How Much Does FCA Authorisation Cost?
Fees checked against the FCA’s published fee schedule on .
The FCA charges an application fee of between £280 and £225,170, set by which of ten pricing categories your permissions fall into. Most firms sit near the bottom of that range: a limited-permission consumer credit firm pays £560, a typical adviser or broker pays £2,820, and a payments firm pays £2,820–£5,640.
The application fee is the smallest part of the bill. A realistic first-year budget runs from £8,000 for a limited-permission consumer credit firm to £45,000 for a payments institution, with most advisers and brokers landing between £15,000 and £30,000 — once you include the documentation work, regulatory business plan, financial model, systems and the people the FCA expects to see in post before it will approve you.
FCA application fees by pricing category
The FCA replaced the old straightforward / moderately complex / complex banding with ten numbered pricing categories. Your category is set by the permissions you apply for, not by your size or revenue.
| Category | Application fee |
|---|---|
| 1 | £280 |
| 2 | £560 |
| 3 | £1,130 |
| 4 | £2,820 |
| 5 | £5,640 |
| 6 | £11,260 |
| 7 | £28,150 |
| 8 | £56,300 |
| 9 | £112,590 |
| 10 | £225,170 |
The fee is non-refundable. If the FCA refuses your application, or you withdraw it after submission, the money is gone. Applications are regularly withdrawn before determination — almost always because the firm was not ready when it applied, not because the business was unviable.
A variation of permission is charged too. Adding permissions later attracts a fee based on the difference between your current category and the new one. Applying for permissions you do not yet need is expensive; applying for too few and varying later is also expensive. Getting the scope right first time is where most of the money is saved.
Which FCA fee category is your firm in?
A price list is no use until you know which line you are on. The common permission sets map as follows.
| Firm type | Category | Application fee |
|---|---|---|
| Limited permission consumer credit | 2 | £560 |
| Annex 1 firms (money laundering registration) | 2 | £560 |
| Most advisers, brokers and intermediaries | 4 | £2,820 |
| Payment institutions (API / SPI) | 4 – 5 | £2,820 – £5,640 |
| Cryptoasset registration | 6 | £11,260 |
| Banks and insurers (dual-regulated, FCA + PRA) | 7 | £28,150 |
Estimate your exact fee with our free FCA fee calculator →
What the application fee does not cover
This is the gap that wrecks authorisation budgets. The FCA’s fee buys the assessment. It does not buy any of the work required to pass it.
- Documentation
- A regulatory business plan, financial projections with stress scenarios, a compliance monitoring programme, and the policy suite appropriate to your permissions. The FCA reads these properly and returns them when they are thin.
- Financial resources
- You must hold your prudential requirement — for many payments firms initial capital of €20,000–€125,000 equivalent, for investment firms a permanent minimum requirement — and evidence it. Less a cost than capital you cannot deploy elsewhere.
- People
- Senior Managers under SM&CR must be in post, with genuine competence for each function. A part-time compliance officer with no relevant experience is a common cause of delay.
- Systems
- Client money segregation, safeguarding arrangements, transaction monitoring, financial crime controls and complaints handling. The FCA increasingly asks to see these working, not described.
- Advisory support
- Where firms use a consultancy, fees typically run £8,000–£30,000 depending on complexity and how much of the drafting is done in-house.
Time is a cost, and it is the one firms under-model
The FCA has a statutory deadline of six months to determine a complete application, and twelve months for an incomplete one. In practice the clock only starts when the application is judged complete, and the FCA will stop and ask questions.
The cost is not the waiting. It is that most firms are carrying premises, salaries and systems through that period without being able to trade. A six-month determination on a team of four is a materially larger number than any FCA fee. Firms that submit early to “get in the queue” almost always spend more, because an incomplete application invites a longer assessment and more rounds of questions.
The ongoing cost of FCA registration
Authorisation is not a one-off payment. From your first full fee year you will pay:
- The FCA periodic fee — a minimum fee plus a variable element scaled to your tariff data (income, assets, or approved persons, depending on fee-block)
- The FOS levy — if you deal with eligible complainants
- The FSCS levy — the most volatile line in the budget; it moves with industry-wide claims and has surprised firms badly in the past
Three worked authorisation budgets
| Cost line | Consumer credit | Adviser / broker | Payments (API) |
|---|---|---|---|
| FCA application fee | £560 | £2,820 | £5,640 |
| Documentation and advisory | £6,000 – £12,000 | £10,000 – £20,000 | £15,000 – £30,000 |
| Capital held | — | Permanent minimum requirement | €125,000 equivalent |
| Time to determination | 3 – 6 months | 6 – 9 months | 6 – 12 months |
| Realistic first-year cost | £8,000 – £15,000 | £15,000 – £30,000 | £25,000 – £45,000 plus capital |
Ranges, not quotes. The variable is almost always how much of the drafting your team can carry.
Get a fixed view of your number
We are an ex-FCA authorisations team. In a 30-minute scoping call we will tell you which pricing category you fall into, what the FCA will ask for in your case, and what the realistic total is — before you spend anything.
Frequently asked questions
- How much does it cost to get FCA regulated?
- The FCA application fee is between £280 and £225,170 depending on your pricing category. Most firms pay £560 to £5,640. Including documentation, advisory support and the resources the FCA expects to see in place, a realistic total first-year cost runs from about £8,000 for a limited-permission consumer credit firm to £45,000 for a payments institution, with most advisers and brokers landing between £15,000 and £30,000.
- Which FCA fee category am I in?
- Your category is set by the permissions you apply for, not by your size or revenue. Limited permission consumer credit firms and Annex 1 money laundering registrations fall in category 2 (£560). Most advisers, brokers and intermediaries fall in category 4 (£2,820). Payment institutions fall in categories 4 to 5 (£2,820–£5,640). Cryptoasset registration is category 6 (£11,260), and dual-regulated banks and insurers are category 7 (£28,150).
- Is the FCA application fee refundable?
- No. The fee is not refunded if your application is refused, and it is not refunded if you withdraw after submitting.
- How much does an FCA licence cost per year?
- After authorisation you pay an annual periodic fee (a minimum fee plus a variable element based on your tariff data), plus the FOS and FSCS levies where applicable. Ongoing costs are usually a few thousand pounds a year for a small firm, but the FSCS levy varies considerably year to year.
- Do I pay again to add permissions?
- Yes. A variation of permission is charged on the difference between your current pricing category and the one your new permissions fall into.
- How much does FCA authorisation cost with a consultant?
- Consultancy fees for authorisation support typically run £8,000 to £30,000 depending on the permissions sought and how much drafting your own team does. This is separate from the FCA's fee.
- How long does FCA authorisation take?
- The FCA has six months to determine a complete application and twelve months for an incomplete one. Complete, well-evidenced applications are typically determined faster; incomplete ones attract more rounds of questions and cost more in carried overhead.
Related
Fees are set by the FCA and change. Figures on this page were checked against the FCA’s published schedule on 12 August 2026; confirm current figures before budgeting.