A broker-dealer license lets a firm buy and sell securities for clients, for its own account, or both. Regulators price the two roles differently, and holding client money moves the bar again: a US broker that never touches customer assets and is not a dealer keeps US$5,000 of net capital, one that carries customer accounts US$250,000. Below are 18 dealing regimes side by side, with what each licence permits, the capital, the people the regulator wants on site and the time it takes to decide.
Updated · Reviewed by the Prifinance team
A broker executes for clients; a dealer trades on its own book. Most regimes here ask more capital of the second role, and more again once the firm keeps client money or securities. Offshore the rule often breaks. Seychelles, Labuan, the Cayman Islands and Vanuatu set one floor for both roles, and the BVI decides case by case. Hong Kong reverses it for a trader that deals only for itself: HK$500,000 of liquid capital and no paid-up capital, against HK$5,000,000 paid-up and HK$3,000,000 liquid for a broker with clients.
Each answer rules some regimes in and others out.
Dealing regimes we compare on request, each with its own capital test and its own idea of who must sit locally.
| Jurisdiction | Licence and what it covers | Capital, people, clock |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (FMA)More details → | Derivatives issuer licence under the Financial Markets Conduct Act 2013; a broker that only holds client money or property registers on the FSP Register instead | NTA of NZD 1,000,000 or 10% of average revenue, whichever is greater, half in cash or cash equivalents; FMA levy NZD 20,930 a year |
| South Africa (FSCA)More details → | FAIS licence: Category I for advice and intermediary services, II for discretionary management, IIA for hedge funds | Assets above liabilities; liquid assets of 4/52 of yearly expenditure for a Category I FSP holding client assets and 8/52 for any Category II FSP; a key individual per class of business |
| Abu Dhabi (ADGM, FSRA)More details → | Dealing as principal is prudential Category 2; matched principal and agency dealing are Category 3A | Base capital US$2,000,000 or US$500,000 (US$2,000,000 for retail OTC derivatives on a matched basis); SEO, compliance officer and MLRO resident in the UAE |
| Canada (provincial regulator, CIRO)More details → | Investment dealer under NI 31-103, free to deal in or underwrite any security, with CIRO membership | CIRO minimum capital CAD 250,000, CAD 75,000 for a Type 1 introducing broker; only a firm formed under Canadian law can join |
| Spain (CNMV)More details → | A sociedad de valores deals for clients and on own account, an agencia de valores for clients only | €750,000 for a sociedad, €150,000 for an agencia or €75,000 if it may not hold client funds or securities, paid in cash; 6 months, then silence may mean refusal |
| Cayman Islands (CIMA)More details → | Securities investment business licence, full or restricted, as a broker-dealer; no natural persons | Financial resources above a base requirement of the greater of a quarter of relevant annual expenditure and $100,000 for a broker-dealer; physical presence; typically 6 to 8 weeks |
| Vanuatu (VFSC)More details → | Principal's licence under Cap. 70: Class A for FX, Class C for derivatives, granted only on top of Classes A and B | VT 5,000,000 deposited with the Commissioner; an office with a manager or director resident 6 months a year |
| Belize (FSC)More details → | Registration, not a licence, to trade in securities as principal or as agent (Securities Industry Act 2021) | BZ$1,000,000 as principal or BZ$240,000 as agent, held in Belize-dollar assets in Belize; a resident CEO and compliance officer |
The capital figures and people rules are each regulator's own; application fees and yearly levies are added in the written estimate.
Country by country: regulator, licence type, capital, timelines and tax.
What the regulators charge to apply and each year, the capital they require and how long a decision takes.
Which licence fits which service, what the regulator checks and the steps from business plan to authorisation.
Portfolio manager, AIFM and fund manager licences: capital, fees, thresholds and timelines by jurisdiction.
What the buyer acquires, when the regulator must approve a change of control, the thresholds, filing times and fees.
Places 1 to 19 by business model, with the capital, official fees and decision times behind each place.
