A sourced guide for FCA-regulated companies, LLPs and partnerships on what changed on 29 June 2026, what s.250 actually does, how it differs from failure-to-prevent fraud, and what a post-commencement evidence record should show.
Section 250 is now in force. It is a corporate attribution rule: where a senior manager commits a UK offence within the actual or apparent scope of their authority, the organisation also commits it. It is not a failure-to-prevent offence, has no statutory reasonable-procedures defence, and is not bounded by SM&CR approval status. The practical task for in-scope FCA-regulated companies, LLPs and partnerships is to document the s.250(3) functional-test population and the governance response.
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Section 250 of the Crime and Policing Act 2026 has been in force since 29 June 2026. For in-scope FCA-regulated companies, LLPs and partnerships, the practical question has moved from launch preparation to documented governance: who meets the statutory senior-manager test, what evidence shows the firm applied that test, and how is the record maintained after role changes?
The provision is a corporate attribution rule. Where a senior manager of a body corporate or partnership commits an offence under UK criminal law while acting within the actual or apparent scope of their authority, the organisation also commits the offence. That is different from a failure-to-prevent offence and different from a new standalone declaration obligation.
Source: Crime and Policing Act 2026, ss.250 and 255.
The statutory mechanism turns on attribution to the organisation. It does not say that every senior person faces a new personal offence by holding a role. It does not say that declarations are required by s.250. It does not create a statutory reasonable-procedures defence.
That distinction matters commercially and legally. Documented diligence may still matter as governance evidence, as material for prosecutorial discretion, and as potential mitigation if an issue is investigated. But that is not the same as a statutory safe harbour.
Source: Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.250; ECCTA failure-to-prevent fraud guidance for the separate reasonable-procedures regime.
Section 250 does not mention SM&CR. The statutory test is functional: s.250(3) looks at whether an individual plays a significant role in making decisions about how the whole or a substantial part of the organisation is managed or organised, or in managing or organising that activity.
SM&CR still gives FCA firms a useful baseline. Approved Senior Managers, Certified Persons, conduct-rule populations, committee chairs, divisional heads, operations leads, finance, technology, legal, compliance, HR, and interim executives can all be assessed against the same functional test. The useful work is the comparison: your formal SM&CR population versus the wider set of people with actual organisational authority.
Source: Crime and Policing Act 2026, s.250(3).
A post-commencement record should show the method, not just the result. At minimum, keep the assessment date, the version of the statutory test used, the SM&CR baseline, the people considered under the s.250(3) functional test, the reasons for inclusion or exclusion, the reviewer, and the board or committee record that considered the output.
If a declaration cycle is used, it should be framed as a governance evidence process, not as something s.250 itself requires. The useful record is the audit trail: delivery timestamp, response timestamp, non-response chases, escalations, and the link between each declaration and the underlying gap analysis.
Source: internal governance record design, aligned to the statutory s.250 functional test; admissibility remains fact-specific for a court or tribunal.
The Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act 2023 failure-to-prevent fraud offence is a different regime. It has a reasonable-procedures defence and its own official guidance. Section 250 does not import that defence.
The FCA non-financial misconduct package is also adjacent but separate. PS25/23 points to conduct-rule and fitness-and-propriety changes applying from 1 September 2026. That deadline is relevant to the same compliance audience, but it is not the commencement date for s.250.
Source: GOV.UK ECCTA failure-to-prevent fraud guidance; FCA PS25/23.
Yes. Section 250 has been in force since 29 June 2026, two months after Royal Assent under the Act's commencement provision.
No. Section 250 is a corporate attribution rule. Failure-to-prevent fraud is a separate ECCTA 2023 regime with its own reasonable-procedures defence.
No. Section 250 has no statutory reasonable-procedures defence. Documentation can still matter as governance evidence, but it is not a statutory shield.
No. The s.250(3) test is functional and asks whether the individual plays a significant role in managing or organising the whole or a substantial part of the organisation's activities. SM&CR is a useful baseline, not the statutory boundary.
Turn the live-law position into an evidence record
Start with a free FRN check, then map your SM&CR baseline against the s.250(3) functional-test population and keep a board-ready governance record. This page is general information, not legal advice.
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