Information on pre-application support service (PASS) - April 2026

For question 1, we hold the information you have requested. However, we are prohibited from disclosing it because it constitutes ‘confidential information’ for the purposes of section 348 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (FSMA), which the FCA has received in the discharge of its public functions. The information is therefore exempt from disclosure under section 44 of the Freedom of Information Act 2000 (FOIA). For further information about why this exemption applies, please see Annex A.

For question 2, as of 21 April 2026, 28 firms have registered for the Pre-Application Support Service (PASS) for Targeted Support permissions. The table below shows a breakdown of how many PASS cases were opened each month, with the corresponding date of each application.

For question 3, the 28 cases registered in PASS for Targeted Support permissions have the following status:

• Application Submitted (12 of the 28 firms in PASS have now formally applied for the ‘Providing Targeted Support’ permission since the gateway opened on 2 March 2026).
• Permission Granted (of those 12 firms, 3 are at Permission Granted stage).
• Pre-application stage (17 firms remain in PASS)
• 1 of the firms at ‘Application Submitted’ stage did not come through PASS and is therefore not included in the table above.

Section 44 (Prohibitions on Disclosure)

Section 44(1)(a) of FOIA states that information is absolutely exempt from disclosure if this is prohibited by law. Section 348 of FSMA restricts the FCA from disclosing 'confidential information' it has received in the course of carrying out its public function. FSMA allows exceptions to this in a few specific circumstances, but none of these apply to this request.

Confidential information here is defined as non-public and non-anonymised information involving a person's business or other affairs, which the FCA received in the course of carrying out its public function.

The information you requested is confidential information under this provision. Disclosure of this information in breach of section 348 of FSMA would be a criminal offence.

Section 44 is an absolute exemption which means that, if it is engaged, we do not need to weigh the public interest for and against disclosing the information.