Licensing and registration

IMPORTANT NOTICE

The Government has confirmed the start date to the new financial advice regime for Monday 15 March 2021. The transitional licensing application window remains open until then. In the meantime, the current Financial Advisers Act 2008 continues to apply.

Registration

All financial service providers must comply with the requirements of the Financial Service Providers (Registration and Dispute Resolution) Act 2008.
This includes a requirement to be registered on the Financial Service Providers Register.

Find out more on who needs to comply, how to register and your on-going obligations.

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Applying for a licence

If you are a financial services provider, you may need a licence from us before you can offer products and services.

The different types of licence we grant are listed below. Please refer to relevant licence for forms, fees and guides.

New Financial advice regime changes

When the new financial advice regime comes into effect, only one type of licence will be issued to all of the following entities. Find more information about the changes here.

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How we assess who gets a licence

Eligibility criteria

Before you begin, make sure you are registered on FSPR and check if you are eligible for a licence. Your application needs to show us how you will be able to meet the legal criteria of a financial service provider. Know the criteria for the licence you plan to apply for.

Minimum standards

As a licensee, you must have proper systems and processes in place to carry out your business. The FMA licensing guides lists seven categories of minimum standards that licence holders must meet.

The minimum standards cover seven areas of good practice expected of a business:

Fit and proper
Capability
Operational infrastructure
Financial resources
Governance
Culture
Compliance

Even though there is not a fixed set of rules about how you should meet the minimum standards in the licensing guides, it is important that your application clearly outlines the systems and processes you have in place to meet the minimum standards specific to your financial service.

Standard conditions

When we grant you a licence, you will have to comply with certain conditions under the FMC Act 2013, the Financial Markets Conduct Regulations, or any conditions we decide to impose. Conditions vary for different types of licences.

There are standard and specific conditions for each type of licence. Some examples include: keeping relevant records and providing information on the strength of your finances, among others.

Need help understanding minimum standards and standard conditions?
Email our team before you start applying.

Once you are a licence holder, you will have on-going obligations.

Starting the process

You need to first set up a RealMe^® account. RealMe^® is a government authentication service. Anyone providing financial service in New Zealand or overseas must also be registered and listed on the Financial Service Provider Register (FSPR). You cannot be listed on the register if you do not intend to provide service to customers in New Zealand.

You also need to join the Dispute Resolution Schemes within 10 working days of registering to provide a financial service.

Forms and levies

Application forms for each licence type can be found by selecting your relevant business. The fees, levies and waivers section of our website has full details of our fees and charges. We will not issue a new or varied licence until the fee is paid in full. Licence fees are not refundable if an application is rejected.

Completing the process

Once you have completed your application, go through this checklist to make sure you have not missed out any relevant information.

Here are some resources to help you understand how to meet your licence obligations.

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