The Online Safety Act 2023 (Fees Notification) Regulations 2025

Made: 23rd June 2025

Laid before Parliament: 26th June 2025

Coming into force: 14th September 2025

Before making these Regulations, OFCOM consulted the Secretary of State in accordance with section 85(8) of the Act.

Citation, commencement and extent

1

• (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Online Safety Act 2023 (Fees Notification) Regulations 2025 and come into force on 14th September 2025.

• (2) These Regulations extend to England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.

Interpretation

2

In these Regulations—

• “the Act” means the Online Safety Act 2023;

• “financial statement” includes a statement of financial position, profit and loss, or cash flow;

• “OFCOM” means the Office of Communications.

Evidence, documentation and other information required for notification

3

• (1) This regulation applies where a provider[^f00002] of a regulated service[^f00003] must notify OFCOM under section 83(1)(a) or (b)(i) of the Act in relation to a charging year[^f00004].

• (2) The notification must include—

• (a) where the charging year is the provider’s first fee-paying year[^f00005], a statement indicating that fact;

• (b) evidence substantiating the details that must be submitted by the provider under section 83(3) of the Act (details of all regulated services provided by the provider and details of the provider’s qualifying worldwide revenue); and

• (c) a declaration affirming that that evidence is accurate and complete in all material respects.

• (3) Where possible, the evidence mentioned in paragraph (2)(b) must substantiate the details by reference to information in financial statements or other documents prepared for accounting purposes.

• (4) The declaration mentioned in paragraph (2)(c) must be made—

• (a) where the provider is an entity, by a senior manager (within the meaning of section 103(4) of the Act); and

• (b) in any other case, by an individual (whether acting as, or on behalf of, the provider) who is able to affirm the accuracy and completeness of the information in question.

• (5) The things mentioned in paragraph (2) must be supplied in the manner prescribed by the Manner of Notification document published by OFCOM on 26th June 2025.

Signed

Oliver Griffiths — Online Safety Group Director — For and on behalf of the Office of Communications — 23rd June 2025

Explanatory note

(This is not part of the Regulations)

EXPLANATORY NOTE

These Regulations are made under the Online Safety Act 2023 (the “Act”).

They describe the evidence, documents or other information that providers of regulated services must supply to Ofcom for the purposes of section 83 of the Act, including provision about the way in which providers must supply the evidence, documents or other information.

Section 83 of the Act places a duty on the providers of regulated services to notify Ofcom in certain circumstances. These include the circumstances specified in section 83(1)(a) and (b)(i) of the Act. The purpose of a notification in these circumstances is to enable Ofcom to calculate any fees payable by that provider to Ofcom under Part 6 of the Act.

Section 83(3) of the Act prescribes the details that must be included in a notification under section 83(1)(a) and (b)(i). Regulation 3(2) to (4) describes the evidence, documents or other information that are required to be included in such a notification, and which will substantiate the details prescribed in section 83(3) of the Act. Regulation 3(5) includes provision about the manner in which providers must supply such evidence, documents or other information to Ofcom. It does so by expressly incorporating a “Manner of Notification” document, published separately by Ofcom on its website (as Annex 5 to Ofcom’s final policy statement which is available at www.ofcom.org.uk/online-safety/illegal-and-harmful-content/consultation-online-safety-fees-and-penalties (the “Ofcom website”)). A hard copy can also be inspected free of charge on request from the Ofcom library at Riverside House, 2a Southwark Bridge Road, London, SE1 9HA.

An impact assessment of the effect that this instrument will have on the costs to business under the Better Regulation Framework has not been prepared as these Regulations are in connection with a tax, duty, levy or other charge. However, in accordance with section 7 of the Communications Act 2003, Ofcom carried out and published an assessment of the likely impact of implementing these Regulations in its public consultation (available at the Ofcom website). An updated impact assessment was also included in its final policy statement (also available at the Ofcom website). An Explanatory Memorandum has also been published alongside the instrument on www.legislation.gov.uk.

Footnotes

[^f00001]: 2023 c. 50.

[^f00002]: The term “provider”, in respect of an internet service such as a user-to-user service or a search service, is defined in section 226 of the Act. See also section 83(11) of the Act which contains further provision about the meaning of a “provider” of a regulated service for the purposes of Part 6 of the Act.

[^f00003]: “Regulated service” is defined in section 4(4) of the Act.

[^f00004]: “Charging year” is defined in section 90 of the Act.

[^f00005]: “Fee-paying year” is defined in section 83(2) of the Act.