The UK has established a statutory open data scheme for petrol and diesel prices. The Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025 commence in two stages: core provisions, including registration and an enforcement framework, from 18 December 2025; reporting and data‑sharing from 2 February 2026. The Regulations apply across England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025.
Any “motor fuel trader” offering petrol or diesel for retail sale must register each petrol filling station with the appointed aggregator. Registration information must be submitted by 2 February 2026, or within seven days of first sale for new sites opening on or after that date. The Schedule 1 dataset includes trading and brand names, address, location coordinates, usual hours, facilities, grades sold and current selling prices.
Registration data must be kept current. Traders must notify the aggregator of changes within three days; price changes are handled separately through the live reporting duty. Permanent closures must be notified 28 days in advance where foreseen, or as soon as reasonably practicable if unforeseen. On registration, the aggregator assigns a unique number to each station to support consistent referencing.
From 2 February 2026, whenever the selling price of any grade at a registered station changes, the trader must provide the new price to the aggregator within 30 minutes of the change. “Selling price” is the pre‑discount price per litre. The duty applies to grades defined in the instrument and covers both petrol and diesel fuels within specified customs codes.
To capture data, the aggregator must maintain multiple intake routes: an online portal, SMS text reception, an automated telephone system and an application programming interface (API). The aggregator must also publish clear information for traders on their rights and obligations and operate procedures to receive and resolve accuracy complaints.
For publication, the aggregator must provide continuous access to price information via a price API and issue a “flat file” twice daily. The API must be updated within five minutes of a trader’s price report. Information recipients must register, and the aggregator may set technical and usage standards and withhold data from recipients who fail to comply with those standards.
The aggregator monitors use of reporting facilities and downstream access, may request information from traders with specified deadlines, and must consider complaints received under its procedures. Where it reasonably suspects non‑compliance, it must alert the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) and share relevant information to support enforcement.
The CMA may issue compliance notices setting out concerns, required actions and deadlines, and may publish statements identifying the trader. It also holds investigatory powers to require attendance to give evidence, production of documents and supply of information, including on oath, for the purposes of deciding whether to exercise its enforcement powers. The CMA has published enforcement guidance for Fuel Finder.
Financial penalties may be imposed where, without reasonable excuse, a trader provides false or misleading information or fails to comply with duties under or made pursuant to the Regulations. Caps are set at 1% of worldwide turnover for a fixed penalty and 5% of worldwide daily turnover per day for daily penalties; a combination is permitted. Unpaid sums accrue interest at the Judgments Act 1838 rate and are recoverable as civil debts.
Before imposing a penalty the CMA must serve a notice of intent, invite representations, and if proceeding, issue and publish a final notice setting out amounts and payment dates. Traders may apply within 14 days to vary payment dates. Appeals lie to the Competition Appeal Tribunal within 28 days; the Tribunal may quash a penalty or substitute a lesser or different one. Separate criminal offences cover supplying false information or obstructing access.
For operators, the near‑term work is practical. Collate the Schedule 1 dataset for each site, nominate a “reporter” and an alternate, and test at least one primary and one fallback reporting route ahead of 2 February 2026. Integrate POS or head‑office pricing systems so that changes are timestamped and dispatched within 30 minutes, and monitor CMA guidance as the enforcement approach beds in.