How much is the FCA application fee for a consumer credit licence?

For a limited permission consumer credit application the FCA fee is £550 (pricing Category 2), paid by card in the FCA's Connect system when you submit. It is non-refundable and outside the scope of VAT. Full permission applications start at £1,120 and rise with complexity. Fees are reviewed annually, so check the FCA's current fees page.

Do I have to pay the FCA every year?

Yes. Every authorised firm pays an annual (periodic) fee. The FCA's fee year runs April to March, with invoices issued from July. Your first year is pro-rated from the date you're authorised. Small limited permission firms typically pay the CC1 minimum fee — a few hundred pounds a year — with the fee scaling on credit-related income.

Is the FCA application fee refundable if I'm refused?

No. The application fee is non-refundable whether the FCA refuses the application or you withdraw it. That's a strong reason to submit a complete, accurate, well-evidenced application first time.

FCA Consumer Credit Licence Fees: Application & Annual

Q: What else appears on the FCA invoice?

Levies collected on behalf of the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the Money and Pensions Service, and HM Treasury's Illegal Money Lending Team. Individually small for a limited permission firm, but they make the invoice total higher than the headline FCA fee.

The FCA charges two kinds of fee: a one-off application fee when you apply, and an annual fee for every year you stay authorised. For a limited permission consumer credit firm both are modest — but it pays to know exactly what's coming, including the levies that ride along on the invoice.

The application fee: £550 for limited permission

The FCA sorts application fees into ten pricing categories. A limited permission consumer credit application falls into Category 2, which is currently £550. You pay it by card inside the FCA's Connect system at the point of submission — the application won't go in without it.

Two things to know about that £550. First, it's non-refundable: if your application is refused, or you withdraw it, the FCA keeps the fee. That's one of the strongest practical arguments for submitting a complete, well-prepared application first time. Second, it's outside the scope of VAT, so £550 is the actual amount.

Full permission applications cost more — they start at Category 3 (£1,120) and rise with the complexity of the permissions sought. If you've seen figures like £1,500 quoted for a "consumer credit licence", that's usually full permission territory or an out-of-date figure being recycled. For the limited permission route most finance-offering businesses need, the FCA's own published fee is £550. Fees do get revised (the FCA reviews them annually), so check the FCA's current fees page before you budget.

The annual fee: what you pay to stay authorised

Once authorised, your firm pays the FCA an annual fee — the FCA calls it a periodic fee — every year it holds its permission. The FCA's fee year runs April to March; rates are set at the end of June and invoices go out from July.

Your first year is pro-rated: you pay a proportion based on how many months of the fee year remain when you're authorised, and the FCA invoices you for it shortly after authorisation. After that it's a normal annual invoice.

Limited permission firms sit in the FCA's CC1 fee block, where the fee is based on the income your firm earns from credit-related regulated activity — commissions from lenders, mostly, for a typical broker. Small firms pay the CC1 minimum fee, which for most businesses offering finance as a sideline works out at a few hundred pounds a year. Larger credit incomes scale the fee up. The exact rates are republished each year, so treat any specific figure you read online as provisional and check the FCA's fee calculator for the current year.

The extras on the invoice

Your FCA invoice isn't only the FCA's own fee. It also collects levies on behalf of other bodies in the regulatory system: the Financial Ombudsman Service, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme, the Money and Pensions Service, and HM Treasury's Illegal Money Lending Team. For a small limited permission firm these levies are individually small, but they're real lines on the bill — budget for the invoice total, not just the headline FCA fee.

One more charge worth knowing exists so you never pay it: the £250 administrative fee for a late regulatory return. Authorised firms file annual returns through the FCA's RegData system (see our guide to your ongoing obligations after authorisation); miss a deadline and £250 is added automatically. Diarise the deadline and it never happens.

What this means for your budget

For a typical business adding finance as a secondary activity, the realistic first-year picture is: £550 to the FCA on application, the cost of preparing the application itself (anything from your own time, to £2,000–£5,000+ for a consultant, to a fixed-price service like ours at £995), then a pro-rated annual fee after authorisation and a modest annual invoice each year thereafter.

Authorisation is an entry cost and a running cost — but for a firm earning commission on customer finance, both are usually small against the revenue the finance option brings in. Our full cost guide walks through the whole picture.

This article is general information to help you understand the process, and is not legal or regulatory advice. CreditLicence is a document preparation service and is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Financial Conduct Authority. FCA rules can change; always check the FCA's website for the current position.

FCA consumer credit licence fees: the application fee, the annual fee, and the extras