Does FCA authorisation expire?
FCA authorisation does not expire and there is nothing to renew. Permissions can still be cancelled - voluntarily by your firm, or by the FCA where fees go unpaid or the regulated activity stops.
No. Once the FCA grants authorisation there is no expiry date and nothing to renew. What can happen is cancellation - your firm can give up its permissions, or the FCA can withdraw them. Holding authorisation means continuing to meet the FCA’s rules and paying an annual fee, which varies by sector and by income.
How FCA authorisation can end
If you no longer need your permissions, you can apply to cancel them through the FCA’s Connect system. The FCA reviews the application and, if it is satisfied, removes the authorisation and updates the Financial Services Register (opens register.fca.org.uk in a new tab).
The FCA can also cancel or vary a firm’s permissions without its consent, where it believes the firm is no longer carrying on the regulated activities it holds permission for. That power sits in section 55J of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (opens legislation.gov.uk in a new tab), and the Financial Services Act 2021 added a shorter route for removing permissions a firm has stopped using. The procedure is set out in SUP 6 (opens handbook.fca.org.uk in a new tab) of the FCA Handbook.
Common reasons for cancellation
The FCA may act where a firm:
- fails to pay its regulatory fees
- misses required regulatory returns
- does not respond to FCA communications
- no longer carries on the activities it is authorised for
Cancellation is not immediate. The FCA issues a warning notice first, giving the firm the opportunity to respond, before it issues a decision notice.
Keeping permissions is an ongoing obligation
The practical risk is rarely a deliberate decision to give up authorisation. It is administrative - a fee that goes unpaid, a return that is missed, correspondence that goes to an inbox nobody monitors. Permissions granted years ago can be removed on that basis alone.
That is what ongoing compliance support is for: keeping the reporting calendar, the fee schedule and the regulatory correspondence in one place, so the licence stays in force without anyone having to remember it.
Related services
Keep your FCA permissions in good standing
Unpaid fees and missed returns are the most common route to losing permissions. We handle ongoing reporting so a deadline never becomes a cancellation notice.
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