TPR fees and levies

Here we explain the fees that firms in the temporary permissions regime (TPR) and investment funds in the temporary marketing permissions regime (TMPR) will need to pay.

Our annual fees

We receive our annual funding through periodic fees, paid annually by the firms we regulate, based on the activities firms undertake. Our fee year runs from 1 April to 31 March and we consult each year, in April, on our fees for that fee year.

While they are in the TPR:

  • firms with a UK branch will continue to pay the minimum fees and variable fees (based on their tariff data) above the minimum size thresholds – however, fees discounts will no longer apply
  • firms without a UK branch will only pay the minimum fees
  • funds will pay periodic fees on the same basis as they did prior to entering the TPR

Further details are included in Chapter 7 of Consultation Paper CP18/29 and Chapter 7 of our Policy Statement PS19/5.

Firms and funds in the TPR will need to pay fees from the 2021/22 fee-year. We consulted on the actual fee rates in our annual fees and levy rates Consultation Paper which was published in April 2021.

We will invoice your firm between July and October each year. We’ll issue a single invoice covering your FCA fee plus fees and levies for any other regulatory organisations, as appropriate.

Find out more about our fees. There is also information about how to calculate annual fees.

Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)

The FSCS is an industry funded scheme of last resort that acts as a compensation safety net for customers of authorised financial services firms in the UK. The FCA and the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) each make rules which set out how FSCS cover works and is funded, covering different areas of the financial services industry.

The FSCS will cover the activities of firms in the TPR with a UK branch and will provide FSCS protection, equivalent to the cover provided to customers of UK firms. This addresses the possibility that the end of the transition period could result in customers of firms in the TPR losing compensation scheme protection offered by home states. These firms are required to contribute to the cost of the FSCS.

Customers of cross-border fund managers that do not have a UK branch also receive FSCS protection for certain activities, and these firms will continue to pay into the FSCS during their time in the TPR.

Customers of firms in the TPR that do not have a UK branch will not have access to the FSCS (other than where there is existing FSCS cover in respect of the activities of cross-border fund managers) and these firms will not need pay into the FSCS.

Please also refer to our guidance on disclosure on compensation scheme coverage.

Financial Ombudsman Service

The Financial Ombudsman Service’s role is to ‘independently resolve certain disputes quickly and with minimum formality on the basis of what it believes is fair and reasonable in all the circumstances of the case’. Our how to complain page explains the customer complaints process in our rules and how the Ombudsman Service fits into it.

Firms in the TPR with UK branches will continue to be covered by the Ombudsman Service’s ‘Compulsory Jurisdiction’ and will continue to pay levies and case fees.

Firms in the TPR firms without a UK branch also come under the Ombudsman Service’s ‘Compulsory Jurisdiction’ and must pay levies and case fees.

This will ensure that customers of these firms will not lose rights to refer complaints to an Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) scheme after the end of the transition period.

For firms in the TPR that were already members of the Voluntary Jurisdiction (VJ) of the Financial Ombudsman Service, complaints (including post-transition period complaints) about their pre-transition period activities will continue to come under the VJ as they do now.

The size of the levy payable by each firm depends on the type and, in some cases, amount of ‘relevant business’ it does. The current case fee is £650, payable when the Ombudsman Service closes a complaint. Find out more about the Ombudsman Service’s funding.

See our Handbook for the rules on levies and case fees.

Other levies

Firms in the TPR also need to pay the following periodic levies:

  • Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) – Firms in the TPR with a UK branch will continue to pay the money advice minimum levy and money advice variable levies on their tariff data above the minimum size thresholds but discounts will not apply. Firms in the TPR without a UK branch will only pay the minimum money advice levy. The activities to which the money advice levy applies is set out in FEES 7C.3.3R. The activities to which the debt advice levy applies is set out in FEES 7C Annex 2. The activities to which the pensions guidance advice levy applies is set out in FEES 7C.1.2R. Note: MaPS was previously known as Single Financial Guidance Body and is referred to as such in our rules.
     
  • Devolved Authorities – The debt advice levy is raised to fund debt advice for consumers in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Firms in the TPR with a UK branch will continue to pay the debt advice variable levies on their tariff data. The activities to which this levy applies is set out in FEES 7D Annex 1.
     
  • Illegal Money Lending (IML) levy – IML levy is raised to recover the expenses that the Treasury incurs providing funding for the teams tackling illegal money lending and is recovered from consumer credit firms. Firms in the TPR with a UK branch will continue to pay the minimum levy and variable levies based on their tariff data above the minimum size threshold. Firms in the TPR without a UK branch will only pay the minimum IML levy. The activities to which this levy applies is set out in FEES 13A Annex 1.

Firms in the TPR will need to pay these levies from the 2021/22 fee-year. We will consult on the actual levy rates in our annual fees and levy rates Consultation Paper scheduled to be published in April 2021.

Authorisation/recognition fees

In addition to the annual fees mentioned above, your firm will also need to pay a fee when submitting an application for authorisation. 

The level of authorisation fee depends on the type of regulated activities the applicant is seeking permission to undertake. For investment funds, the level of recognition fee depends on the type of fund and the number of sub-funds. 

In November 2020 we consulted on revising our authorisation application fees (including recognition fees for funds). The consultation closed in January 2021 and we provided feedback on the responses in April 2021. 

There are 10 Authorisation Fee Categories and the charge for each category can be found in FEES 3 Annex 1A. For more information, please see pricing categories for application fees.

Find out more about our authorisation fees and our fund recognition fees.

Page updates

: Information changed Updated for end of 2022
: Information changed Removed out-of-date sentence about VJ levies
: Link changed Link to periodic fees cycle updated