Guidance

Report an issue with the UK’s Internal Market

Use this service to report an issue with buying or selling goods or services between different parts of the UK, or difficulty using a professional qualification awarded in one part of the UK.

The information reported through this service will be provided to the Office for the Internal Market (OIM). 

The OIM advises the UK government and the devolved administrations on how specific laws, rules and regulations affect the movement of goods and services between different parts of the UK (the UK internal market), and reports on how well the UK internal market is working.

Examples of UK internal market issues

You might be encountering a UK internal market issue if, for example, you are:

  • being prevented from selling a product in one part of the UK even though you have complied with requirements permitting its sale in another part of the UK
  • unable to provide a service in one part of the UK even though you have permission from a regulator to do so in another part of the UK
  • being prevented from selling, or are finding it more difficult to sell, a good or service in a particular part of the UK for reasons connected with your location elsewhere in the UK – such as a requirement to have a registered address in a particular area
  • being prevented from practising a profession in one part of the UK because you obtained your professional qualifications elsewhere in the UK

Information we will ask for

In completing this form, you will be asked to provide information including:

  • basic details about yourself and, if applicable, your organisation (but the form can be submitted anonymously)
  • a description of the issue, including the problem and impact

You can make your submission anonymously. If you do this, we will be unable to respond to your submission or ask any follow-up questions, which makes it harder for us to verify the information and use it in our reports.

You can upload any supporting documentation. This can give us useful context. We accept most common file formats.

The form will take around 5 minutes to complete, but may take longer depending on the level of detail you provide. The form cannot be saved, so make sure you have enough time to complete and submit it in one go.

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If you need help using this service, find more information on additional support in the OIM accessibility statement.

Next steps once you’ve made your submission

The information you provide will be analysed by the OIM.

Once you have reviewed your submission and selected submit, you will receive an automatic response to confirm that we have received your submission, along with a reference number.

The OIM will review your submission and any supporting documentation that you have sent, and will respond to you within 5 working days.

We provide you with a reference number to enable you to follow up with us should you wish to. We may also quote it if we contact you to ask for additional information.

The information you share with us about issues in the UK internal market is invaluable in helping us to monitor how effectively goods and services are moving between different parts of the UK and to identify emerging issues.

Although we can bring issues to the attention of the UK government and devolved administrations through our reporting, the OIM cannot resolve issues directly, enforce the requirements set out in the UK Internal Market Act or provide advice and support to individuals or businesses. However, the OIM will respond to your submission individually, sharing relevant guidance and potential sources of assistance where possible.

Updates to this page

Published 21 September 2021

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