The short answer

Yes. If your dealership arranges finance on caravans or motorhomes, or introduces buyers to a lender, you must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) — or operate under someone else's authorisation as an "appointed representative." That's true even though a finance company does the actual lending, and it's true whether you sell £8,000 tourers or £90,000 A-class motorhomes. The only dealers outside the rules are those who genuinely never offer, arrange or refer finance at all — cash and bank-transfer sales only, with no lender introductions.

You'll often hear this called a "consumer credit licence." Strictly there's no licence any more — what you need today is FCA authorisation — but the everyday term is fine, and we use it too. For the cross-industry picture, see our step-by-step guide to getting authorised. This article is about what it means for caravan and motorhome dealers specifically.

Why selling on finance makes you "regulated"

Most leisure-vehicle purchases above a few thousand pounds involve finance — hire purchase or PCP arranged at the dealership through a specialist lender. You don't lend your own money, but the act of introducing a buyer to a lender is credit broking, and credit broking is a regulated activity in its own right. It makes no difference that the lender does the underwriting, sets the rate and takes the credit risk: the introduction is yours, so the authorisation requirement is yours.

High ticket prices don't take you outside the rules

A question we hear often in this sector: "surely a £70,000 motorhome is too big to be consumer credit?" No. For consumers there is no upper limit — a £70,000 motorhome on finance is just as regulated as a £7,000 tourer. There is an exemption for credit above £25,000 taken wholly or predominantly for business purposes, but a family buying a leisure vehicle won't fit it, and treating retail buyers as "business" to dodge the rules is exactly the kind of thing the FCA looks for. Assume every retail finance deal is regulated, whatever the price.

Which permission do dealers need?

FCA authorisation comes in two tiers — limited permission and full permission — and for almost every caravan and motorhome dealer the answer is limited permission. Your main business is selling leisure vehicles; finance exists to help customers buy them. Because the broking is secondary to your main trade, the FCA treats you as a "supplier," and suppliers qualify for the lighter, cheaper tier. The usual permission set is limited permission credit broking.

The part-exchange point most dealers miss

If you take part-exchanges, there's a second activity to think about. When a customer's px still has finance outstanding and you settle it as part of the deal, that settling can amount to debt adjusting — another regulated activity. The good news is it fits within limited permission when it's confined to settling finance on vehicles you're taking in px, and a well-prepared application scopes it in from the start. Miss it, and you're carrying on a regulated activity your permission doesn't cover.

Rule of thumb: if you'd still have a dealership without offering finance, you need limited permission, not full. If arranging finance ever became the business itself — broking deals unconnected to your own stock, or lending your own money — that's full permission territory.

What about 0% or subsidised finance?

Interest-free credit is only exempt within tight limits: repayable in 12 or fewer instalments within 12 months, with no charges of any kind. Leisure-vehicle finance runs for years, so the exemption is essentially irrelevant here — our 0% finance guide explains the precise rule. Long-term finance on caravans and motorhomes is regulated credit even if a promotion makes it interest-free to the buyer.

The appointed representative alternative

Instead of your own authorisation you can become an appointed representative (AR) of an authorised principal — sometimes the finance provider itself. The principal carries legal responsibility for your compliance, and in exchange you're tied to their products and rules, usually pay an ongoing fee, and can be dropped. Direct limited permission means your own entry on the FCA register, the freedom to panel more than one lender, and no network fee — in exchange for owning your compliance. Dealers who want control of their finance proposition, and their margin, generally choose direct authorisation.

What it costs

There are two separate costs to budget for:

  • The FCA's application fee — currently around £560 for a limited permission firm, paid to the FCA when the application is submitted. The FCA sets and occasionally changes its fees, so check the current figure on its website.
  • Preparing the application — you can do it yourself, pay a compliance consultancy (often £2,000 or more), or use a fixed-price service. This is where the cost varies most.

There's also a small annual fee to the FCA once you're authorised. On timing, six months is the FCA's statutory limit for deciding a complete application — and longer if it's incomplete. In practice, complete limited permission applications are often decided more quickly, though that's typical rather than guaranteed. The single biggest factor in avoiding delay is submitting a complete, well-prepared application the first time.

Offering finance without authorisation

This isn't a grey area worth gambling on. Arranging or introducing regulated finance without authorisation — and without AR status — is a criminal offence, can make the credit agreements unenforceable, and exposes the dealership to FCA enforcement. Our guide to offering finance without authorisation sets out what's at stake. If you're selling leisure vehicles on finance today without cover, fix the position before the next deal, not after.