Crowdfunding authorisation in the EU

Q: What takes a platform outside ECSPR?

Two limits do most of the work. ECSPR does not apply to crowdfunding services provided to project owners who are consumers, and it does not apply to offers with a consideration above EUR 5 000 000 calculated over 12 months per project owner. Outside those limits, another framework applies rather than none.

Direct answer

If you operate a platform matching investors with businesses raising capital through transferable securities or loans, you may need an ECSPR authorisation.1 4 Two scope limits decide it first: ECSPR does not apply to crowdfunding services provided to project owners who are consumers, and it does not apply to offers with a consideration above EUR 5 000 000 calculated over 12 months per project owner.2 Within scope, one authorisation supports cross-border services across the EU once the notification procedure has been completed through your home authority.5

Who this applies to

Investment-based crowdfunding platforms
Lending-based crowdfunding platforms where the project owner is a business2
Platforms raising capital for EU project owners within the EUR 5 000 000 limit2

Regulated activities

Placing transferable securities and admitted instruments without a firm commitment basis1
Facilitating the granting of loans between investors and project owners1
Reception and transmission of client orders in relation to those instruments1
Operating the platform, investor onboarding and key investment information sheets6

Routes to market

Own ECSPR authorisation

A single authorisation from the Member State where you are established, extended by cross-border notification across the EU.4 5

Confirm the perimeter first

ECSPR has no agent, tied-agent or distributor regime, so there is no arrangement that lets an unauthorised firm provide crowdfunding services by relying on the authorisation of another provider. Where an offer is above the EUR 5 000 000 limit, or the project owner is a consumer, a different framework applies instead.2

Capital and substance

Prudential safeguards of at least the higher of EUR 25 000 and one quarter of the fixed overheads of the preceding year.3
Those safeguards may be own funds, an insurance policy or a comparable guarantee, or a combination.3
Governance, conflicts-of-interest and complaints handling.
Investor protection: an entry knowledge test and a simulation of the ability to bear loss for non-sophisticated investors, a pre-contractual reflection period, and a key investment information sheet for each offer.6
ICT risk management applies once authorised, as a listed financial entity.7

Authorisation stages

1
Perimeter
Confirm the activity is a crowdfunding service and that neither the consumer exclusion nor the EUR 5 000 000 limit takes it outside ECSPR.1 2
2
Pre-application
Prepare governance, investor-protection and prudential evidence.6
3
Submission
File with the competent authority of the Member State where you are established.4
4
Cross-border notification
Complete the notification through your home authority for EU-wide operation.5

Where applications commonly fail

Missing the EUR 5 000 000 per project owner limit when raises grow2
Treating consumer borrowers as in scope of ECSPR2
Reading the prudential safeguard as the flat figure when a quarter of fixed overheads is higher3
Weak investor-protection and disclosure processes6
Confusion between ECSPR and the MiFID or payment perimeters1

Frequently asked questions

An authorised provider may provide crowdfunding services in other Member States after completing the cross-border notification procedure through its home competent authority. It is a notification step rather than automatic access.

Primary sources for this page

7 citations, each to the article or section the statement rests on. The numbers beside a statement point to the citation behind it. Always confirm against the current official text.

Last updated 2026-08-21. 3 min read, calculated from 522 words.

Crowdfunding: ECSPR