What do mortgage advisers actually earn?
Calculate realistic commission income from procuration fees and case volume. See take-home across trainee, employed, AR, and self-employed paths.
Defaults reflect a typical 1-to-3-year adviser, not aspirational top-tier brokers.
What this calculator does
Most “mortgage adviser earnings” content quotes a single salary figure with no mechanics. This calculator shows you the mechanics: procuration fees from the lender (typically 0.30% to 0.45% of the mortgage amount), how case volume turns that into annual income, and how much you actually take home after the employment split.
The four employment paths produce very different outcomes. A trainee earns a salary only, no commission. An employed adviser keeps 20 to 40 percent of procuration fees plus a base salary. An AR/network adviser keeps 65 to 80 percent. A self-employed (directly authorised) adviser keeps 90 to 100 percent but pays their own overheads. The calculator runs the same inputs through all of these so you can compare honestly.
How to use it
- Set average mortgage size: the typical loan you’d advise on.
- Set monthly cases: how many mortgages you’d complete per month.
- Set procuration fee: the lender pays this; 0.35 percent is typical.
- Add client broker fee: optional, only if you charge fees directly.
- Pick employment type: the calculator splits commission accordingly.
Updates instantly as you change inputs. No signup, no data stored.
Calculate your commission income
Adjust the inputs — your annual take-home updates instantly.
Employed PAYE: £25–35k base salary plus 20–40% of procuration fees. Most realistic for newly qualified advisers at a bank or large brokerage.
Income breakdown (annual)
| Mortgage volume | 5 × £200k × 12 | £12,000,000 |
| Procuration fees (gross) | 0.35% of volume | £42,000 |
| Your share of procuration | 20–40% retained | £8,400 – £16,800 |
| Client broker fees | 100% to adviser | £0 |
| Base salary | Employed PAYE | £25,000 – £35,000 |
| Self-employed overheads | FCA, PI, software | −£3,000 to −£8,000 |
| Annual take-home | £33,000 – £52,000 |
If you switched employment type
- AR / network: 65–80% of procuration, no salary, lower overheads£27,500 – £33,500
- Self-employed / DA: 90–100% retention, you bear FCA + PI + software£30,000 – £39,000
- