Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

General prohibition definition

What does General prohibition mean? In financial services practice, the general prohibition is the baseline rule that a person must not carry on a regulated activity in the UK (and, in some cases, into the UK) by way of business unless they are authorised or an exempt person. It is a statutory concept in Section 19 of the financial services and markets act 2000 (FSMA). Key features: - Regulated activity is defined by FSMA and specified in the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Regulated Activities) Order 2001. - Authorised persons hold Part 4A permission from the FCA and/or PRA. - Exempt persons include, among others, appointed...

Carrying on Unauthorised Business under FSMA 2000: General Prohibition, Exemptions, Offences, Enforcement and Regulated Activities (including the Designated Activities Regime) (UK)

Published by a LexisNexis Financial Services expert

Practice notes

This Practice Note summarises the statutory provisions that prescribe the requirement to be authorised to provide financial services in the UK. The regulators may take action against persons and businesses that operate without the proper authorisations. It introduces and explains the general prohibition in section 19 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (fsma 2000), highlights the various exemptions, and notes the related criminal offences under FSMA 2000, ss 23–25.

The general prohibition under FSMA 2000

Consistent with section 19 of FSMA 2000, a person must not carry on a regulated activity in the UK, nor hold themselves out as doing so, unless they are either:

authorised (by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)), or
exempt

The inclusion of the phrase ‘or purport to do so’ means the general prohibition is breached even where no regulated activity is actually undertaken but the person represents that they do, or attempts to carry it on. The regulatory system requires firms to evaluate, in practice, whether authorisation is required by either the PRA or the FCA, as applicable, and encompasses the concept of PRA-regulated activity...

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Sarah Clarke , KC

Serjeants' Inn

Sarah spent the first ten years of her career at the self-employed Bar where she had a successful and advocacy heavy practice in general crime, fraud and confiscation.In 2005, Sarah joined the Enforcement Division of the Financial Services Authority ('FSA') initially on secondment and thereafter as a Technical Specialist and In-House Counsel in the newly formed Litigation Department.During her time at the FSA, Sarah advised on and conducted many of the FSA's high profile insider dealing prosecutions as well as regulatory and disciplinary proceedings before the Regulatory Decisions Committee ('RDC') and the Upper Tribunal. She conducted many of the FSA's early cases before the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal and advised on and conducted the FSA's first ever prosecution for misleading statements and breaches of the general prohibition.In October 2011, Sarah returned to private practice where she continues to be...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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