Find out how to apply for approval to perform a senior management function (SMF).
Anyone who performs an SMF needs to be approved by us (or the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA)) before they can start their role.
See a list of SMF roles in our Handbook
Submit your application
We expect your firm to be prepared to submit a full and complete application on day 1.
Giving us false or misleading information may be a criminal offence.
All applications must include:
- Completed form (including the candidate declaration and a statement of responsibilities for the role).
- Any supporting documents (such as explanations for any adverse information).
You’ll need to pay a fee when you submit the application.
Steps: apply online
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1
Application form
Complete the relevant form using our online system, Connect.
You’ll be shown different questions on the form depending on whether the candidate has been approved before.
An appropriate individual should complete the application on behalf of your firm and the candidate you're applying for, but the candidate should check the form before you submit.
Complete all the sections and, where possible, give detailed explanations (or consider attaching a supporting document with more information). This can help avoid delays later on.
New senior manager functions
Use Form A if you need to approve someone to take on a new SMF.
You’ll see a longer version of Form A if the candidate has:
- Not previously held a senior management or controlled function.
- Not been approved for senior management or controlled functions for 6 months or more.
- A change to their fitness and propriety since their last approval.
Form A covers sections such as:
- Candidate's details and declaration.
- Role description.
- Employment history for the last 10 years.
- Statement of responsibilities (SoR).
- Competency assessment.
- Capacity and conflicts assessment.
- Fitness and propriety questions.
- Directorships in the last 10 years.
- Regulatory references check.
- Criminal record checks.
Internal transfers
Use Form E for internal transfers if an an approved person (including an SMF holder) needs to cease one or more controlled functions and apply for approval for a different one.
As Form E is for candidates already within a firm, you’ll see a reduced set of questions.
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Evidence to support your application
You must also upload supporting evidence, such as:
- Skills gap analysis, learning and development plan, and induction programme.
- Organisation chart for your firm.
- List of directorships (if applicable).
- Fitness and propriety evidence: full explanations of any factors that you’ve mentioned in Form A or Form E that might affect the candidate’s fitness and propriety.
It is up to you whether to submit all your supporting evidence in separate documents, or within 1 supplementary document with a clear contents page.
Check what supporting evidence you need to provide.
(Dual-regulated firms should check what supporting evidence to provide on the Bank of England website.)
Help with your application
Contact us if you have a question about what to include in your application.
Phone: 0300 500 0597
If you’re outside the UK, phone: +44 207 066 1000
Use text relay if you have a hearing or speech impairment: (18001) 0207 066 1000
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Application fees
Usually, you’ll pay a category 1 fee if you submit Form A or E as a standalone application (just for the SMF).
You will not be charged if you’re submitting Form A as part of a wider application, for example:
- Applying for authorisation.
- A variation of permission (VoP).
- Registering an appointed representative.
You can make the payment via Connect.
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After you apply: what to expect
When we start our assessment, we’ll email your firm with the name and contact details of your case officer.
If we need more information or details, we:
- Will send you a request.
- May phone your firm or arrange a meeting to outline our concerns.
Be prepared to submit full and detailed responses within the requested deadlines.
If we need to interview the candidate, we will let you know what topics we want to discuss in advance.
We’ll acknowledge when we hear from you and aim to respond promptly with a full reply.
Common reasons for delays
We must decide on an application within 3 months of receiving it.
Your application could take longer if we need to ask for more information.
Common reasons for delays include:
- Incomplete applications.
- Not explaining how responsibilities are allocated in enough detail.
- Criminal records checks and regulatory references not completed before the firm applies
- Inadequate skills gap analysis (including not explaining in enough detail how you will address any gaps).
- Out of date management responsibilities map.
- Directorships not fully disclosed.
- Inadequate information on conflicts of interest.
- Not enough information about how candidates will have time to carry out their role without being overstretched.
- Lack of timely responses from firms to follow-up questions.
What you need to provide
Expand the sections below for extra guidance.
Sections in the application form
Supporting evidence
You must also upload supporting evidence:
- Skills gap analysis, learning and development plan, and induction programme.
- Organisation chart for your firm.
- List of directorships (if applicable).
- Fitness and propriety evidence: full explanations of any factors that you’ve mentioned in Form A or Form E that might affect the candidate’s fitness and propriety.
It is up to you whether to submit all your supporting evidence in separate documents, or within 1 supplementary document with a clear contents page.
(Dual-regulated firms should check what supporting evidence to provide on the Bank of England website.)
Enhanced and dual-regulated firms
Enhanced category firms and all dual-regulated firms except insurance special purpose vehicles (ISPVs) and firms in run off should also provide:
- Management responsibilities map (MRM).
- Handover document (or tell us if it’s a new role).
Optional evidence
To avoid delays and address any potential gaps, you may also want to include:
- Any investigation outcomes.
- Personal statements (as evidence of rehabilitation, for example).
Paper applications
A few applications still need to be sent on paper. These include:
- Adding or changing senior management functions (SMFs) for approved persons who are corporate partners.
- Occasionally, other extenuating circumstances (such as a market-sensitive application).
You only need to send 1 paper application to the relevant regulator – either to the PRA for their SMFs or to the FCA for ones we regulate.
If your function is:
- PRA led, only submit to the PRA (this includes PRA-led applications that include FCA functions; the PRA will send us any relevant information).
- FCA led, only submit to us.
If you want to apply for a paper exemption, contact us.
If you need help, call us on 0300 500 0597.
Corporate applications
Firms can become an SMF if they are a corporate body that acts as either a director or partner within the governance structure of a firm. This may include a:
- limited liability company (LLP)
- limited company (LTD)
- public limited company (PLC)
In most cases, individuals at the applicant firm become SMF holders.
However, it is possible for a separate corporate body to be acting in a way that meets the definition of performing an SMF and be considered a partner. Where this is the case, individuals at the corporate entity acting as a partner are assessed and that corporate entity is approved as a partner.
What a good application looks like
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Be transparent from the start
Disclose all relevant matters on your application, including potential adverse information such as misconduct.
Show how you’ve addressed any potential risks that may arise in appointing the candidate, and why you’re satisfied that the candidate is fit and proper to perform the role(s) in question.
If in doubt, disclose everything.
Failure to do so may:
- Impact adversely on our view of the candidate’s ongoing fitness and propriety.
- Mean we refuse the application, resulting in a warning notice being issued to both the candidate and your firm.
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Detailed application form
Make sure you support your application with all necessary evidence when you submit.
Complete all the sections in the application form and give as much detail as possible.
(If there’s not enough space in the form, attach extra evidence or supporting documents separately.)
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Tailor how you show the candidate is fit and proper
Be clear on how you as a firm have reached the conclusion the candidate is fit and proper.
Check that your training plans are tailored to address any specific skills gaps identified for the candidate.
If any adverse information has been disclosed, make sure you explain in as much detail as possible when answering the fitness and propriety questions.
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Fill in any gaps
Explain any gaps and/or anomalies, such as:
- Gaps in the candidate’s employment history.
- Any disciplinary action relating to a previous role.
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Time commitments and conflicts of interest
Consider the role’s time commitments and any conflicts of interest with the candidate’s other positions or interests.
Explain how the firm and candidate will manage these. Please provide specific details rather than just stating these issues have been considered.
Remember to list all the candidate’s directorships (and former directorships covering the last 10 years).
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Be prepared to give us extra details
We may ask you to provide more information. To avoid delays, be ready to submit responses within the requested deadlines and provide full and clear replies.
Consider adding a second contact name under ‘additional information’, to make sure you don’t miss our requests.
