ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) has called for clarity from the government on the registration timeline for the upcoming Fuel Finder Scheme, after the registration portal did not open as planned yesterday (18 December 2025).
Instead, registration will now open sometime in January, with no specific date provided, leaving fuel retailers less than a month to register sites and set up mandatory price reporting systems.
The Fuel Finder Scheme will require retailers to report fuel price changes within 30 minutes and provide details on eight facilities and amenities, including Adblue pumps, Adblue packaged, LPG pumps, car washes, air pumps, water filling, 24‑hour fuel, and customer toilets. The deadline for mandatory reporting of fuel prices remains 2 February 2026.
The CMA has published enforcement guidance for the Fuel Finder Scheme and has separately stated that between 2 February and May its focus will be on helping businesses to comply with the new regime, rather than on enforcement action.
While the CMA will focus on supporting businesses during the first three months, ACS warned that the shortened preparation window still poses major challenges for retailers.
ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: “The delay to the launch of Fuel Finder Scheme registration portal will hamper fuel retailers’ preparations and readiness for reporting fuel prices changes in February. We need urgent clarity from the government about the readiness of the Fuel Finder Scheme so fuel retailers can press ahead with registering and reporting fuel prices.
“There is an unfortunate irony that in launching a system that requires fuel retailers to provide information within strict time windows, the government and the organisation running the scheme have missed their first deadline.”
