MT5 licence: how to get your own MetaQuotes MetaTrader 5 licence

What is an MT5 licence, exactly?

An MT5 licence is the right, granted by MetaQuotes Ltd, to install and operate the MetaTrader 5 server software under your own company’s name. It is a commercial software agreement, not a financial-services licence: MetaQuotes is a software vendor, and holding its licence does not authorise you to deal with clients anywhere. That permission, where a country requires it, comes from a regulator.

The distinction matters because founders often mix the two up. You can hold a perfectly valid MT5 licence and still be breaking the rules in a market you target, and you can hold a strong regulatory licence and still have your MetaQuotes file returned because your website lacks a risk warning. In practice you need to get both sides right, and they feed into each other: the company and licence route you choose is what MetaQuotes reviews.

With your own licence you run the trade server, manager and administrator terminals, client groups, symbols and risk settings yourself. Compare that with an MT5 grey label, where you sit inside a provider’s server, or an MT5 white label, where the provider holds the agreement with MetaQuotes. Our full licence vs white label guide puts the three side by side.

Which MetaQuotes MT5 licence tiers can you buy?

MetaQuotes publishes three MT5 licence types for brokers, defined by how many real trading accounts the server can hold: Entry, Standard and Enterprise. Demo accounts are not the constraint; real accounts are. Most new brokers and prop firms we speak to start on Entry and move up when the client base justifies it.

MetaQuotes is also clear that it is selling software you run, not a hosted service. You deploy the servers on your own hardware or hosting, and MetaQuotes says it has no access to your servers, accounts or clients’ trading history. That has practical consequences: someone on your side has to own hosting, backups, monitoring and upgrades, which is where a technology partner usually comes in.

Can you still buy an MT4 or MT5 white label instead?

MT4 is effectively closed to new buyers: MetaQuotes states on its MetaTrader 4 broker page that MT4 licences are no longer available for purchase. If you specifically need MT4, write to us and we will check availability for your case, but we do not promise it, and almost every new project we see starts on MT5.

White labels are murkier, because two statements sit on the record. MetaQuotes’ corporate page for brokers says that “MetaTrader 5 supports White Label licensing”, while its MT5 purchase page lists only the Entry, Standard and Enterprise licences. Separately, FX News Group reported on 29 September 2022 that MetaQuotes had told partners its white label product was unavailable and that new white label requests would not be processed until further notice. We treat every white label request case by case and explain the current position in our MetaQuotes white label policy guide.

That uncertainty is a large part of why companies now look at their own licence. If the provider’s relationship with MetaQuotes changes, a white label or grey label client can be affected overnight. A direct licence moves that risk onto your own compliance, which you control.

Do you need a forex licence to get an MT5 licence?

It depends on the route, and MetaQuotes does not publish a rule saying a regulatory licence is mandatory. Its public guide for new brokers asks for a registered company with the relevant business activities registered under it, operating in line with any applicable regulatory requirements, plus a corporate bank account at a licensed bank. How you evidence “relevant activities” is where routes differ.

Broadly, the companies we prepare fall into three groups. The table summarises them; each has its own page with sources.

How do you get an MT5 licence, step by step?

The sequence below is how our licensing projects usually run. Steps two to four can overlap, and the bank account is almost always the item that sets the pace.

1. Agree the routeWe look at your target markets, ownership, business model (A-book, B-book, prop firm) and existing entities, then recommend a company route and tell you plainly what it will and will not achieve.
2. Form or fix the companyThrough a registered agent we form the entity with objects that cover brokerage or trading in financial instruments, or adjust an existing company. How long incorporation takes depends on the agent’s due diligence on owners and directors and on the registry.
3. Obtain the licence, if your route needs oneFor Mauritius, the Bahamas or the Comoros our local partners prepare and file the application. Here the authority sets the clock, not us.
4. Bank account, address and websiteOpen the corporate account, collect proof of registered and physical address, and publish a complete website on a domain the company owns.
5. Assemble and cross-check the fileWe line up the corporate documents, activity evidence, bank letter and website so that names and addresses match character for character.
6. Submit and answer questionsYour company submits to MetaQuotes, completes identity checks for the signatory and beneficial owners, and answers follow-up questions. We draft the replies with you.
7. Contract, servers and launchAfter approval, your company signs and pays MetaQuotes directly: a monthly fee that depends on the tier, with three months paid upfront if you choose Entry, in the applications we handle. Servers are deployed, groups and symbols configured, liquidity connected and your front ends branded.

Which documents does MetaQuotes ask for?

