For advisers

Who we accept

Draft for legal review, not final.

Our acceptance policy for advisers, version 1.1, September 2026. You agree to it when you apply.

What we require

  1. A licence for what you advise on, in its public register

    You only get requests your licences cover. We look up each entry before we approve you:

  2. Indemnity insurance in force

    The professional indemnity insurance (Vermögensschadenhaftpflicht) your licence requires. We need to see the certificate, or the insurer's confirmation. Tell us when it's renewed or changes.

  3. You work in English

    Clients come to us to be advised in English, from the first call on.

  4. For investing, paid only by the client

    Investing requests go to fee-only advisers (§ 34h GewO), who take no commission on what they recommend.

  5. A website and a privacy policy

    Your own website, with its legal notice (Impressum), and a privacy policy. We open both before we approve you.

  6. You agree to the participation terms

    • We give you at least 30 days' notice in writing before we charge anything, and before any change to prices or terms. You can leave at no cost before it applies.
    • Once we charge, one invoice a month, by email or post as you choose, payable within 14 days. What each request costs: the price sheet.
    • A client we introduce stays our introduction for 24 months.
    • You never pass what you pay us on to the client.

What we don't accept, and why

  • Advice without the licence for it. Without one of these licences you can't take requests here: the law ties each kind of advice to its licence, and a title such as Finanzberater or Berater isn't one. A planning qualification, such as a CFP, isn't one either.
  • A § 34f licence on its own. A § 34f licence on its own takes no requests here: investing requests go only to fee-only advisers (§ 34h GewO), whom the client pays.
  • Legal and tax work. Legal and tax work isn't on Plain Finance: lawyers join Klarlaw, our sister service, and tax advisers aren't on the platform.
  • What we can't check. A register entry we can't find, or insurance we haven't seen.
Where the licences come from
  • Mortgages: § 34i GewO
  • Insurance: § 34d GewO
  • Investment advice paid by the client: § 34h GewO
  • State and workplace pensions: registration as a Rentenberater (§ 10 RDG)

Your IHK or trade office (Gewerbeamt) grants the § 34 licences and enters them in the Vermittlerregister; Rentenberater are registered in the Rechtsdienstleistungsregister.

If the terms are broken

We can suspend or remove an adviser who breaks the participation terms or no longer meets this policy: a licence or insurance that lapses, pay not told to the client, or clients who report they were never contacted. We tell you why when we do. Tell us straight away if a licence or your insurance lapses.

Your application's data

We use what you give us to decide on your application and, if we approve it, for your participation. A rejected or withdrawn application is deleted 183 days after the decision. More in our privacy policy.

Apply to join