When the regulator changes during the project: what to do first
When the authority supervising your MiCA file changes, the first task is confirmation, not correction. Ask for written proof of who now holds the file, from what date, and under what procedure. Continue meeting the deadline already running, as if nothing had changed, unless the new authority states in writing that it has paused. Guessing at a new process wastes more time than waiting one day for a written answer.
Basis
Supervision of a project authorised under Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) sits with the national authority each member state designates for that purpose. Three causes of a mid-project change are common: an internal reorganisation inside the same authority; a move of your registered office to another member state; or a merger of two supervisory bodies into one. Where the same entity also transmits funds or crypto-assets on behalf of clients, the parallel duty to attach the required information to those transfers falls under Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 (TFR). Both regimes are ordinarily supervised by the same national authority, so a change of regulator typically moves both files together, not one at a time.
A change driven by relocation follows the logic built into MiCA for a change of home authority: once your registered office moves, the file follows the new home authority. A change driven by internal reorganisation does not touch the substance of your application at all. It only changes the desk that reviews it, and sometimes the reference number under which the file is held.
Practical consequence
A change of authority rarely stops a running deadline on its own. The clock set when your application was first accepted for review keeps running unless the incoming authority states, in writing, that it has suspended it. Anything sent to the outgoing authority after the transfer date should be treated as not received, and resent. A verbal assurance from a departing case officer does not bind the authority that replaces them.
Keep every piece of correspondence dated and filed by authority. If the outgoing authority had already confirmed a stage of your review — for example, that your white paper met the format requirements — ask the incoming authority to confirm that stage still stands. Do not assume continuity; confirm it in writing, and keep that confirmation with the rest of your file.
What to do first
Work through these steps in order, and do not skip the written confirmation to save a day.
- Request written confirmation of the transfer: the new authority's name, the effective date, and the basis for the change. Without this, you cannot be certain which body currently owns your file.
- Ask the new authority, in the same letter, to confirm the status of the file and any deadline still running. A silent transfer usually means the deadline continues exactly as before.
- Resend the complete submission set to the new contact point, with a short cover letter noting the transfer date. Do not assume the file moved across with every attachment intact.
- Check whether the new authority uses different forms, portals, or reference numbers, and refile using its format. A mismatch in reference numbers is a common cause of lost correspondence.
- Ask for written confirmation of any informal guidance you received from the outgoing authority before you rely on it again. Informal guidance rarely survives a change of desk.
- Keep a dated record of every communication with both authorities across the transition, including the date each letter was sent and received.
Who decides
The authority holding the file at the moment of decision decides, not the one that opened it. Absent a written statement to the contrary, assume the deadline set by the outgoing authority still applies. What happens to the timeline in practice depends on the cause of the change.
| Cause of the change | Typical effect on the running deadline | First point of contact |
|---|---|---|
| Internal reorganisation within the same authority | Deadline continues unchanged | The new case officer at the same authority |
| Applicant relocates its registered office to another member state | Deadline restarts from the new home authority's acknowledgement | The authorisation unit of the new home authority |
| Merger of two supervisory bodies into one | Deadline usually continues; forms and references may change | The merged authority's transition desk |
| Referral of the file to EU-level oversight | Timeline extends pending the referral outcome | The original national authority, pending confirmation |
None of these outcomes is automatic. Ask the incoming authority to confirm, in writing, which row applies to your file, and why it applies rather than one of the others.
Forks
If your project also depends on a cross-border data transfer mechanism that a regulator is separately questioning, treat that question on its own track. Folding it into the licensing file only slows both. See A transfer mechanism is questioned data protection.
If the change in regulator follows a market entry in which a local distributor registered your brand in its own name, that trade mark dispute runs on a separate timeline from the licensing file. See When a distributor registered your brand locally.
If the change coincides with a founder dispute over the prototype underlying your application, resolve ownership before you resubmit anything to the new authority. An unresolved ownership question tends to stall every other step. See A founder leaves with the prototype ownership of results.
If your token model runs on smart-contract logic that diverges from the written licence terms, expect a new authority to raise that mismatch early in its review. See A smart contract conflicts with the written licence tokenised.
Limit
This page does not tell you which authority will end up supervising your file, and it does not estimate how long a specific transfer will take in a specific member state. Both depend on facts particular to your case, including the ground for the change and the state of your file at the moment it happened. It also does not resolve disputes about the substance of your application, and it does not cover a change of regulator that follows a formal refusal or withdrawal of a file; those situations follow a different procedure. Treat this page as the first step only, not as the full route through the transition.
Verified
Checked against Regulation (EU) 2023/1114 (MiCA) and Regulation (EU) 2023/1113 (TFR), both in force from 30 December 2024. Both regulations designate national competent authorities without naming them individually, which is why the identity of your specific authority must be confirmed with the relevant member state. Source: the official consolidated texts of both regulations. The review date for this page is shown in its metadata.
Related publications
A licence already granted can also be paused mid-project, rather than reassigned to a new authority, and the first step looks different from the one described here. See What to do first in this situation for that scenario, including what a suspension does to a deadline already running.
Next step
If a regulator change has touched your MiCA file, send us the incoming authority's name and the date on the transfer letter. Our first response reaches you within minutes during business hours. A fee quote for the specific work involved follows within one business day, once we understand which stage your file has reached.
FAQ
What is the first step when the regulator changes during the project?
Confirm, in writing, which authority now holds your file and from what date, using the transfer letter itself rather than a summary of it. Everything else — deadlines, open requests — is re-anchored to that confirmed date.
Which deadline is already running?
Any deadline already set before the change keeps running unless the incoming authority states otherwise in writing. A change of supervisor does not, on its own, reset a clock that was already ticking.
Who decides, and on what evidence?
The incoming authority decides how your file proceeds, on the record transferred to it. Where its view differs from the outgoing authority's, the position stated in writing by the authority now responsible is the one that governs.