Submitting Your FCA Application Through Connect: A Practical Guide

What Connect is and how you register

Connect is the online system for submitting applications and notifications to the FCA, including applications for authorisation or registration. It is now accessed through My FCA, the FCA's unified portal, where you sign in with your Connect credentials to reach your applications and notifications. The FCA recommends using Google Chrome, and every sign in requires multi-factor authentication using a one-time passcode.

There are two registration routes, and choosing the correct one at the outset avoids delays. Standard Connect gives general access for non firm specific submissions, which includes new authorisation applications and change in control matters, so this is the route for a firm that is not yet authorised. Firm Specific Connect is for entities the FCA has already authorised or registered, allowing them to make firm specific applications and notifications.

A firm that is already authorised and registering for Firm Specific Connect needs its Firm Reference Number and an Individual Reference Number, or a registration key for a sole trader. It also needs a designated Principal User who holds a Controlled Function, Senior Manager Function or Senior Insurance Manager Function. A new applicant using Standard Connect does not yet have these references, which is why the standard route exists.

The application pack: what to prepare

The Connect submission is only as strong as the documents inside it. At the centre is the regulatory business plan, which the FCA is clear cannot be generic and must be tailored to your specific business model. It should cover company details and control structure, governance and the people running the business day to day, an in depth explanation of what your firm does and the activities it will carry out, the customer journey from acquisition through to after sales care, and how you will meet the Consumer Duty or, if out of scope, how you meet Principles 6 and 7.

The plan also needs to describe your compliance arrangements, including whether the firm has a risk based compliance monitoring programme. That programme should set out the checks that will take place, how often they will happen, who will carry them out and what records will be kept to confirm they have taken place. Marketing and financial promotions, vulnerable customer support, complaints handling and staff training all sit within the compliance and conduct picture the FCA expects to see.

Financial information is assessed against the legal entity seeking authorisation. The FCA describes three years of forecasts in Excel as best practice and will accept monthly and yearly projections, alongside notes and the key assumptions behind them. For a firm already trading, three years of accounts is best practice. Depending on the permission sought, you may also need to evidence capital resources, such as share capital or term sheets for capital enhancing instruments, and provide cash flow statements and stress testing. The FCA's overarching test is whether the firm is ready, willing and organised, with resources proportionate to its complexity and risk.

Paying the application fee

You have to pay the application fee to submit an application on Connect, and payment is made by credit or debit card at the point you apply. The FCA is explicit that the fee is non refundable, so it is worth being confident in your permission scope and your readiness before you pay and submit.

Fees are organised into ten pricing categories that run from the lowest to the highest complexity. The categories group broadly into straightforward, moderately complex and complex applications. This categorisation is based on the permitted activities you are seeking rather than the FCA's view of the risk your particular firm presents, so two firms seeking the same permissions will sit in the same fee category.

The published amounts range from 280 pounds at the lowest category up to 225,170 pounds at the highest. Most firms applying for a single, relatively contained set of permissions will fall towards the lower end. If you are unsure where your proposed activities sit, the categorisation and expected fee are among the things you can clarify before committing to a submission.

The case officer and the assessment process

Once your application is submitted, the FCA assigns a case officer to assess it. Their job is to decide whether your business meets, and will continue to meet, the FCA's minimum standards. They will check your application against information held by other regulatory agencies in the UK or overseas, and they will make the decision on your application.

The assessment is not a one way review of a static file. You should expect to hear from your case officer throughout the process. They may come back with follow up questions, ask for further documentation, or want to hold a call or meet with you. Responding fully and promptly keeps the assessment moving and reduces the risk of your application stalling.

As part of the assessment, the case officer weighs your firm against the FCA's minimum standards on an ongoing basis, not just at the point of application. That means the projections, governance arrangements and compliance monitoring you describe need to be credible for the firm you actually intend to run, because the FCA is judging whether you will continue to meet its standards after authorisation as well as at the start.

This is where preparation pays off. A pack that is complete, internally consistent and tailored to your business gives the case officer what they need to progress the substantive assessment rather than spend the early weeks chasing missing basics. The clearer your submission, the fewer rounds of questions you are likely to face, and the more time can be spent on the substance of your firm rather than on filling gaps.

Complete versus incomplete: the statutory clock

The FCA does not have unlimited time to decide your application, and the deadline that applies depends entirely on whether your application is complete. Under section 55V of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, an application must be determined before the end of the period of six months beginning with the date on which the FCA received the completed application. For a FSMA firm, that six month period is the headline the FCA points to when your application is complete.

Section 55V also allows the FCA to determine an incomplete application if it considers it appropriate to do so, and it requires the regulator to determine such an application within twelve months beginning with the date it received the application. In plain terms, submitting the form is not enough to start the six month clock. The shorter, more predictable timetable only applies once the FCA holds a complete application with all the information and evidence it needs.

The practical lesson is that completeness is within your control and time is not something to trade away lightly. An application that arrives with gaps can drift towards the twelve month outer limit while the case officer waits for missing pieces. An application that is genuinely complete on arrival is the fastest route to a decision, which is why the effort you put into the pack before you press submit is rarely wasted.

Tracking and staying ready after you submit

After submission you can monitor progress by signing in to My FCA, selecting My Applications on the home page and opening the relevant application to view its status. This is also where you will keep on top of any requests for further information, so it is worth checking regularly rather than waiting to be chased.

The best position to be in is one where nothing your case officer asks for is a surprise. If your business plan, financials, governance detail and compliance monitoring programme were all coherent at the point of submission, most follow up questions will be about clarification rather than fundamental gaps. Keep your source documents and assumptions to hand so you can respond quickly and consistently with what you already filed.

If your circumstances change during the assessment, for example a change in personnel holding a senior management function or a material change to your financials, tell your case officer. Keeping the application accurate protects the assessment and avoids the risk of a decision being made on out of date information.

Conclusion

Connect is straightforward to use once you have registered on the right route and assembled a complete pack, but the system is only the delivery mechanism. What determines your experience is the quality of what you submit: a tailored business plan, credible financial projections, a real compliance monitoring programme and clear governance. Get those right and you give your case officer what they need to assess your firm efficiently.

The single most important idea to hold onto is completeness. The six month period under section 55V of FSMA only begins when the FCA has a complete application, while an incomplete one can run to the twelve month statutory limit. Preparing thoroughly before you pay the non refundable fee and press submit is the most reliable way to reach a decision sooner. If you want structured support building an application pack that stands up to FCA scrutiny, our authorisation service is built for exactly this, and you can talk to our team about your firm's specific permissions.

Frequently asked questions