Six licences that carry the broker-dealer function, with their capital floor, the firm each one suits and the regulator's clock.
| Licence | Capital and memberships | Best fit and decision time |
|---|---|---|
| US broker-dealer: SEC, FINRA, SIPC | Net capital US$5,000 to US$250,000 by model; aggregate indebtedness capped at 1500% of net capital, 800% in the first year; FINRA membership | Firms dealing with US investors; the SEC acts within 45 days, FINRA within 30 days of the interview |
| SFC Type 1, Hong Kong | HK$5,000,000 paid-up (HK$10,000,000 with margin financing) and HK$3,000,000 liquid; HK$500,000 liquid for an approved introducing agent | Brokers based in Hong Kong with two responsible officers per activity; about 15 weeks |
| MAS CMS licence, dealing in capital markets products | S$5 million as a clearing house member, S$1 million as standard, S$500,000 introducing, S$50,000 institutional agency | Dealers run from Singapore by a resident CEO; up to 6 months |
| ASIC AFS licence with dealing authorisations | SLF of AUD 50,000 with client money of AUD 100,000 or more; ASLF from AUD 50,000 for a principal; NTA of AUD 1,000,000 or 10% of average revenue, if greater, for a retail OTC derivatives issuer | Brokers and market makers with Australian clients; 150 days for 70% of complete files |
| MiFID investment firm (EU) or MIFIDPRU firm (UK) | €750,000 or £750,000 to deal on own account, €150,000 or £150,000 for an agency firm with client money, €75,000 or £75,000 without it | Firms selling into the EEA or the UK; 6 months from a complete application |
| Offshore securities dealer: Seychelles, Mauritius, Labuan | US$100,000 paid-up in Seychelles, MUR 1,000,000 for a Mauritian dealer without underwriting, RM150,000 for a Labuan securities licensee | Brokers with an international client base; 30 working days in Seychelles, 10 working days in Mauritius once the FSC finds the file complete, 15 to 30 in Labuan |
Eight items recur in every dealer file on this page, under different names and with different numbers.
The laws, rules, fee schedules and regulator pages behind every figure on this page.
Rules, capital and fees as in force on 4 November 2026. If a regulator changes a figure, its own text linked here prevails.
Agent, matched principal or own account; securities, derivatives or FX; retail or professional clients. These answers fix the capital tier.
Choose the regulator your clients' market accepts, and list what comes with it: FINRA and SIPC in the US, CIRO in Canada, an exchange or a clearing house.
Incorporate, pay in the capital and recruit the directors, responsible officers, compliance officer and MLRO the regulator will approve by name.
Client bank and custody accounts, a clearing arrangement, record-keeping systems and a working computation of net or liquid capital.
Form BD and FINRA's new member application in the US, the SFC application in Hong Kong, the MAS or FSA forms elsewhere; then the regulator's questions.
Capital above the floor at all times, audited accounts on time, yearly fees, and approval before owners or activities change.
The investment licensing market is full of intermediaries selling flags by the unit, several of which are not licences at all. We are a legal and advisory firm: we tell you what a route actually buys, build the file the supervisor examines, and stay on it after authorisation.
60+ specialists work on applications directly. Lawyers, compliance and audit people, not an outsourcing chain of resellers.
Before you pay anyone, you get a written view of which investors the licence reaches, where its perimeter runs, and whether it exists in the jurisdiction you were quoted.
The quote you approve is the price you pay. Government, regulator, audit and registry fees are stated separately and upfront.
Programmes of operations, governance and risk frameworks, conduct and client-asset arrangements and AML/CFT packs drafted to the standards the authority actually examines.
Passporting notifications, prudential and conduct reporting, substance and audit calendars, renewals, and the upgrade path when a firm outgrows the approval it started on.
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your service set to the right licence scope and leads the file to the supervisor's decision, including banking, custody and distribution arrangements.
Builds the application itself: the local company, the programme of operations, AML/KYC policy pack, capital structure and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
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The permission to trade securities as a business: for clients, the broker side, or for the firm's own account, the dealer side. In the US it comes in layers: SEC registration under section 15 of the Exchange Act, FINRA membership, SIPC membership by statute for most firms and registration in each state where the firm does business. Elsewhere the same function is SFC Type 1, a MAS capital markets services licence for dealing, an AFS licence with dealing authorisations, a MiFID investment firm or a Seychelles securities dealer licence.
