FCA authorisations Q1 2026/27: three metrics in red as new firm and payments applications miss targets
Worth reviewing if you have an application in progress or are planning to submit one. Three categories missed targets in Q1 2026/27, and Adjacent Variations of Permission enter the scorecard for the first time.
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Worth reviewing if you are waiting on an application or planning to submit one. These metrics cover solo-regulated firms only. Dual-regulated figures are published separately on the PRA's website.
The FCA published its Q1 2026/27 authorisations scorecard on 2 October 2026, covering April to June 2026. Of 12 reported metrics, 7 are green, 2 amber and 3 red. The FCA names four areas that missed targets, though it does not explicitly map these onto the three red metrics, so it is possible two share a metric or one sits amber. The named areas are New Firm Authorisations, Adjacent Variations of Permission, 3/4MLD and 5MLD, and Payment Services and E-Money Authorisations. The FCA attributes the breaches to a combination of operational challenges, applications requiring greater scrutiny, and tighter deadlines it is working towards.
The headline aggregate is actually improving: 97.9% of cases were determined within the applicable deadline in Q1, up from 97.5% in Q4 2025/26. That context matters. It does not change the picture for firms in the affected categories.
The red ratings need two pieces of context. First, the FCA updated its RAG thresholds from Q3 2025/26, lowering the green threshold from 98% to 95%, though Change in Control applications retain a 100% threshold. Second, the FCA has deliberately reduced target processing times for certain application types. Results may therefore show greater challenge against targets even where operational delivery remains strong. A red rating today is not directly comparable to a red rating before Q3 2025/26.
An Adjacent Variation of Permission (Adjacent VoP) is a change to a firm's existing permissions that sits close to what it is already authorised to do. This quarter the FCA has reported on it for the first time, with a voluntary target of determining complete applications within 3 months and incomplete ones within 6 months. In its opening quarter it achieved 94.2%, placing it amber. At 94.2% it falls below the 95% green threshold but does not trigger red.
There is also a data correction to note. The 3/4MLD and 5MLD metrics for Q2, Q3 and Q4 2025/26 have been revised after a small number of cases were measured against working days rather than calendar days, contrary to the legislative timescale. The FCA describes the affected volume as small relative to overall case numbers. The FCA does not state whether the correction changes any previously published RAG ratings for those quarters.
If your firm has an application in train in any of the red or amber categories, the scorecard does not explain why your specific case is taking longer. What the FCA does publish is lower quartile, median and upper quartile processing times for each category, measured end-to-end from receipt to determination. If your application sits in one of the affected categories, those quartile figures are the most useful indicator of realistic wait times: check them against your own submission date.
