The government's Fuel Finder explained
Fuel Finder is the UK government's scheme that makes every forecourt publish its fuel prices, so drivers can compare them live.
What is Fuel Finder?
Fuel Finder is run by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ). Every forecourt in the UK must report its prices to it, and update them within 30 minutes of a change. The government publishes the data openly, under the Open Government Licence, so apps and websites can show it to drivers.
How Spotapump uses it
Spotapump collects the Fuel Finder prices every 5 minutes for all of the UK's 8,000-plus forecourts. We show them exactly as reported: we never change prices or reorder them to favour a brand. We add what the raw data doesn't tell you:
- how old each price is
- a warning when a price looks like a typing error (for example 13.9p instead of 139.9p)
- whether a cheaper forecourt is worth the drive (how that works)
- opening hours, supermarket and motorway tags, and a button to call ahead for help at the pump
Why do some prices look wrong?
Forecourts type their own prices, and mistakes happen. Spotapump treats any price under 80p or over 300p a litre as probably wrong: it's shown but never ranked as cheapest.
How do I report a wrong price?
Tell the Fuel Finder team using the government's report an error page. Spotapump shows a Report this price button next to any price that looks wrong.
Questions
What is Fuel Finder?
Fuel Finder is a UK government scheme that requires every forecourt to report its fuel prices, and to update them within 30 minutes of a change. The data is published openly so apps like Spotapump can show live prices.
Is Fuel Finder free to use?
Yes. The data is free, and Spotapump's live map, cheapest and nearest searches are free too.