Applicable law
Licences are issued under the Regulation of Fiduciaries, Administration Businesses and Company Directors, etc. (Bailiwick of Guernsey) Law, 2020 ("the Law").
Applicants must read the minimum criteria for licensing set out in Schedule 1 to the Law.
Relevant applications
- Primary fiduciary licence – single company;
- Primary fiduciary licence – single partnership;
- Primary fiduciary licence – more than one company or partnership.
Specific criteria and principles
The following information is provided in addition to the guidance found at 'New Applicants'.
Rules and Guidance
Applicants are advised that further relevant Rules and Guidance made by the Commission can be accessed from the Commission's Legislation and Guidance pages.
Secondary fiduciary licence
The Financial Services Commission (Fees) Regulations allow applications for primary fiduciary licensees to be submitted jointly (i.e. secondary licence applications) by:
- companies which are in the same ownership and have common staff, procedures, and clients;
- any other combination of person[s] or unincorporated bodies permitted by the Commission to make a joint application.
Applicants for a primary fiduciary licence for more than one company or partnership; or existing primary fiduciary licensees wishing to add a secondary fiduciary licensee to their primary fiduciary licence, should use the Application Form for more than one company or partnership. Secondary applicants must nominate one of the parties as primary applicant. On the Application Form, applicants should name the primary fiduciary licensee as the lead applicant and potential secondary licensees as Applicant 2, Applicant 3 and so on. We will communicate with the lead applicant accordingly.
Managed Trust Company
The Commission allows a primary fiduciary licensee to be managed by another licensed fiduciary licensee. Applicants seeking to be managed by a licensed fiduciary must refer to the Managed Trust Company Note.
Application pack
The licence application pack must contain:
Submission of application form and supporting documentation
Application form and supporting documentation: Scan the fully completed application form (signed and dated by the relevant officers of the applicant) and supporting documentation, as itemised in the application form, together with an explanatory covering letter scheduling the contents and send electronically to [email protected].
- Primary fiduciary licence – single company;
- Primary fiduciary licence – single partnership;
Application Form for Partnership
- Primary fiduciary licence – more than one company or partnership.
Application Form for more than one Company or Partnership
Application fee
The fee is non-refundable - Fees
Beneficial owner evidence
Where an applicant for a primary fiduciary licensee is ultimately owned by a trust then, prior to licensing, the Commission will require an undertaking from each trustee of the trust that it will not add or exclude any beneficiaries, appoint any co-trustees, retire, or sell, transfer, distribute, or otherwise dispose of any shares in the primary fiduciary licensee without the Commission's prior consent. The undertaking must come from a licensed fiduciary; preferably licensed in Guernsey. Where this is not the case, the licensed fiduciary must be licensed in a jurisdiction acceptable to the Commission.
Copies of authorisation or incorporation certificates relating to the beneficial owner of the applicant may be requested.
Personal Questionnaire (“OPQ”) and Online Appointment ("OA")
OPQs and/or OAs must be submitted through the Online PQ Portal for each natural person who is a beneficial owner, controller, partner, director, company secretary, Money Laundering Reporting Officer, Money Laundering Compliance Officer, compliance officer, or manager of the applicant.
Resources and delegation
The applicant is required to have adequate resources in terms of personnel, policies, procedures, premises, and systems to conduct operations including:
- record-keeping;
- compliance;
- anti-money laundering measures;
- internal control and other systems.
If the applicant proposes to delegate some responsibilities to other service providers, then the arrangement must be acceptable to the Commission and demonstrate that the delegate has the necessary capabilities.
Establishment evidence
Certificate of incorporation, and memorandum and articles of association.
Capital
Documentary confirmation that capital has been received, and that it meets the relevant financial resources requirements for the licence category.
Additional information
Where the applicant, controller, or ultimate holding company is resident in a sensitive jurisdiction, as published by the Commission on its website, further details may be requested.
Application process
We will assess and review the application pack and inform the applicant, or its professional advisers, of any matters requiring expansion and/or clarification. Once all queries have been satisfied, the application will be referred to a decision-maker. A formal response will follow decision-making.
Timeframe
Primary fiduciary licence
We will advise if the submission is complete or requires further expansion and/or clarification. We aim to grant or refuse licences within 56 calendar days of receipt of a fully completed application pack.
Secondary fiduciary licence
We will advise if the submission is complete or requires further expansion and/or clarification. We aim to grant or refuse licences within 28 calendar days of receipt of a fully completed application pack.
Application quality
The response time may be advanced or substantially delayed depending on the quality of the submitted application pack.
Written response
We will send a written response detailing any matters that require expansion and/or clarification to enable the application to be referred to a decision-maker.
Application conclusion
Conditions
Any conditions which may be imposed on the licence will be scheduled in a covering letter. Conditions will have been discussed with applicants in advance.
Annual fee
Upon licensing, the annual licence fee becomes due; reduced pro rata in the first year. An invoice will be sent with the licence.