Permissions (CRR firms)

In certain cases, firms and PRA approved or designated holding companies can apply to us to vary the requirements for the amount of capital that must be held under the Capital Requirements Regulation, CRR Rules and rules applying to holding companies (as applicable).

Subject to any transitional relief, forms and templates applicable before 11pm Thursday 31 December 2020 should be read in conjunction with Supervisory Statement (SS) 2/19, which sets out how the PRA expects firms to interpret EU-based references in reporting and disclosure requirements and regulatory transactions forms.

In this section

We have the power to exercise various discretions on capital requirements, using the permissions powers available to us under the Capital Requirements Regulations (CRR) and sections 144G and 192XC of FSMA. We assess applications on a case-by-case basis against the criteria or conditions set out in relevant CRR article title or PRA rule and, where applicable, other policy materials (e.g. PRA supervisory statements). We will also take into account our statutory duty to promote the safety and soundness of firms.

Dual regulated firms (firms regulated by both the PRA and the FCA) must apply to the PRA for permissions. Application fees are only required for permissions for new CRR models. These are set out in the Fees Part of the PRA Rulebook.

Applications should be submitted in good time, and we will try to meet request to respond by a particular date. However, this may not be possible if an application raises complex issues. We acknowledge all applications that we receive.

What should a Permissions application include?

We find it helpful for firms to provide the following information as part of an application for a Permission:

  • a list of all the entities which require the Permission, 
  • details of the CRR article title or PRA rule under which the application is being made
  • detailed information about the rationale for the Permission, including, for example, whether it is part of a wider group transaction/restructure
  • detailed responses with respect to the CRR article or PRA rule conditions and relevant Regulatory Technical Standards (RTS), Implementing Technical Standards (ITS) or relevant Policy or Supervisory Statement
  • confirmation that the firm is content for the Permission to be published on the Financial Services Register if approved and, if not, an explanation of why it would be inappropriate to do so, addressing the requirements set out in HMT Regulation 43 
  • important timelines.

Application forms and notes

Permissions (CRR firms): general application form

PDFPermissions (CRR firms): general application form

Send your completed application form, together with any supporting documentation required, to PRA-waivers@bankofengland.co.uk.

Firms are not required to provide details of a precedent written notice when applying for a Permission.

We have set out the format and content of the supporting documentation we expect to receive for certain types of Permissions application in the documents below:

When making an Art 26(3) application, firms are required to submit a pre-issuance notification (PIN) form as part of the application. The PIN form can be found on the Capital instruments – pre/post-issuance notification (PIN) page. 
 

Supporting documentation for rule permissions under section 138BA can be found below under ‘Restated Banking Rule Permissions and Notifications’. Institutions should only submit a CRR permission application for CRR Article 26(2), 26(3) and 77/78, if they require the permission on or before 31 December 2025.

If you are uncertain on which form is required, you may find it helpful to discuss your application with your appropriate supervisory contact at the PRA. 

Restated Banking Rule Permissions and Notifications 

Overview

On Thursday 17 July 2025, the PRA published PS12/25 – Restatement of CRR and Solvency II requirements: 2026 implementation, which sets out the final PRA rules and other policy materials that restate some parts of the Capital Requirements Regulation (CRR) into the PRA Rulebook.

These changes will take effect from 1 January 2026, ahead of the delayed implementation of the Basel 3.1 standards, now scheduled for 1 January 2027.

Institutions wishing to apply under s138BA should complete the s138BA rule permission application form and any criteria and conditions form specific to the permission type as set out on this page.

Send your completed application forms for a s138BA permission to PRA-waivers@bankofengland.co.uk

Own Funds (CRR) Permissions and Notifications

Savings provision

Where applicable, any permission granted by the PRA under the following provisions of the Capital Requirements Regulation at any time before 1 January 2026, has effect, on and after 1 January 2026 as if granted under s138BA of FSMA 2000:

  • Article 26(3) 
  • Article 31(1)
  • Article 41(1)
  • Article 73(1)
  • Article 76(2)
  • Article 77(1)
  • Article 78(1)

Any CRR permission granted by the PRA under the Article 26(2) provisions of the Capital Requirements Regulation at any time before 1 January 2026, will be treated, on and after 1 January 2026, as a notification made under Article 26(2) of the rules.

Existing applications made under CRR

From 1 January 2026, institutions with existing applications for a permission under CRR which has not yet been granted will need to supply additional information set out in Regulation 3 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Disapplication or Modification of Financial Regulator Rules in Individual Cases) Regulations 2024.

