Primary credit brokers

Find out what permissions you'll need to apply to us for authorisation, and what we expect to see in your application.

On this page

• Permissions you'll need
• What we're looking for in your application

This page is for:

• primary credit brokers (where your main business is helping customers find credit and hire agreements), including
• commercial brokers (a type of primary credit broker where you help unincorporated firms, sole traders and small partnerships find credit)

Before reading this page, please read our page for all credit broker applicants to understand:

• our expectations of consumer credit firms
• everything else we expect you to read before you submit your application
• the difference between Limited Permission firms and Full Permission firms

Permissions you'll need

You'll be a Full Permission firm unless you only ever introduce individuals to:

• consumer hire agreements
• hire purchase agreements, or
• Green Deal plans

in which case you can apply for Limited Permission instead.

If you've tried to determine whether you're a Limited or Full Permission firm and you're still not sure, refer to the table below which shows the permissions you may need based on the regulated activities you intend to carry out.

Introduce businesses that meet our definition of an individual to third-party finance providers

We define an individual as:

• a sole trader, or
• a partnership of 2 or 3 people not all of whom are bodies corporate, or
• an unincorporated body of people which doesn't consist entirely of bodies corporate and isn't a partnership

Full Permission Debt Counselling

Full Permission Debt Adjusting

What we're looking for in your application

You'll need to submit a range of supporting material as part of your application. Please check which forms to complete and the other documentation required before you start your application.

Below are some of the specific things we expect to see if you're a primary credit broker – providing this information will help you to demonstrate that you can meet our expectations.

We know we're asking for lots of information, but if you submit everything required in sufficient detail it'll help us assess and determine your application without delays.

In your regulatory business plan (RBP)

• set out your end-to-end customer journey
• show us that you understand your business, the risks it faces, the risks it poses to consumers and how you'll control these risks
• demonstrate how your firm plans to deliver consistently good outcomes for consumers
• demonstrate how your firm will meet our Consumer Duty requirements
• identify which lenders or brokers your firm intends to work with, and the types of credit or hire agreements your firm will broker
• explain how your firm will ensure that its credit products aren't unsuitable for customers
• clearly state any fees charged and what, if any, commission will be earned
• provide full details of any unregulated activities your firm will undertake alongside, or in addition to, its regulated activities

In your other supporting material

• show in your financial promotions policy how you'll ensure consumers know you're a broker, not a lender
• demonstrate how you'll ensure your communications more generally alert customers to the fact they're dealing with your firm (a primary credit broker), not the lender
• demonstrate how you'll deal with refunds if you charge fees for finding credit or hire agreements