How much does a consumer credit licence cost?

The short answer

For a typical business offering finance as a secondary service — which needs limited permission — there are two upfront costs: the FCA's application fee, and the cost of preparing your application. If you use a fixed-price preparation service, you're looking at roughly £1,500 to get authorised: around £995 to prepare the pack and around £550 for the FCA's own fee. Do it yourself and you'd pay just the FCA fee (but spend the time, and carry the risk). Use a traditional consultancy and the preparation alone is often £2,000 or more.

Cost 1 — the FCA's application fee

Whoever prepares your application, the FCA charges its own one-off application fee, paid directly to the FCA when you submit. It's the same fee whichever route or provider you use.

• Limited permission (most businesses offering finance as a sideline) — currently around £550.
• Full permission — higher, and it depends on the activities you're applying for and your consumer-credit income, often £1,500 or more.

The FCA sets these fees and updates them, usually each April, so check the current figure on the FCA's website before you budget. One important point: the application fee is non-refundable. If your application is rejected or withdrawn, you don't get it back — which is why getting the application right first time matters. (Not sure which tier you need? See our guide to limited permission vs full permission.)

Cost 2 — preparing your application

This is where costs vary most, because there are three routes.

Do it yourself — £0 in preparation fees

You can prepare and submit the application yourself, paying only the FCA's fee. The trade-off is time and risk: you'll need to write a regulatory business plan and a set of compliance policies, and get the scope and detail right. Incomplete or mis-scoped applications are the main cause of delay — and remember the FCA fee is non-refundable if it goes wrong.

A compliance consultancy — often £2,000+

A traditional compliance consultancy prepares your application bespoke, usually charging by project or by the hour. Expect £2,000 or more — sometimes considerably more — and often without a fixed quote up front. You get tailored, hands-on support, at a price, and frequently only after a sales call before you even see a number.

A fixed-price service — one set fee

A productised, fixed-price service sits in between: a complete application pack prepared for you, for one published price, with no hourly fees. Our own service is £995, fixed, with the pack ready in three working days. It's built for the limited permission applications most finance-offering businesses need.

Cost 3 — the ongoing annual fee

Authorisation isn't only an upfront cost. Once you're authorised, the FCA charges a periodic (annual) fee to keep your permission, and you'll have ongoing compliance obligations and periodic returns to submit. For a limited permission firm these are proportionate to your size and modest — but they're real, so budget for them as part of the running cost of offering finance.

What affects the total

The biggest factor is which permission you need. Limited permission is cheaper across the board: lower application fee, lighter ongoing fees. Full permission costs more, and the fee scales with your consumer-credit income and the activities you carry out. Other factors include how many regulated activities you're applying for, and whether you need any additional permissions alongside credit. Most businesses that offer finance to help customers buy their goods or services need limited permission, which keeps the cost down.

A worked example

Putting it together for a typical limited permission business — say a car dealer or a retailer offering finance:

• Do it yourself: around £550 (the FCA fee only), plus your time.
• Fixed-price service: around £1,545 — £995 to prepare the pack, plus the ~£550 FCA fee.
• Consultancy: roughly £2,500–£3,500+ — £2,000+ for preparation, plus the ~£550 FCA fee.

Then, in each case, a modest annual FCA fee to maintain your permission.

Watch out for false economies

Cheapest isn't always cheapest. Because the FCA's fee is non-refundable and a mis-scoped application is the main cause of delay or rejection, a "free" DIY route can cost more if it goes wrong and you have to start again. Be wary, too, of anyone promising "guaranteed approval" — no one can honestly guarantee it, since the decision is the FCA's alone. And with hourly-billed consultancies, ask for the likely total up front, not just the hourly rate.