• Doing business with the FSA
  • Small Firms
    • Authorised professional firms
      • Change of legal status

Related information

Change of legal status

Application pack

 

Is your firm intending to transfer its business to another legal entity (e.g. as part of a merger, takeover or by becoming a Limited Liability Partnership)?

If so, you may be required to cancel your existing firm's authorisation and re-apply for authorisation as a new entity.

Any firm changing its legal status becomes another firm and, as the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 does not permit the 'transfer' of authorisation, the new entity must apply to be authorised in its own right.

Our 'change of legal status' application pack can be used for most changes of legal status. It enables the existing authorised firm to cancel its permission at the same time as the applicant applies for authorisation.

Please note that we are obliged to deal with a completed application within six months of receiving it. To ensure that any new entity is authorised in time for its launch, please submit your application in good time.