SAF Approved

SAF Approved is a status granted by the Finance & Leasing Association (FLA) to dealerships or brokerages where every customer-facing member of staff involved in the sale or provision of information of motor finance, has successfully passed the annual SAF Expert assessment (or recognised SAF Equivalent training programme). This status signifies that all relevant staff have the required knowledge and skills in motor finance products and regulations. SAF Approved status is valid for one year and can be applied for on completion of the SAF statement of compliance (either by the company’s master SAF administrator, or by the SAF Equivalent provider).

All members of the FLA's Motor Finance Division are signatories of the FLA Lending code, which requires members to arrange motor finance through a broker or dealer "only if they have SAF Approved status or if they are accredited under an equivalent training and competence scheme involving regular and frequent reviews of their employees’ competence."

What is the process?

1. Company registers an account for SAF Expert – their customer facing staff are registered onto the system, assigned as "test takers" and receive login details to take the SAF Expert test.
2. Assign a Master Administrator - One user should be assigned as the "Master Administrator". This means they are responsible for the application and renewal of SAF Approved Status for the company.
3. SAF Expert tests passed – once all of the ‘eligible staff’ have passed the SAF Expert test, the "Master Administrator" has to complete the "SAF Statement of Compliance". This informs the FLA they are ready to apply to become SAF Approved and abide to the SAF Guidelines.
4. Compliance statement completed and returned – once the SAF Statement of Compliance has been submitted to the FLA, we will check the FCA Registration number matches the FCA register and check the company has enough SAF Expert test passes on their SAF Expert account.
5. SAF Approved status achieved - Once the number of passes on the company SAF account are verified, the FLA will mark the SAF Statement of Compliance as "Complete". The company will then be SAF Approved for 12 months from the date the FLA complete this. The company will then appear on SAF Approved Dealer Directory.

SAF Approved companies can use the SAF Approved logo on electronic communications.

SAF Equivalent Providers

A SAF Equivalent provider has submitted their SAF Equivalent training programme to the FLA to review to ensure it is sufficiently in line with the SAF Expert training material and assessment. If they meet all of the criteria, they are added to our list of official SAF Equivalent Providers. This is submitted on an annual basis.

The FLA is pleased to confirm that for 2025 the following organisations offer learning that is recognised as equivalent to SAF Expert:

Automotive Systems (UK) Ltd

Black Horse

BVRLA

Catalyst - DBC Ltd (Autoguard Group, The Compliance Guys)

Ingeni

ITC Compliance

Peak Compliance

Volvo Car Financial Services UK LTD

SAF Equivalent providers monitor the organisations who take their training and once an organisation meets the SAF Approved requirements, these are reported to the FLA and uploaded to the SAF Approved dealer directory.