You need to apply to us to cancel your authorisation or registration. Find out how to submit your application, and what you need to do before applying.
Before you apply
Before applying to cancel your authorisation or registration, your firm is expected to have:
- stopped carrying on regulated activities (including any payment services or e-money activities if you're a payments or e-money institution), or
- planned to stop carrying on regulated activities within 6 months of the application
If you don't plan to stop carrying on regulated activities within 6 months of applying, we may not accept your application.
You should have also:
- told your clients/customers (and, if you have any, approved persons) that you're going to cancel your permission
- paid all your outstanding regulatory fees
- filed any regulatory returns that are due
- resolved any complaints against you
- made suitable arrangements to deal with any complaints and liabilities that might arise
Complying with our Consumer Duty
You must meet the standards of our Consumer Duty[1] (the Duty) for products and services that:
- remain on sale to new customers, or
- are available for renewal by existing customers
The Duty applies from 31 July 2024 to closed book products and services.
You'll need to be able to demonstrate that your customers will not be negatively impacted if your firm’s permissions are cancelled. For example, we may ask you to:
- explain your wind-down plans
- seek further professional opinion if you're transferring your business
- show what steps you've taken to ensure that your customers can access appropriate redress, eg appropriate run-off cover and retention of capital to cover uninsured losses
Refer to SUP 6.4[2] in our Handbook for more information.
Fees
We don't charge anything for cancelling your authorisation or registration. However, you'll have to pay the full annual fee for the financial year in which you apply for cancellation.
If you submit your cancellation application to us before 31 March (or before the last day in February, if you're also regulated by the PRA), you won't have to pay the annual fee for the following financial year. If, however, your business continues to operate for 3 months beyond this deadline – that’s to say, past 30 June – then you'll have to pay the annual fee for the financial year.
We have more information about:
- what we consider when assessing an application for cancellation of authorisation[3]
- payment of outstanding fees[4]
Submitting your application
You must apply to cancel your authorisation or registration using our Connect[5] system.
If your firm is authorised under the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA), you can also refer to our guide for completing your application to cancel[6].
After submitting your application
If you submit a complete application, one of our case officers will make a decision within 6 months. If your application is incomplete, our decision may take up to 12 months.
Small registered AIFMs
If you cease to satisfy the conditions of your registration, you must notify us[7].
