email addresses with the API. We do work with a trusted partner company who do supply email addresses and can refer you to them.

You download the data from our website.

Very easy. The data is provided in CSV format

Yes, you can load data into Excel. The data is downloaded in the CSV format, which is directly compatible with Excel.

No, it takes seconds even on a domestic broadband

Yes, we can provide a bespoke service. The report may be based on a particular set of firms that you specify in your ‘watchlist’, or a particular subset of the extract (for instance firms with particular permissions). The output can be a data set, or a report highlighting recent changes, tailored to your own specific requirements. Reports can be emailed to you on a regular basis depending on the frequency needed. We invite you to discuss your specific needs with us so we can provide a tailored quotation for this service. Please reach out through our "Contact Us" form for detailed communication.

Yes, security is supplied by Wix, a world-renowned platform.

No, this is public domain data readily available on the FCA website. If we run a bespoke report for you, we will treat your watchlist confidentially as who you work with should not be divulged elsewhere.

Simply select your requirement, sign up and purchase accordingly via credit card.

You can purchase as many accounts as you wish. You may wish to set up a team account so that the whole team can access the data centrally..

No, the FCA provide their API service free of charge

The minimum term is one month. After that, you can cancel whenever you wish.

To track and manage individuals with reports on Watchdog Services, simply log in to your account, navigate to the 'Individuals Tracking' section, and follow the prompts to generate detailed reports and receive email notifications.

An IRN (Individual Reference Number) and an FRN (Firm Reference Number) are unique identifiers assigned by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The IRN is specific to individuals, often used to track and identify authorized individuals in regulated roles. The FRN is assigned to firms regulated by the FCA, helping to uniquely identify registered companies within the financial sector.

The FCA Extract, also known as the RES (Regulatory Extract Service), is a set of Data provided by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) containing key information on regulated firms and individuals. This is a snapshot of the FCA register at a point in time whereas Watchdog uses real time data from the FCA API. Watchdog is used by organizations to access up-to-date regulatory information, including firm reference numbers (FRNs), individual reference numbers (IRNs), permissions, and other compliance details. Both Watchdog and the FCA Extract help ensure transparency and compliance within the financial services sector.

We send alerts to keep you informed of key changes and developments related to the firms or individuals you're monitoring. These include:

• Status/Sub-Status Changes

• Individual Movements (Joiners/Leavers)

• Disciplinary Updates

• Firm News from the FCA or Companies house

The frequency depends on the type of alert and your chosen subscription settings:

• Status/Sub-Status Changes – Sent daily or weekly, based on your subscription.

• Individual Movements –

  • Joiners: Sent daily or weekly, based on your subscription.

  • Leavers: Sent weekly

• Disciplinary Updates – Sent daily or weekly, based on your subscription.

• FCA/Companies House Firm News– Sent weekly

The Principal FRN (Firm Reference Number) is only retrieved during our overnight data sync process. This means when a new firm is added, its Principal FRN won’t appear immediately. It will typically be available the next day, once the overnight update has completed.

We keep records of newly registered firms for approximately 30 to 40 days.

• The website displays only the most recent 10 days to keep things clear and fast.

• If you need older data, you can download the full dataset, which includes up to 40 days of records.

• For programmatic access, our API provides the full 30–40 days of data as well.

We focus on tracking the larger and more prominent Principals across the firms we monitor. As a result, some newer or smaller firms may not yet have Principal details listed. If you believe a particular Principal should be included, please don’t hesitate to contact us — we’re always open to suggestions and feedback.