Applying for an SFC licence: locating the official requirements
Every SFC licence or registration application is submitted online through WINGS-LIC, whether the applicant is a corporation or an individual. The account you use matters: an "Individual Account", or a "sub-account of an Advisory Firm Account". The Commission points applicants to its WINGS user guides and online demo for how to open an account and how to prepare an application.
That entry point is the same for everyone. What changes is the paperwork.
Corporate licence and registered institution are different tracks
The SFC's application procedures page lists the forms and supplements required for new corporate licence or registration applications. Which column you fall into determines the list:
| If you | Please submit |
|---|---|
| Are a corporation which is not currently licensed and would like to apply for a new licence | Form 1; Forms 5 and 6 (at least 2 responsible officers should be nominated); Supplements 1, 2 (as appropriate) and 3; Questionnaire 1; Questionnaire 2 (if applicable); Application fee |
| Are an authorized institution and would like to apply for registration to become a registered institution | Form 3; Copies of application forms for approval to become an executive officer submitted to the HKMA (at least two executive officers should be nominated); Application fee |
Read the two rows carefully before you start. A corporation seeking its own licence nominates responsible officers through Forms 5 and 6, with at least two of them. An authorized institution registering instead files Form 3 and supplies copies of the executive officer approval applications it has submitted to the HKMA, nominating at least two executive officers.
The tables on that page are examples, not a closed list of everything a regulated activity may require. Confirm against the current WINGS checklist before you file.
What the board resolution declaration covers
In the application forms concerning licensed corporations, registered institutions or responsible officers, applicants must declare that the relevant board of directors has passed a resolution approving the application.
The Commission accepts an alternative form of that approval: the board may instead pass a resolution authorising a specified committee or person to approve the application, and that committee or person then approves it. The declaration can rest on either route.
This declaration requirement attaches to the company, institution and responsible officer forms listed above. It is not a statement about whether an applicant is fit and proper, or otherwise qualified.
The pre-submission check
Before you submit, the SFC asks you to confirm you have provided everything needed to process the application. Specifically:
- answer every question in the application form, supplement(s) and questionnaires, where applicable
- properly sign the application
- provide all necessary supporting documents
Missing items here are the avoidable ones. Work through the three points in that order once the substantive documents are assembled.
What this page does not settle
The official material does not spell out personal application documents for every individual route, and the fee amount is not stated on the procedures page — it appears as "Application fee" in the lists above. Neither this page nor the guides decide fit and proper, eligibility to be licensed, or what a fee will actually cost you. Those are assessed by the Commission and by the HKMA in their own processes.