Section 7 of the FAIS Act makes it an offence to act as a financial services provider without a licence, and section 8 sets out how one is obtained. The requirements have not changed fundamentally in years, but the FSCA's expectations of the evidence have hardened. This is a practical view of an application as it runs in 2026, written for a business applying for the first time.
Decide the category before anything else
The category determines the evidence. Category I covers advice and intermediary services on the financial products listed in your application. Category II is discretionary investment management, Category IIA hedge fund management and Category IV assistance business (funeral) administration. Within Category I, every product subcategory you select brings its own competence requirements for the Key Individual and the representatives. Applying for subcategories you do not need is the most common self-inflicted delay, because each one has to be evidenced.
The people the FSCA approves
An FSP licence is granted to a business, but it is approved on its people.
The Key Individual must meet the fit-and-proper requirements in Board Notice 194 of 2017: honesty and integrity, competence (a recognised qualification, the RE1 regulatory examination, class of business training and experience in managing or overseeing the financial services for each subcategory), operational ability and, for a sole proprietor, financial soundness. The FSCA approves the KI as part of the licence, and the application cannot succeed without one. Where the business does not have a qualifying person, RCC's Key Individual services can place an approved KI.
The representatives who will render the services must be appointed on the register with the right subcategories, and must either meet the competence requirements or be placed under supervision with a supervision agreement in place. The RE5 examination and class of business training run on fixed deadlines from the date of first appointment, and the FSCA checks that the register and the competence dates agree.
The compliance officer is required under section 17 where the FSP has more than one Key Individual or any representatives. Many new FSPs appoint an outsourced compliance officer approved by the FSCA.
The auditor is required under section 19 unless an exemption applies, and must be named in the application.
The evidence the file must contain
Beyond the people, the FSCA expects:
- a business plan and a description of the financial services and products, written for the subcategories applied for;
- proof of financial soundness (the balance sheet and, where applicable, the liquidity and solvency requirements of the Board Notice);
- professional indemnity or fidelity cover, or an undertaking to obtain it before trading, in the amounts prescribed;
- operational ability: a fixed business address, systems for record keeping and for the register of representatives, and the policies the Code of Conduct requires (conflict of interest management, complaints, record keeping, and for accountable institutions a FIC Act RMCP);
- the fit-and-proper declarations and supporting documents for every director, member, trustee and KI.
The two phases, and what each takes
Phase one is yours. Gathering the evidence, writing the business plan, confirming the competence of the people and completing the application forms takes as long as the business needs to assemble it. For a well-prepared Category I applicant with a qualifying KI, this is measured in weeks. For a business that still needs a KI, a qualification or a policy framework, it is measured in months, and that time is better spent before submission than after.
Phase two is the FSCA's. Once the application is lodged and the fee paid, the Authority reviews it, raises queries and, where satisfied, issues the licence with its conditions. The length of this phase depends on the Authority's volumes and on how quickly queries are answered. RCC's experience is that an application that is complete and consistent at submission moves through this phase with the fewest interventions.
Why applications stall
The reasons repeat:
- a Key Individual who does not meet the competence requirement for one of the subcategories applied for;
- representatives on the register whose competence dates do not match the evidence;
- a business plan that describes a different business from the one in the forms;
- financial statements that do not demonstrate soundness;
- missing or expired police clearances and declarations;
- unanswered FSCA queries.
Each of these is found in RCC's internal review before submission. That review is the service: the forms are not difficult, the evidence is.
After the licence
Authorisation is the start of a set of continuing obligations: the annual compliance report, the levy, the register of representatives, CPD for every KI and representative, and the licence conditions themselves. A new FSP that puts compliance monitoring in place from the first month avoids the finding that most often follows a first inspection: that the framework described in the application was never implemented.
