Find LocalUK
Find LocalUK

Directory guidelines

How FIND LOCAL UK stays trustworthy

These guidelines apply to every listing, offer, event and paid placement on the directory. They exist to keep the site useful for the people searching it and fair to the businesses on it.

Which businesses can register

  • Independent UK businesses, sole traders, partnerships and small companies across all four nations.
  • You must be trading, or about to start trading, and able to describe what you actually offer.
  • You must have the authority to list the business — an owner, partner or someone authorised to act for it.
  • We do not accept listings for illegal services, pyramid or recruitment schemes, or businesses we cannot verify on request.

What information we need

  • A real business name, a category, and a town and county.
  • At least one working way to reach you: phone, email or website.
  • A description written in your own words — not copied from another site.
  • Photos you own or have permission to use.
  • Accurate opening hours and services. If something changes, update it.

What is not allowed

  • Misleading claims, fake awards, invented reviews or unverifiable statistics.
  • Copied text or images from other businesses or websites.
  • Content that is discriminatory, threatening, sexually explicit or otherwise unlawful.
  • Advertising for services that require a licence you do not hold.
  • Using the directory to send unsolicited marketing to other businesses or customers.
  • Duplicate listings for the same business created to gain extra visibility.

How listings are approved

  • Every new listing and every substantial edit is checked by our team, usually within two working days.
  • We look for a real business, accurate contact details and original content.
  • If something is missing or unclear we ask for changes rather than rejecting outright — you will see the note in your dashboard.
  • We may contact you using the details on the listing to confirm it is yours.
  • Approval is not an endorsement of your business, and it does not guarantee enquiries.

How businesses are verified

  • Verification means we have checked that the person managing the listing runs the business.
  • Typical evidence: a business email domain, a phone call to a published number, or a document such as a utility bill, insurance certificate or licence.
  • Verified listings show a badge. The badge reflects verification at a point in time, not an ongoing audit.
  • We can withdraw verification if the business changes hands or the evidence turns out to be wrong.

Special offers and paid placements

  • Offers must be genuine: a real discount, package or benefit, with clear terms and a real expiry date.
  • Offers expire automatically after their end date, and we may remove any that cannot be honoured.
  • Featured This Week is a paid homepage advert at £1 per day. Every placement is labelled as paid and checked before it appears.
  • Paid placements never change a listing's reviews, rating or position in ordinary search results.
  • Promotions that mislead, use images you do not own, or breach these guidelines are declined or removed.

How reviews are handled

  • Anyone can leave a review of a live listing. Reviews are moderated before publication.
  • We remove reviews that are abusive, contain personal data, are written by the business itself, or are clearly not about a real experience.
  • We do not edit reviews to change their meaning, and businesses cannot pay to remove a review.
  • Business owners may post one public reply to a review.
  • Repeated attempts to manipulate ratings can result in the listing being suspended.

Reporting a listing or review

  • Use the Report link on any business profile or review.
  • Tell us what is wrong — a closed business, wrong details, copied content, or a guideline breach.
  • We review reports in the order they arrive and contact the owner where needed.
  • Reports are handled confidentially; we do not share who reported a listing.

When a listing breaches these rules

  • First, we usually ask the owner to correct the problem and set the listing back to review.
  • Serious or repeated breaches can lead to suspension of the listing, and in the worst cases closure of the account.
  • Paid placements that breach the rules are removed without refund where the breach is deliberate.
  • Accounts used to spam, abuse other members or impersonate a business may be suspended immediately.

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