Category 01

FAIS Readiness

Licensing, competency, and ongoing conduct obligations under the FAIS Act 37 of 2002 and Board Notice 194 of 2017 (Fit and Proper Requirements).

Applicability gate

A rule's presence does not establish a direct legal duty

Confirm the entity's licensed capacity, actual services, agreement, data-processing role and Schedule 1 status. The audience-qualified publication rows below travel with this library and its public API.

Fais Conduct

Insurance Broker: FAIS and the applicable conduct code govern authorised FSPs and representatives rendering covered financial services. State the firm's licensed capacity and service; do not convert a readiness scan into a legal compliance conclusion.
Uma Binder Holder: FAIS duties apply where the UMA is an authorised FSP or acts through representatives in a covered capacity. Do not infer the licence category or every conduct duty from the UMA label alone.
Insurer: FAIS duties apply to an insurer when it also acts in a capacity requiring FAIS authorisation or through covered representatives. Insurance conduct duties also arise under insurance legislation and policyholder-protection rules; do not collapse those regimes into FAIS.

Key legislation

FAIS Act 37 of 2002
Board Notice 194 of 2017
FSRA 9 of 2017

Readiness guidance

Verify the FSP licence certificate against the FSCA's FAIS Register. Cross-reference all active Key Individuals and Representatives against their listed entries. Confirm RE1/RE5 certificates are current and not subject to conditions. Request CPD logs and ROA samples for the last 12 months.

Rules in this category

12 rules

FAIS-01

FSP licence validity — licence active and covers all product categories rendered

Critical

Trigger: Licence expired, suspended, or product category mismatch identified
Section: FAIS Act s.7
Evidence: ['Current FSP licence certificate', 'FSCA Register printout']
Remediation: Apply to FSCA for licence reinstatement or category amendment. Suspend rendering of unlicensed services immediately.

FAIS-02

Key Individual (KI) Regulatory Examination (RE1) completion

Critical

Trigger: KI without valid RE1 certificate or exemption on record
Section: Board Notice 194 of 2017
Evidence: ['RE1 certificate', 'FSCA exemption letter if applicable']
Remediation: KI must sit and pass RE1 before rendering services. Apply for exemption if eligible.

FAIS-03

Representative Regulatory Examination (RE5) completion

Critical

Trigger: Active representative without valid RE5 certificate
Section: Board Notice 194 of 2017
Evidence: ['RE5 certificate', 'Representative register with RE5 dates']
Remediation: Representative must sit RE5. Suspend client-facing activities until passed.

FAIS-04

Representative FSCA Register listing — all active reps registered

Critical

Trigger: Representative rendering services but not listed on FSCA Register
Section: FAIS Act s.13
Evidence: ['FSCA Register extract', 'Representative appointment forms']
Remediation: Submit representative appointment to FSCA immediately. Suspend client activities until listed.

FAIS-05

Compliance Officer appointment and accreditation

High

Trigger: No appointed CO or appointment not notified to FSCA
Section: FAIS Act s.17
Evidence: ['CO appointment letter', 'FSCA notification acknowledgement', 'CO accreditation certificate']
Remediation: Appoint accredited Compliance Officer and notify FSCA of appointment within prescribed period.

FAIS-06

Conflict of Interest policy — written, disclosed, and reviewed annually

High

Trigger: COI policy absent, undated, or last reviewed > 12 months ago
Section: General Code of Conduct s.3A
Evidence: ['Signed COI policy', 'Website disclosure', 'Client communication records']
Remediation: Draft, approve, and date COI policy. Include on website and in client disclosure pack.

FAIS-07

Record of Advice (ROA) — generated for all advice interactions

High

Trigger: Advice provided without ROA or ROA missing mandatory fields
Section: General Code of Conduct s.9
Evidence: ['Sample ROAs (min 10)', 'ROA generation system/log']
Remediation: Implement systematic ROA generation. Train all advisers. Remediate missing ROAs retrospectively where possible.

FAIS-08

CPD compliance — verified 6, 12 or 18-hour tier met for each representative

Medium

Trigger: For a non-exempt person, current-cycle hours or class/subclass scope is missing (more information required), or completed CPD is below the applicable tier: 6 hours for one subclass in one class; 12 hours for multiple subclasses in one class; 18 hours for more than one class
Section: Board Notice 194 of 2017, s.33
Evidence: ['CPD exemption record where applicable', 'Class and subclass register per non-exempt representative', 'Current-cycle CPD log per representative', 'Accredited CPD provider certificates']
Remediation: Record any s.31(2) exemption basis. For each non-exempt person, record current-cycle hours and class/subclass scope, derive the applicable 6, 12 or 18-hour tier, then complete any verified shortfall by 31 May.

FAIS-09

Professional Indemnity insurance — current policy in place

High

Trigger: PI policy lapsed or sum insured below FSCA minimum threshold
Section: Board Notice 194 of 2017 s.9
Evidence: ['Current PI policy schedule', 'Insurer confirmation of cover']
Remediation: Renew PI policy immediately. Confirm sum insured meets FSCA-prescribed minimum.

FAIS-10

Annual FSCA compliance report — submitted within prescribed deadline

High

Trigger: Compliance report not submitted or submitted after deadline
Section: FAIS Act s.17
Evidence: ['Submitted compliance report', 'FSCA acknowledgement']
Remediation: Submit overdue report immediately with covering letter. Implement calendar reminders for future cycles.

FAIS-11

FAIS Disclosure Notice — provided to clients at point of engagement

Medium

Trigger: Disclosure Notice not provided or missing mandatory elements
Section: General Code of Conduct s.4
Evidence: ['Disclosure Notice template', 'Signed client acknowledgements']
Remediation: Update Disclosure Notice to include all mandatory fields. Implement as first document in client onboarding.

FAIS-12

Supervision of new representatives — documented supervision framework

Medium

Trigger: New representative active without documented supervision plan
Section: Board Notice 194 of 2017
Evidence: ['Supervision register', 'Supervision meeting minutes', 'Supervising KI sign-off']
Remediation: Implement a supervision register and monthly supervision meeting records.