Prepare an FCA authorisation or variation of permission with an Otto-drafted blueprint and document checklist — then track it through to a decision against the statutory 180-day window. Every FCA paperwork event your firm files, in one place.
Trusted by 250+ UK-regulated firms · Built by compliance professionals, so you don’t have to be one.
14-day free trial · Take the tour
Compliance should be proportionate to the risk. Not sure? Our experts can help.
You have subscribed to the core module Compliance Monitoring Hub, AND
You have subscribed to the core module Compliance Monitoring Hub, AND
Note: The above speaks to which approach is appropriate for your needs. This does not represent advice.
A blank-page Regulatory Business Plan, RAO Articles you can’t decode, a fee schedule you can’t find and no clear list of what the FCA actually wants to see. This is where every new firm — and every Variation of Permission — gets stuck.
Business plan drafting, RAO permission scoping, SMF structuring, Form A / C / E assembly, fee calculations. Then you wait. The FCA warns: “if your application isn't complete, it could take up to 12 months.” Most firms get there by accident.
Miss a Connect Form. Under-scope your RAO Articles. Under-capitalise. Understate SMF responsibilities. The FCA doesn't reject. They come back with queries, and the 180-day clock resets. Months disappear to correspondence.
The FCA doesn’t just want a form. It wants policies, a monitoring plan, an SM&CR structure, a financial-crime framework and a risk register — all in place before you’re authorised. Most firms build that from a blank page, document by document, while the clock runs.
Adding a permission? Removing one? Swapping SMFs? Applying for a new AR? Most firms track these in a scattered email thread. No live status, no 180-day counter, no FCA case officer record. No audit trail when the board asks.
If your authorisation currently lives in a blank Word document, a half-remembered list of requirements and a 180-day anxiety spiral — this is for you.
A first-time applicant and a compliance consultancy running 40 client authorisations get the same engine. Each client’s data stays walled off in its own workspace — one fixed monthly fee, no per-application or per-client charge.
One engine for everyone — first-time applicant or consultancy running forty applications at once. Otto writes the report and the document checklist; the 180-day countdown starts the moment you submit.
Three things you actually get: Otto’s requirements report, a document checklist (most of it already built across your platform), and a live 180-day tracker.
Otto writes your Application Requirements Report against live FCA guidance: what the regulator expects for your exact activity, your RAO Articles with scope qualifiers, the Senior Managers your SM&CR category requires and the current application fee — every claim quoted from the handbook, not paraphrased.
Every document the FCA expects for your activity — generated, Handbook-referenced, grouped into categories. Tick each off, upload the evidence, watch the count climb. Already on RegTechPRO? Much of the pack is ready to attach.
| Document category | What Otto includes | Progress |
|---|---|---|
|
Application Forms & Identity
COND 2.1–2.2
|
FCA Connect application · certified ID & address · Certificate of Incorporation | 0 / 6 |
|
Regulatory Business Plan
COND 2.6
|
Business model · customer journey · market analysis · risk register | 0 / 8 |
|
Financial Documentation
COND 2.4
|
3-year projections · opening balance sheet · capital adequacy | 0 / 6 |
|
Policies & Procedures
CONC · SYSC
|
Responsible lending · disclosure · financial-crime controls · Consumer Duty | 0 / 13 |
|
Governance, Personnel & Fit & Proper
SUP 10C · FIT
|
Statements of Responsibility · SMF Form As · DBS & credit checks | 0 / 9 |
The moment you submit, the tracker captures the regulator-facing record — submission date, FCA case reference, named case officer, acknowledgement and expected decision date — and counts down the statutory 180-day assessment window. No spreadsheet, no diarised reminders.
From any FCA authorisation or MLR registration to a live 180-day countdown — the three views that run your application.
One dashboard for every live application. 5-tile KPI strip across Total, Preparation, Submission, Assessment and Authorised, colour-coded by lifecycle stage. Each row shows firm, activity type, stage chip and progress bar. Click a row, see the full application record inline.
74 regulated activity types plus MLR 2017 registrations. Pick the activity your application covers, and the requirements blueprint is scoped to it — not a generic template.
Otto's 8-section Application Requirements Report: Executive Summary, Regulatory Business Plan, Governance & Responsible Individuals, Permissions & RAO Scope, Capital & Financial Requirements, Fees, Compliance Framework, Common Pitfalls. Every section cites the FCA handbook verbatim, with RAO Article precision (36A, 39D, 39E, 60B) and SM&CR role mapping.
The activity-scoped document checklist, with per-item status and upload slots. Every item evidenced before submission — files attach directly to the checklist row they support.
The FCA Status sub-tab. Submission date, case officer, acknowledgement date, expected decision date, days elapsed. All live. A full-width Assessment Timeline progress bar against the statutory 180-day window. The sentence your board wants: “73 days in, decision expected in 107.”
Otto is trained on FSMA, RAO, COND, SUP 6, PERG, SM&CR and FEES 3 Annex 1. It generates an 8-section Application Requirements Report for any FCA regulated activity, drafts every Regulatory Business Plan section from your firm data, and answers your authorisation questions with handbook-cited answers.
Otto does three things for FCA applications — generates your 8-section requirements report the moment you pick an activity, drafts each Business Plan section from your firm data, and answers any authorisation question, handbook-cited, in seconds.
“Which RAO Article covers debt counselling?” “What's the Category 3 fee?” “Which SMFs does a Core firm need?” Otto answers from FSMA, the RAO, SUP 6, PERG, COND and live FCA guidance — in seconds, with citations.
It generates your 8-section Application Requirements Report, drafts your Regulatory Business Plan, maps your RAO Article scope, and answers any authorisation question your team has. See it map your live application in a demo.
Everything you need to know about the 8-section Otto blueprint, the FCA applications and variations it covers, and the 180-day assessment countdown.
We use essential cookies to make the site work, and optional analytics cookies to understand how it's used. See our Cookie Policy.