Article 26(2) Notification

From 1 January 2026, institutions are no longer required to apply to the PRA for permission to include interim profits in Common Equity Tier 1 capital (CET1).

Institutions seeking to include interim or year-end profits in Common Equity Tier 1 capital—prior to confirming the final profit or loss for the year—must ensure that the profits have been independently verified by auditors and that any foreseeable charges or dividends have been deducted. Once these conditions are met and profits are included in CET1 capital, institutions must notify the PRA as soon as reasonably practicable by submitting the following notification form to CRRFirms.regulatorycapital@bankofengland.co.uk:

Article 26(3) Rule Permission

Institutions wishing to apply for permission under FSMA section 138BA to classify issuances of capital instruments as Common Equity Tier 1 (CET1) instruments should complete and send the s138BA rule permission application form, together with any supporting documentation required to PRA-waivers@bankofengland.co.uk.

Intuitions are also required to submit a pre-issuance notification (PIN) form as part of the application. The PIN form can be found on the Capital instruments – pre/post-issuance notification (PIN) page.

Article 77 Rule Permission

Intuitions wishing to apply for permission under Article 77(1)(a) to reduce, redeem, repurchase, call, repay or reclassify own funds instruments, or, under Article 77(1)(b) to reduce, distribute or reclassify the share premium accounts as another own funds item, should complete the s138BA Rule Permission Application Form and the accompanying Criteria and Conditions Form:

  • Article 77 Criteria and Conditions Form (DOC)
  • Institutions intending to submit an application for own funds permission should refer to Statement of policy (SoP) 3/25 – The PRA’s approach to waivers and permissions under Own Funds (CRR) Part. 

    Where an institution intends to reduce its own funds with replacement instruments, it should follow the requirements set out in paragraph 1(a) of Appendix 5 of the SoP; if the reduction is to occur without replacing instruments, the institution should instead refer to paragraph 1(b) of Appendix 5. Firms should observe the conditions in this SoP that the PRA will take into account in assessing these applications.

Model change notifications

Where CRR permissions have been granted for the internal ratings based (IRB) approach, the internal model method (IMM) or the internal model approach (IMA), we expect firms notifying us of changes to such approaches to complete the following pro-forma:

Pro-forma for the notification of changes to IRB, IMM and IMA permissions under the CRR

Where CRR permissions have been granted for the internal ratings based (IRB) approach, the internal model method (IMM) or the internal model approach (IMA), we expect firms notifying us of changes in relation to or applying for permissions under the near-final Basel 3.1 rules to complete the following pro-forma:

Pro-forma for the notification of changes to IRB, IMM and IMA permissions under the Basel 3.1 rules

Please send the completed pro-forma, together with any required supporting documentation to CRRModelPermissions@bankofengland.co.uk. 

Please copy in your supervisory contact when submitting the pro-forma, including the firm’s FRN in the subject.

Basel 3.1 permissions

We have published policy statement PS1/26 – Implementation of Basel 3.1: Final rules, which contains the final policy material for the Basel 3.1 package. 

There are permissions detailed in the final rules that you may choose to apply for. 

The Basel 3.1 permissions page provides general information on new and existing permissions impacted by the Basel 3.1 package and more details on how and when to apply for certain permissions. Following the publication of PS1/26 on 20 January 2026, this webpage has been updated.

Basel 3.1 permissions

What happens once a decision is reached?

If we decide to grant a Permission, we will issue an approval letter and a written notice setting out the permission, which entities it applies to and the time period for which it is valid.

In some cases, the approval of a CRR permission may mean we need to impose or vary a firm’s requirements under section 55M of the Financial Services and Markets Act (FSMA). We will consult the FCA before we do this. These requirements will be set out in the written notice. 

Published Permissions

We have a statutory duty to publish details of Permissions we approve, unless we consider it inappropriate or unnecessary to do so.

The majority of Permissions are published in full. Certain permissions are published in abridged form at the affected firm’s request. 

We will also update the Financial Services Register with the firm’s written notice of being granted the CRR permission.

19 April 2021: The consolidated list of Waivers, CRR and Solvency II Permissions granted by us to PRA-authorised firms is no longer being provided. If you wish to discuss your requirements for this report please contact the following address: PRA-Waivers@bankofengland.co.uk. Alternatively, please see the FCA Register which is the primary source of PRA Waivers and EU Permissions data and is available for external parties. Firms are not required to provide details of a precedent direction or written notice when applying for a waiver or modification of PRA rules, a CRR, or Solvency II Permission.

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This page was last updated 12 February 2026