The UK’s statutory fuel price open data scheme has now begun. The Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025, made under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, place legal duties on all motor fuel traders and establish a government‑appointed aggregator to run the service. Core provisions start on 18 December 2025, with full reporting and data sharing from 2 February 2026.
Two commencement points matter for compliance planning. From 18 December 2025, the aggregator framework, registration duties and enforcement machinery in respect of registration take effect. From 2 February 2026, traders must begin near‑real‑time price reporting and the aggregator must publish the data continuously via an API and twice‑daily flat files. The Regulations apply UK‑wide.
Who is in scope is defined broadly. A “motor fuel trader” is any person offering petrol or diesel for sale at retail, including through agents acting on their behalf. Each petrol filling station operated by that trader is a “relevant petrol filling station”. “Selling price” means the per‑litre pump price before any customer‑specific discounts.
Registration is compulsory. For each relevant petrol filling station, traders must provide the Schedule 1 details to the aggregator by 2 February 2026, or within seven days of first selling fuel if the site opens on or after that date. The aggregator will issue a unique registration number for each site.
Registration data must be kept accurate. Changes must be notified to the aggregator within three days of occurring, and permanent closures must be flagged 28 days in advance if foreseen, or as soon as practicable if not. Notably, until 1 February 2026, price changes still fall within the three‑day update duty; from 2 February they move to the real‑time reporting regime set out in Part 4.
From 2 February 2026, any change to the selling price of a grade of motor fuel must be reported to the aggregator within 30 minutes of the change. To enable reporting, the aggregator must provide at least four routes: an online portal, SMS text, automated telephone (IVR) and an API.
The Regulations create open access to the data for registered information recipients. The aggregator must make price information available at all times through a Price API and, in addition, issue a flat file twice a day. The API must be refreshed within five minutes of price updates from traders. The aggregator can set technical and usage standards and withhold access from recipients who do not comply.
Oversight is split. The aggregator must publish guidance for traders, operate a complaints process, monitor use of the reporting facilities and the published datasets, and request information from traders where needed. Where it reasonably suspects a breach, it must notify the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and share relevant information.
The CMA’s enforcement toolkit includes compliance notices, investigatory powers to require attendance, documents and information, and-where necessary-financial penalties. The CMA’s published Fuel Finder enforcement guidance confirms how it will prioritise cases and when it will move from informal resolution to formal action.
Financial penalties are capped by reference to worldwide turnover of the undertaking. A fixed penalty can be up to 1% of total turnover; a daily penalty can be up to 5% of daily turnover; or the CMA may combine the two. Daily amounts accrue only after a notice of intent and stop when the trader first complies. Interest can apply to late payment.
There is also a criminal offence for giving false or misleading information in response to a request or for obstructing access to information, documents, equipment or other material by the CMA or the aggregator. Corporate officers can be liable where consent, connivance or neglect is proven.
Appeal rights are clear. A trader may ask the CMA within 14 days to vary payment dates and may appeal penalty decisions to the Competition Appeal Tribunal within 28 days of service of the final notice. The Tribunal can quash, reduce or vary the nature of the penalty and interest arrangements, with further appeal on points of law to the Court of Appeal or, in Scotland, the Court of Session.
For forecourt operators, immediate actions are administrative and technical. Ensure each site’s Schedule 1 data is complete and accurate ahead of 2 February 2026, nominate a “reporter” and contingency contact, and confirm that store systems and operational routines can transmit price changes within the 30‑minute window across at least one of the mandated channels.
For developers and intermediaries, the scheme is intended to be open but rules‑based. Access requires registration with the aggregator; standards may apply to use of the API, flat file and downstream data handling. Breaches of those standards can result in access being withheld, so applications consuming the data should be built with compliance and auditability in mind.
The Department for Energy Security and Net Zero must review the Regulations within five years of commencement and lay a report before Parliament. Until then, implementation will be shaped by the CMA’s guidance and casework, and by how effectively traders and developers meet the reporting and reuse standards set by the aggregator.