The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is the conduct regulator for almost all UK financial firms (banks, building societies, insurers and major investment firms are also prudentially regulated by the PRA). Finance has no single register of qualified professionals; instead it operates a regulatory regime (SM&CR) plus activity-specific qualifications. The FCA Register (authorised firms and approved persons) and the Directory (certified persons, including advisers) are the public verification surfaces — and the standard defence against cloned firms and unauthorised advisers.
At a glance
What it costs to qualify
Sources & verification
- The FCA Register lists authorised firms and approved persons; the Directory lists certified persons (including advisers) — the public verification surfaces for finance, source, Last verified 2026-06-12
- Category 4 fee amount: £2,820, source, Last verified 2026-10-15 🔶
- Variation of permission within same fee-block (Category 2): £560, source, Last verified 2026-10-15 🔶
- Authorisation assessment time, complete application: Usually within 6 months (FSMA firms); 3 months (payments/e-money firms), source, Last verified 2026-10-15 🔶
- Authorisation assessment time, incomplete application: Up to 12 months, source, Last verified 2026-10-15 🔶
Verified reference information, not professional, medical, legal or careers advice. Regulations change; always check the cited primary source before relying on it.