FCA Increases Financial Ombudsman Award Limits

UK Financial Ombudsman Service News

Published April 1st, 2026

Detected April 1st, 2026

Summary

The FCA has confirmed increases to the Financial Ombudsman Service award limits, effective 1 April 2026. The limit for complaints about acts or omissions on or after 1 April 2019 rises to £455,000 (up £10,000), while the limit for earlier complaints rises to £205,000 (up £5,000). These annual adjustments are made in line with CPI inflation.

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What changed

The FCA has confirmed the annual adjustment to Financial Ombudsman Service award limits, effective 1 April 2026. The upper limit for complaints regarding firm conduct on or after 1 April 2019 increases by £10,000 to £455,000, while the limit for complaints about earlier conduct rises by £5,000 to £205,000. The FCA's policy statement PS19/8 provides the regulatory framework for these adjustments, which are indexed to Consumer Prices Index inflation.

Financial businesses should note these new limits for complaint liability purposes. FCA-regulated firms (including banks, insurers, and financial advisers) should update their complaint reserves and financial planning to account for potentially higher award exposures when the Financial Ombudsman upholds complaints from 1 April 2026. The limits apply automatically without requiring any action from regulated firms.

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FCA confirms the increase to our award limits

1 April 2026

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The Financial Conduct Authority has confirmed the increase to our award limits for the coming financial year.

Our award limit is the maximum amount we can require a financial business to pay when we uphold complaints. This limit is adjusted each year in line with inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI).

The FCA has confirmed that, from 1 April 2026, our award limits will go up to:

£455,000 for complaints about acts or omissions by firms on or after 1 April 2019 (an increase of £10,000 on the previous year)
£205,000 for complaints about acts or omissions by firms before 1 April 2019 (a rise of £5,000 over the previous year)
Different limits apply depending on when the complaint was brought to us. You can read about current and previous limits on our understanding compensatio n page.

The FCA’s policy statement PS19/8 sets out the full background to increasing our award limits. You can see this change in the FCA Handbook.

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