# How do I check if an accountant is registered?

Pick My Accountant (https://pickmyaccountant.co.uk/answers/how-do-i-check-if-an-accountant-is-registered/): How do I check if an accountant is registered? — Quick answer. Ask which professional body the accountant belongs to, then search that body's free public register — ICAEW, ACCA, AAT, and ICAS all offer online lookups by name or firm. Also check the practice itself on the Companies House register for its filing history. If they claim letters they can't be found under, or belong to no body at all, treat that as a serious warning.

## Key facts

- Every major UK body runs a free public register: ICAEW, ACCA, AAT, ICAS, CIMA, CIOT
- Ask for the individual's membership number if the firm search is ambiguous
- Check the practice at Companies House too — active status and filings up to date
- Anti-money-laundering supervision is legally required for every accountancy service provider
- 'Accountant' is not a protected title — the register check is how you tell qualified from not

## How do you verify an accountant in two minutes?

First, search the firm or named accountant on the professional body's own register (find.icaew.com for ICAEW, or ACCA's find-an-accountant directory). Second, look the practice up on Companies House — status should be Active with accounts filed on time. Third, ask for confirmation of professional indemnity cover, which regulated members must hold.

First, the professional body: search the firm or named accountant on the body's own register (for example find.icaew.com for ICAEW, or ACCA's find-an-accountant directory). Second, the company: look the practice up on the Companies House register — status should be Active with accounts filed on time; an accountancy firm late on its own filings is telling you something. Third, insurance: ask for confirmation of professional indemnity cover, which regulated members must hold.

## What if they belong to no professional body?

It is legal to practise without one except for reserved work like audit, but you lose every protection: no ethics code, no required insurance, no complaints route. Unqualified practitioners must still be registered with HMRC for anti-money-laundering supervision — ask who supervises them. Given how many affordable, properly regulated firms exist, taking the unregulated risk rarely makes sense.

It's legal to practise without one (except for reserved work like audit), but you lose every protection: no ethics code, no required insurance, no complaints route, no disciplinary process. Unqualified practitioners must still be registered with HMRC for anti-money-laundering supervision — ask who supervises them; no answer means they may be operating unlawfully. Given how many affordable, properly regulated firms exist, taking the unregulated risk rarely makes sense.

## Which red flags mean you should walk away?

Letters after the name that do not appear on the body's register. Vagueness about who holds the qualification. No professional indemnity insurance, or refusal to confirm it. A dissolved or strike-off-pending company behind the trading name. Guarantees of specific tax refunds before seeing your records. Any one of these justifies walking away.

Letters after the name that don't appear on the body's register. Vagueness about who exactly holds the qualification. No professional indemnity insurance, or refusal to confirm it. A dissolved or strike-off-pending company behind the trading name. Guarantees of specific tax refunds before seeing your records. Any one of these justifies walking away — several together demand it.

## FAQs

**Q: How do I verify a firm listed on Pick My Accountant?**
A: Qualification badges on our profiles link directly to the official register concerned, and register-imported profiles link to the firm's Companies House record with its company number. We verify what we can at listing time, but memberships change — the register is always the source of truth.

**Q: What's an AML supervisor and why does it matter?**
A: UK law requires everyone providing accountancy services to be supervised for anti-money-laundering — by their professional body if they have one, or by HMRC if not. It's a simple compliance question to ask, and a legitimate practice answers instantly.

**Q: Can I check an accountant's disciplinary history?**
A: Partially — the professional bodies publish disciplinary outcomes and exclusions. Searching the body's site for the individual or firm name alongside their public register entry covers the common cases.

## Sources

- [ICAEW — Find a chartered accountant](https://find.icaew.com/) (checked 2026-08-31)
- [ACCA — Find an accountant](https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/member/find-an-accountant.html) (checked 2026-08-31)
- [AAT — Find an accountant](https://www.aat.org.uk/find-an-accountant) (checked 2026-08-31)
- [ICAS — Find a CA](https://www.icas.com/find-a-ca) (checked 2026-08-31)

Updated: 2026-08-31

Source: https://pickmyaccountant.co.uk/answers/how-do-i-check-if-an-accountant-is-registered/