Report a UK Internal Market issue
Last updated 12 October 2021
The Office for the Internal Market (OIM) is part of the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA).
The OIM independently advises the UK government and the devolved administrations on how specific laws, rules and regulations impact the UK Internal Market and reports on how well it is working.
What is the UK Internal Market?
A purpose of the UK Internal Market regime is to provide certainty for businesses that they can trade freely across the whole of the UK.
This regime, introduced by the UK Internal Market Act, includes the market access principles of:
- ‘Mutual Recognition’; and
- ‘Non-Discrimination’
These principles help to ensure that goods and services can be sold throughout the UK and that certain qualifications held by individual professionals are recognised across the UK.
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
Report an issue
Use the online service if you wish to report an issue you have faced when either:
- buying or selling goods between different parts of the UK
- using a professional qualification awarded in one part of the UK to work in a different part of the UK