Glossary
CMA Fuel Price Transparency Mandate
Direct Answer / TL;DR
What is CMA Fuel Price Transparency Mandate?
A regulatory requirement introduced by the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) in 2023 requiring petrol retailers to report near-real-time fuel prices to a government-run database, powering free public price comparison tools including the UK Fuel Finder API.
Why does it matter for UK drivers?
The CMA's Road Fuel Market Study, published in July 2023, found that UK fuel retailers — particularly the major supermarkets — had failed to pass on falls in wholesale fuel costs quickly enough during the 2021–2022 energy crisis. The CMA estimated this 'rocket and feathers' pricing cost UK motorists an extra £900 million in 2022 alone.
As a remedy, the government introduced the Motor Fuel (Road Fuel Prices) Regulations 2024. These regulations require all fuel retailers to: (1) Register with a central government database. (2) Report current pump prices for each fuel grade. (3) Update prices within 30 minutes of any pump price change. (4) Provide this data free of charge to the public via the Fuel Finder API.
The mandate came into full effect in November 2023. Over 37,000 stations now report prices. Compliance is enforced by the Office for Product Safety and Standards (OPSS) with civil penalties for non-compliance.
The impact has been significant. Before the mandate, comprehensive UK fuel price data was only available through crowd-sourced apps like PetrolPrices.com (relying on user-submitted prices) or from commercial data providers. Now, any developer can build a fuel price application using the free government API — which is exactly what WorthThePump does.
The mandate also increased competitive pressure. When drivers can instantly see the cheapest station within a mile on their phone, forecourts have less ability to charge above-market prices. The CMA's annual monitoring reports since the mandate show that supermarket margins have narrowed relative to pre-mandate levels.
This transparency is the reason WorthThePump can provide real, personalised, near-live savings calculations — a service that would have been impossible without government-mandated data access.
Related terms
Further reading
Now you know what CMA Fuel Price Transparency Mandate means —
find out if your nearest cheap station is actually worth the trip.