Which AML supervisor do I need?

How your AML supervisor is decided

Every business covered by the Money Laundering Regulations must be supervised. Regulation 7 sets who does it:

• The FCA supervises firms it authorises, such as authorised financial advisers, and cryptoasset businesses.
• A professional body supervises members (or member firms) that are eligible under its scheme, such as ICAEW, ACCA, AAT or the SRA.
• HMRC supervises everyone else: estate and letting agents, accountants, bookkeepers and tax advisers with no professional body supervisor, high value dealers, art market participants, and MSBs and TCSPs not supervised by the FCA.

Being a member of a professional body is not always enough. Some bodies supervise only members with a practising certificate or licence, and the tax bodies (CIOT and ATT) run opt-in schemes. If your body can’t supervise your firm, HMRC does.

Registering with HMRC

HMRC’s fees from 1 December 2025 are £300 to apply, £400 for each premises every year, and £40 per person for the approval check (or £500 per person for the fit and proper test for MSBs and TCSPs). Work yours out with our HMRC fees calculator.

Money service businesses and trust or company service providers must wait until HMRC confirms their registration before trading. HMRC says other businesses can trade while their application is processed, but trading without registering at all is an offence.

The move to the FCA

In October 2025 the Government decided that the FCA will become the AML supervisor for legal, accountancy and trust or company service businesses. The Home Office strategy of 15 September 2026 says this will cut the number of supervisors from 25 to 3, with legislation expected in 2027/28 and firms moving to the FCA in 2028/29. The FCA says it does not expect to start supervising before autumn 2028, with the move likely to finish around 2030.

Nothing changes for firms yet. Keep your current supervisor until you are told otherwise. Estate agents, letting agents, high value dealers, art market participants and money service businesses stay with HMRC. See our guide to the FCA as AML supervisor.

All 25 UK AML supervisors

The 3 statutory supervisors and the 22 professional body supervisors listed in Schedule 1 to the Money Laundering Regulations, as in force in October 2026.

The SRA, the Bar Standards Board and CILEx Regulation carry out supervision for the Law Society, the Bar Council and CILEx, which are the bodies named in the regulations.