Is a business grant that requires me to pay a processing or administrative fee upfront real?
No. Legitimate government and charitable business grants never require an upfront payment to access funding.
Last reviewed: 1 June 2026
Explanation
Advance fee business grant scams target small business owners and self-employed workers with notifications that they have been pre-selected for a government or charitable grant. To claim it, they must pay an administrative fee, registration cost, or insurance premium. Once paid, the grant never materialises and contact ceases. Genuine business grants — from local authorities, Innovate UK, the SBIR programme in the US, or private foundations — are applied for through formal processes with public criteria. They do not involve pre-selection by cold call or payment of fees before funding is received. Some grant support services legitimately charge to help businesses complete complex applications, but this should always be disclosed in advance and the grant itself never requires the applicant to pay to receive it.
Common red flags
- You were pre-selected for a grant you did not apply for
- Processing, administrative, or insurance fee required before the grant is released
- Offer came through a cold call, text, or email rather than an application process
- Grant amount sounds implausibly large relative to any scheme you are aware of
What to do now
- Do not pay any fee to access a grant
- Search for the grant independently through official government or funding authority websites
- Report the scam to your national fraud authority and local trading standards
- If you paid a fee, contact your bank about a fraud dispute
Frequently asked questions
Where can I find genuine small business grants?
In the UK, check gov.uk/business-finance-support and your local Growth Hub. In the US, grants.gov and sba.gov list legitimate federal programmes. All applications are free and go through a formal selection process.