UK sets open fuel price data rules from Feb 2026

Fuel prices in the UK are about to become far easier to compare. The Motor Fuel Price (Open Data) Regulations 2025, made on 17 December 2025 under the Data (Use and Access) Act 2025, create a live, public data service for petrol and diesel prices. The official text on legislation.gov.uk sets out staged start dates so drivers, teachers and small businesses can prepare.

Here’s the timetable to keep in mind. From 18 December 2025, forecourts must register their sites with a government‑appointed aggregator and keep their station details accurate. From 2 February 2026, the real‑time part begins: when a pump price changes, the trader has 30 minutes to submit the new price to the aggregator, which then shares it openly.

Let’s define the main roles you’ll see in the law. The aggregator is an organisation appointed by the Secretary of State to run the scheme day to day. It publishes your rights and duties, handles complaints about inaccurate prices, and gives each petrol filling station a unique registration number. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) oversees compliance and can investigate and sanction traders. The instrument is signed by Parliamentary Under‑Secretary of State Martin McCluskey at the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero on 17 December 2025, as recorded on legislation.gov.uk.

If you operate a forecourt, you must register every petrol filling station by 2 February 2026, or within seven days of opening if the site goes live after that date. Registration covers familiar data points: trading name and brand, full address with latitude and longitude, usual opening hours, a public phone number if you have one, amenities, the grades you usually sell and the current selling price for each grade before any discounts. You must also name a ‘reporter’ and an alternate with direct contact details so the regulator knows who submits prices.

Once you’re registered, price changes have to be reported quickly. Any time you change the price of a grade of petrol or diesel, you must tell the aggregator within 30 minutes of the change. ‘Selling price’ means the per‑litre price before applying loyalty deals or other discounts, so the public data compares like with like across brands and regions.

The data will be genuinely open to reuse. The aggregator must run a price API that is available at all times and update it within five minutes of receiving a reported change. It must also publish a downloadable ‘flat file’ twice each day that reflects the most recent information. Anyone who registers as an information recipient-app builders, researchers, community groups, journalists-can access the feed, provided they follow the aggregator’s technical and use standards.

Submitting information should be practical for sites of all sizes. The aggregator must offer an online portal, an SMS text route, an automated telephone line for keypad or voice entry, and a machine‑to‑machine API. This mix matters for inclusion: smaller independents can use phone or web, while larger chains can automate.

Checks and accountability sit behind the open data. The aggregator monitors how traders use the submission channels and how recipients use the API and files. It must consider complaints about price accuracy and, if it reasonably suspects a breach, it alerts the CMA with supporting information. The CMA can require attendance, documents and data under formal notice, issue a compliance notice and-where appropriate-publish the trader’s name and a summary of the issue.

Penalties escalate if problems persist. The CMA may fine a trader that, without reasonable excuse, provides false or misleading information, fails to register or report as required, or ignores a requirement made under these Regulations. A fixed fine can be up to 1% of the undertaking’s worldwide turnover. A daily fine can be up to 5% of daily worldwide turnover until the problem is put right. The CMA will publish guidance on how it sets penalties following consultation.

There is also a criminal offence for obstructing access or supplying false or misleading information in response to a request. Summary conviction brings a fine; corporate officers can be liable if consent, connivance or neglect is proved. If you receive a penalty, you can appeal to the Competition Appeal Tribunal, normally within 28 days of the final notice, and interest rules apply if payment is late.

A quick rules recap for learning and revision. From 2 February 2026, price changes stop being part of ‘registration information’-they are handled solely by the 30‑minute reporting rule. The open data covers each station’s unique number and basic details such as hours and the current per‑litre price. The scheme applies across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The Secretary of State must review the Regulations within five years of 2 February 2026 and lay the findings before Parliament.

Classroom idea if you teach media literacy or computing. Ask students to sketch a simple ‘fuel fairness’ app that uses the API and twice‑daily files. Who are the users? Which fields matter most? How would you spot an outlier price or flag a suspected error? Compare your plan with the CMA’s enforcement powers to see how transparency and accountability work together.

If you run a forecourt, prepare now. Choose your reporter and an alternate, map exactly when and how prices change on site, test the submission routes, and write a short checklist so the 30‑minute window is always met. Keep your station details fresh: non‑price changes must be notified within three days, and planned permanent closures should be flagged at least 28 days in advance where possible.

For drivers and communities, the benefit is simple: faster, fairer price information. Because the baseline is the pre‑discount price, you can compare across brands while still looking for promotions. With a national feed, independent apps and local newsrooms can highlight sudden spikes and shine a light on areas that have historically been hard to track.