MetaQuotes asks for a corporate pack, proof that the company may carry on the activity, proof of a working bank account, a compliant website and identity verification of the people behind the company. MetaQuotes does not publish a fixed document list. The list below is what we collect in the MetaQuotes applications we handle for clients in 2026; requests can differ, and what MetaQuotes asks you for is what counts.

Our MetaQuotes MT5 requirements page goes through each item with a printable checklist and the problems we see most often.

• Certificate of incorporation
• Certificate of good standing or incumbency, if the company is older than about six months
• Register of directors
• Register of shareholders, with documents identifying ultimate beneficial owners behind any nominee
• Proof of registered address
• Proof of physical (operating) address
• Proof of domain ownership and a live, compliant website
• Evidence of relevant activities: memorandum, legal opinion or a regulatory licence
• Bank reference letter addressed to MetaQuotes, or a certified statement
• Online identity verification of the signatory and beneficial owners

How long does it take to get your own MT5 licence?

It depends almost entirely on the company route, and we only quote timings that an authority has published. MetaQuotes does not publish a review timeline. Most of the variation comes from what has to happen before the MetaQuotes file can be submitted: forming the company, obtaining any licence and opening the bank account.

Where a regulator does publish something, it is a clock that starts only once your file is complete. The Securities Commission of The Bahamas’ service standards, effective 1 September 2026, give a determination within 21 business days for a standard initial registration, counted from receipt of all required documentation and the fee and suspended while a deficiency letter is outstanding. In Mauritius, section 17B of the Financial Services Act 2007 says the FSC “shall grant an application within 10 working days from the date the application is determined to be complete”, while its FAQ says processing time “depends on the type and complexity of application”. Neither clock tells you how long it takes to reach a complete file, which is where most projects spend their time.

For the company-only and island routes there is no published figure at all, so we do not give one. If you want a realistic plan for your case, send us your situation on WhatsApp and we will tell you which steps are likely to take longest.

Why do MT5 licence applications get delayed or refused?

In our experience, files rarely fail for one dramatic reason. They stall on small inconsistencies that make the reviewer doubt the company is what it says it is. MetaQuotes does not publish its decision criteria, so the list below is our reading of the questions that come back.

What does FXUP do on an MT5 licence project?

We work on both halves: the licensing file and the technology that runs once the licence is signed. FXUP is a consulting firm on the licensing side, and we charge a fee for handling the MetaQuotes requirements and application. On that side we coordinate company formation and licence routes through local partners and registered agents, and we prepare and cross-check your MetaQuotes application, then help you answer the follow-up questions. You remain the applicant, and MetaQuotes’ fees are paid by your company directly under your own contract.

On the technology side we put our platform on top of your new server: a branded WebTrader, iOS and Android apps published from your own developer accounts, a broker CRM synced to MT5 (our own CRM or a partner CRM, whichever fits), and liquidity provider integration. You can try the WebTrader demo and the mobile app demo today; both run against a real MT5 demo environment.

FXUP is independent and not affiliated with MetaQuotes. We cannot grant, speed up or promise a licence, and we never promise that a regulator or MetaQuotes will approve an application. What we can do is make sure nothing in your file gives a reviewer an easy reason to say no. If you already have a company, send us its details on WhatsApp and we will tell you what is missing before you start.

Own MT5 licence or grey label: which should you start with?

If you need to be live within a fortnight, start on a grey label; if you plan to run a brokerage for years and can carry the server costs, work towards your own licence. A common approach is to do both in sequence: launch on an MT5 grey label, which we usually set up in about one to two weeks, build a client base, and then migrate those clients to your own server once the MetaQuotes file is approved.

The order matters for your paperwork. If you plan to migrate later, set up the company you will eventually license from the start, so that the brand, domain and contracts do not have to be moved twice. Our guide on how to start a forex brokerage walks through the wider plan, and white label vs grey label covers the shorter-term options.

What happens after MetaQuotes approves your licence?

Once your company signs and pays, the work moves from paperwork to infrastructure. You will need hosting for the trade and history servers and access points near your clients, a liquidity bridge, symbol and group configuration, risk settings, reports, and the client-facing layer: web, mobile and CRM. Our broker technology stack guide lists every component.

Two practical tips from projects we have run. First, decide your A-book, B-book or hybrid execution model before configuring groups, because it shapes the bridge and the reports. Second, keep the website and corporate documents you used in the MetaQuotes file up to date; a change of directors or address should be reflected everywhere, not only at the registry.

Questions buyers ask

Not covered here? Ask us on WhatsApp, message @FXUPCK on Telegram or write to [email protected].