Mostly the name the local law uses. The US speaks of broker-dealers, Seychelles grants securities dealer licences, Mauritius and Canada license investment dealers, Labuan a securities licensee. What separates one licence from another is the model behind it: a Mauritian discount broker only executes orders and needs MUR 600,000 of capital, a full-service dealer allowed to underwrite MUR 10,000,000. Spain turns the split into two kinds of firm, and only a sociedad de valores may deal on own account.
Settle the dealing model first, because it fixes the capital and the people. Then form the company, pay in the capital and hire officers the regulator will approve. In the US that means Form BD through CRD and a FINRA new member application with fingerprint cards; Hong Kong wants two responsible officers for each activity, Singapore a resident CEO. The regulator's questions follow, and the licence is granted once capital, people and systems pass.
In the US from US$5,000 of net capital for a broker that never receives or holds customer funds or securities and is not a dealer, through US$50,000 for an introducing broker that receives customer securities and US$100,000 for a dealer, to US$250,000 for one carrying customer accounts. Hong Kong asks HK$5,000,000 paid up for Type 1, Singapore S$50,000 to S$5 million, the EU and the UK 75,000 to 750,000 in euros or pounds. Offshore, Seychelles wants US$100,000, a Mauritian full-service dealer that does not underwrite MUR 1,000,000, a Labuan securities licensee RM150,000.
Form BD is filed once, through FINRA's Central Registration Depository, for the SEC, FINRA and the states. Within 45 days the SEC registers the firm or starts proceedings to deny it. FINRA reviews the firm under Rules 1013 and 1014 and decides within 30 days of the membership interview or the last additional filing, whichever is later. Its application fee follows headcount: US$7,500 for 1 to 10 registered persons, US$12,500 for 11 to 100, plus US$5,000 for clearing and carrying; a file rejected as not substantially complete gets the fee back less US$500.
On paper, Mauritius: the FSC must grant an application within 10 working days of finding it complete, though the completeness check itself has no deadline. Labuan promises 30 working days for a securities licensee in its client charter, or 15 on the fast track for an extra US$1,500. The Seychelles FSA works to 30 working days from a completed application, and CIMA typically needs 6 to 8 weeks once every document has arrived. The Vanuatu Act names no decision period. Check the lists as well: the BVI is under FATF increased monitoring and, with Vanuatu, on the EU list of high-risk third countries.
Often under the same licence, sometimes only with a second one. Seychelles licenses forex and CFD brokers as securities dealers and Mauritius as investment dealers, and CySEC adds €3,000 to the yearly fee of a CIF that offers CFDs. Hong Kong splits the products: Type 1 covers securities, while leveraged foreign exchange trading is Type 3, with HK$30,000,000 of paid-up capital. A Labuan securities licensee needs a separate money-broker licence for FX, with RM1,000,000 of capital and no dealing as principal.
In most regimes, yes. Singapore wants one of the two directors and the CEO resident; Seychelles a resident director employed full time and two resident fit and proper individuals at all times; ADGM a senior executive officer, compliance officer and MLRO living in the UAE; Belize a resident CEO and compliance officer. Offices are tested too: Labuan asks for a registered office, CIMA for a physical presence, Vanuatu for an office with a manager or director in residence for 6 months a year.
Add the regulator's clock to the weeks spent completing the file. The SEC must act on Form BD within 45 days; the FCA has 6 months from a complete application and 12 at most, CySEC 6 months, and the Mauritius FSC 10 working days once it finds the file complete. Elsewhere the figures are targets: about 15 weeks at the SFC, up to 6 months at MAS, 150 days for 70% of complete files at ASIC. Offshore, Seychelles aims at 30 working days and Labuan at 30, or 15 on the fast track.
The official fees are usually the smaller part of the bill. To apply: US$7,500 for a small FINRA member, HK$4,740 per regulated activity at the SFC, S$1,000 at MAS, €7,000 at CySEC, US$500 in Labuan. Yearly fees follow, such as HK$4,740 per activity in Hong Kong or S$4,000 plus S$5 per representative above 100 for a Singapore dealer outside SGX-ST. Capital comes on top and stays in the firm. We fix our own fee in writing after a free assessment, once the regime and the dealing model are settled.
Tell us what you plan to trade, for which clients and from where. Our legal team answers in writing with the regime, the capital, the people the regulator will want, the official fees and our fixed fee.
