Your first FCA invoice after authorisation is a moment of mild alarm for most firms. Here is exactly what is on it, why the total is higher than the headline fee, and why the second one is usually bigger than the first.
The headline fee
Limited permission consumer credit firms sit in the FCA's CC1 fee block. For the 2026/27 fee year the periodic fee is £1,100.
The important characteristic is that it is flat. The same £1,100 applies whether your consumer credit income is £2,000 or £200,000; a variable element only starts once that income passes £250,000. Unlike most regulatory costs, it does not scale down for a smaller firm.
If you have read elsewhere that a small firm pays a few hundred pounds a year, that figure is out of date. The CC1 minimum has been rising in staged increases since 2022, and 2026/27 is the final year of that uplift; after that it rises in line with the FCA's own costs.
The levies on the same bill
The FCA collects money on behalf of other bodies alongside its own fee. For a limited permission firm in 2026/27:
| FCA periodic fee (CC1) | £1,100 |
| Financial Ombudsman Service general levy | £55 |
| Money guidance levy | £10 |
| Illegal money lending levy | £5 |
| Approximate total | £1,170 |
Budget for the invoice, not the headline fee.
Why your first invoice is smaller
The FCA's fee year runs from 1 April to 31 March. A firm authorised part-way through that year pays a proportion of the periodic fee reflecting the part of the year for which it holds the permission, so the first invoice covers only from your authorisation date to the following 31 March.
This surprises firms in the opposite direction a year later: the second invoice, covering a full year, is larger than the first. It is not an increase — it is the first one having been partial.
Worth knowing: invoices are issued from July, after the FCA sets its rates at the end of June. If you were authorised in, say, February, your first invoice may arrive some months after authorisation. It is coming.
Complaints are a separate cost
If a customer complaint reaches the Financial Ombudsman Service, there is a case fee of £680 — though firms receive a £2,000 case fee allowance each financial year, so the first few are effectively covered. Handle complaints properly in-house and most small firms never see the charge, but it is worth knowing it exists before you start offering finance rather than after.
Getting the income figure right
You report your consumer credit income yourself, and it determines whether any variable element applies. For a typical broker it means commission received from lenders, not overall business turnover — reporting turnover by mistake is an expensive error. The figure comes from your CCR007 return, which is another reason to take that return seriously.
Paying it
Invoices are issued and paid through the FCA's online invoicing system. Set that up when you are authorised rather than when an invoice appears, and make sure the email address it uses is one that will still be checked in three years' time. Our guide to ongoing obligations covers the rest of the annual cycle, and the FCA fees guide compares application and annual costs.
Frequently asked questions
- How much is the FCA annual fee for a limited permission firm?
For 2026/27 the CC1 periodic fee is £1,100, plus about £70 in levies — roughly £1,170 in total. The £1,100 is flat until consumer credit income passes £250,000.
- Why is my second FCA invoice bigger than my first?
Your first invoice is pro-rated from your authorisation date to the following 31 March. The second covers a full fee year, so it is larger. The rate has not gone up.
- When does the FCA send its invoices?
Rates are set at the end of June and invoices are issued from July, through the FCA's online invoicing system.
- Does the annual fee go down if my firm is small?
No. The £1,100 CC1 fee is flat until consumer credit income passes £250,000, so it does not reduce for a smaller firm. This is the main reason to weigh the running cost against the commission you expect to earn.
- What is the £680 Financial Ombudsman case fee?
It applies when a customer complaint is referred to the Financial Ombudsman Service. Firms receive a £2,000 case fee allowance each financial year, so a small number of cases are effectively covered.
This guide is general information about FCA regulatory reporting, not regulated advice. Fee and deadline figures are for the 2026/27 FCA fee year as set out in FCA policy statement PS26/14, and we review them each July when the FCA publishes new rates. Your firm remains responsible for its own regulatory obligations. CreditLicence is a trading name of Regetus Ltd.