On June 30, 2020, the FCA announced that the Treasury had agreed an extension of the deadline for solo-regulated firms to have undertaken the first assessment of the fitness and propriety of their Certified Persons.
The extension is to allow firms who have been significantly impacted by COVID-19 additional time to make the changes they need.
Following the extension being agreed, the FCA opened a consultation which closed 14 August 14, 2020. The Consultation covered extending the deadline from December 9, 2020 to March 31, 2021 for the following requirements:
- the date the Conduct Rules come into force
- the deadline for submission of information about Directory Persons to the FS Register
- changing references in the rules to the deadline for assessing Certified Persons as fit and proper (which has been agreed by the Treasury)
In its announcement of the consultation, the FCA said that firms should still submit information about Directory Persons to the FS Register earlier than March 2021, if they are able to certify staff before then. It intends to publish details of certified staff of solo firms from December 9, 2020 on its FS Register.
