Abu Dhabi Global Market’s Financial Services Regulatory Authority on 9 October opened a consultation on higher fees for trading venues, exchanges and clearing houses, a new annual charge for listed securities, and a tougher late-filing regime. Consultation Paper No. 6 of 2026 finishes a review the FSRA deferred in 2023, when it left market infrastructure out of its last fee overhaul. The proposals would take effect on 1 January 2027, and comments close on 6 November 2026.
Trading venue fees rise tenfold
The largest change is for multilateral and organised trading facilities that do not deal in virtual assets, fiat-referenced tokens or spot commodities. Their application fee would rise from $10,000 to $100,000 and their annual supervision fee from $10,000 to $40,000.
The FSRA says the existing fees were set “when an MTF or OTF operating in ADGM was expected to be a comparatively simple venue.” Applications now involve market surveillance, membership and access criteria, settlement and post-trade arrangements, and operational resilience, and the current fees do not cover the work of assessing and then supervising such venues.
Venues that trade virtual assets, fiat-referenced tokens or spot commodities would pay the same in total as today: $125,000 to apply and $60,000 a year. The rulebook would be restructured so those firms pay the new base fee plus a smaller add-on of $25,000 and $20,000. The trading levy on virtual assets traded on an MTF does not change.
Exchanges and clearing houses pay more, and listings pay for the first time
For a Recognised Investment Exchange or a Recognised Clearing House, the recognition fee would rise from $125,000 to $150,000 and the annual supervision fee from $60,000 to $100,000. A body recognised in both roles would pay $300,000 to apply and $200,000 a year, up from $250,000 and $120,000.
The FSRA says the new levels bring it in line with suitable comparators “while remaining materially below those charged in larger and more mature markets.” It also notes that, before the 2023 review, most of its fees had stayed at 2015 levels and fallen in real terms. The FSRA says it still receives strong government support, but wants to recover a reasonable share of its costs, as many other regulators do.
The FSRA’s Listing Authority, now fully operational, has charged nothing for keeping securities on the Official List. The proposal introduces an annual supervision fee of $1,000 for each class of securities admitted, so an issuer with several classes pays more. The sum is small for a listed company. The change deletes the existing guidance under FEES 9.2.1 that exempts listed entities from any annual supervision fee.
Late filings would be charged three times
The late-filing changes will reach more firms than the market fees. The current fee is $500, charged once when a regulatory filing, including a DNFBP’s AML return, is missed. The FSRA says that fee “has not reduced the incidence of late filings” and has not pushed firms to fix the failure quickly.
Under the proposal the fee doubles to $1,000 and is charged automatically on the first business day a filing is overdue, again on day 11 and again on day 21, to a cap of $3,000 per filing. After that the matter is referred for escalation, which may include enforcement action. Requests for an exemption or extension would have to arrive at least 10 business days before the deadline and would be granted only in exceptional circumstances.
A small number fail to submit on time and do not promptly remedy the failure. This is not acceptable to the FSRA.
FSRA, Consultation Paper No. 6 of 2026, 9 October 2026
Quick licence changes and “FSP for Sale” deals face more scrutiny
Two pieces of guidance target firms that use their licence in ways the FSRA did not expect. First, the FSRA says it will not usually grant a variation of a Financial Services Permission within 12 months of authorisation, because such requests raise questions about whether a firm described its plans accurately when it applied. Second, where a change in control in substance amounts to an “FSP for Sale”, with changes to ownership, business model, management or activities, the FSRA may charge a supplementary fee equal to a new authorisation and take longer to assess it. Genuine acquisitions of operating businesses are not the target.
The FSRA would also add systemically important firms to the guidance on when supplementary fees apply, and set a standard payment term of 20 business days for fee invoices.
What to watch
- Final fee levels before annual supervision invoices for 2027 go out in December 2026.
- Whether the late-filing cap and escalation steps survive consultation.
- Use of the 12-month guidance on permission variations for recently licensed firms.
Primary sources
- ADGM, ADGM FSRA Launches Consultation on Revisions to its Fees and General Rulebooks, 9 October 2026
- FSRA, Consultation Paper No. 6 of 2026: Proposed Revisions to the Fees and General Rulebooks (PDF), 9 October 2026
Related: ADGM’s FSRA tells licensed firms how to manage DeFi risk without regulating the protocols
Photo (cropped): Vprime g, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
