How much are FCA application fees?

A limited permission consumer credit application costs £550. Full permission applications vary with the activities applied for. Alongside the application fee, firms should expect a change of legal status fee where the business structure changes, a variation of permission fee where activities are added or amended, and an annual fee once authorised.

Fees stated are correct as at August 2026 and are set out in the FCA’s authorisation and registration application fees (opens fca.org.uk in a new tab). The FCA reviews its fees annually - check the current figure before budgeting.

The types of FCA fee

Initial application fee

Charged when applying for authorisation. The amount depends on the regulated activity applied for. The FCA sorts applications into pricing categories; limited permission consumer credit falls into Category 2, currently £550.

Full permission applications vary depending on the activities being carried out and sit in higher categories.

Change of legal status

A fixed fee of £550. This applies where a firm changes structure - a sole trader becoming a limited company or a partnership, for example. The permission does not transfer with the business, so a new application is required.

Variation of permission

Charged when adding or amending regulated activities. There is no single fixed fee: it depends on the activities involved, and where a firm adds activities across multiple categories it pays one fee at the highest category. A limited permission firm applying to become full permission pays the full authorisation fee.

Annual fee

Calculated from consumer credit income once authorised. The more finance business a firm arranges, and the higher the value of it, the higher the fee. Firms also pay a levy funding the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, calculated from the FCA fee.

Why the category matters more than the headline figure

The application fee follows the permissions applied for, so the cost is decided by a question most firms answer before they look at fees at all - which permissions their activities actually require. Applying under the wrong category is expensive in time rather than money: it can delay an application by months, and the fee is not refunded if an application is withdrawn or refused.

Our guide on full and limited permissions covers how that decision is made.