Choosing a business rates agent
Source: gov.uk (2025-11-12)

Get help choosing an agent to manage your business rates, researching agents and understanding your contract.

You can manage your business rates yourself in your business rates valuation account (https://www.gov.uk/business-rates-valuation-account) or appoint an agent to manage them for you.

The Valuation Office Agency (VOA) has standards of behaviour (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/voa-agent-standards?utm_medium=gov.uk&utm_source=guidance&utm_campaign=agentstandards&utm_term=choosinganagent) we expect from agents. Most business rates agents follow our standards and provide a good service, but some do not. Take steps to protect yourself when choosing an agent.

Research agents

Agents who are members of a professional body will be subject to that body’s rules and regulations. An agent may call themself a ‘surveyor’, ‘rating advisor’, ‘rating consultant’ or similar. This does not always mean that they are members of a professional body. You can check membership lists on most professional bodies’ websites, such as:
- Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) (https://www.rics.org/)
- Rating Surveyors’ Association (RSA) (https://ratingsurveyorsassociation.org/)
- Institute of Revenues, Rating and Valuation (IRRV) (https://irrv.net/homenew/index.php)
Agents who are a member of RICS, RSA or IRRV are bound by the rating consultancy code of practice, which sets out the standards they must meet. Find the rating consultancy code of practice (https://www.rics.org/profession-standards/rics-standards-and-guidance/sector-standards/valuation-standards/rating-consultancy-code-of-practice) on the RICS website.

If an agent uses the declaration from the code of practice (Appendix A of the document), check if they are a current member of either RICS, RSA or IRRV. Be wary of agents who use older versions of this declaration.

Other ways you can research an agent include:
- checking reviews that other customers have posted online
- speaking with other local businesses like yours
- asking your local business network or trade body for advice
Some agents may change their business name often or buy dormant companies to avoid poor reviews and complaints. You can search for a company in the Companies House register (https://www.gov.uk/get-information-about-a-company) to see if:
- any previous names are listed in the Overview tab
- the Filing history tab shows they have been dormant previously
List of suspended agents

The VOA has suspended the following agents while we investigate breaches of our agent standards (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/voa-agent-standards?utm_medium=gov.uk&utm_source=guidance&utm_campaign=agentstandards&utm_term=choosinganagent):
- Rateable Value Experts
- Re-Rates UK
- Rate Masters Limited (trading as ‘My Rates’)
Identify misrepresentation

Be wary of agents that:
- claim that they are acting as part of, or on behalf of, the VOA
- forward emails that they claim are from the VOA
- suggest or imply that the VOA endorses them
- use the VOA logo
- send false information to the VOA
Your business rates bill is not the same amount as your rateable value. Agents may tell you they can reduce your rateable value, but the money you’ll save on your business rates bill might be less than the agent’s fee. Make sure you understand:
- what business rates reliefs (https://www.gov.uk/apply-for-business-rate-relief) you qualify for
- how much money the agent will charge
- how changes to your rateable value will affect your business rates bill (https://www.gov.uk/calculate-your-business-rates) and how much money you’ll save
The VOA will never tell you what you owe for business rates. Contact your local council if you have questions about your business rates bill.

Some agents may try to pressure you to appoint them by creating false deadlines. You can tell the VOA your property details are incorrect by raising a check case (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/confirm-your-property-details) in your business rates valuation account. You have from now until 31 March 2026 to raise a check case for your current rateable value. Any claim of an earlier deadline is false.

If you identify potential misrepresentation, you should report it to the VOA (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/identifying-and-reporting-misrepresentation-by-agents).

Understand your contract

Before signing a contract:
- read the small print and contract terms carefully and make sure you understand all the information
- check how long you’re signing up for
- make sure you know how much you’re agreeing to pay the agent and when you have to pay
Some agents may pressure you into signing a contract. Do not sign the contract or pay any fees if you have doubts.

Appoint an agent

Before appointing an agent, you will need to sign up for your own business rates valuation account (https://www.gov.uk/business-rates-valuation-account) and add your properties to your account. Do not let agents use your business rates valuation account login details. They must have their own account. Find out how to appoint an agent (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/appoint-an-agent).