FCA authorisation
Support with FCA authorisation applications: establishing which permissions your activities require, preparing the regulatory business plan, and managing the application.
⚠ UNSIGNED-OFF COPY. This page was written during the build so the section could exist and its routes could resolve. It makes no claim about outcomes, timescales, prices or the FCA’s decisions, but claim-free is not the same as signed off. Recorded at
docs/content-removals-for-review.md § 7.
Most firms carrying on a regulated activity in the UK need authorisation from the Financial Conduct Authority before they begin. Which permissions a firm needs depends on what it actually does, and that question is settled before an application is drafted rather than during it.
What the work involves
- Establishing whether the activities a business carries on are regulated, and which permissions they require
- Preparing the regulatory business plan, which sets out how the firm will operate inside the regulatory framework
- Assembling the supporting documentation - compliance procedures, financial projections, and the individual applications for people holding senior roles
- Responding to the FCA’s questions through to determination
What the FCA decides
The FCA determines an application; it may grant, grant with limitations, or refuse. Statutory deadlines under section 55V of FSMA 2000 give the regulator six months to determine a complete application and twelve months where the application is incomplete.
Our guide on how to register with the FCA covers the process in more detail, and how long it takes to get FCA authorised covers the timescales.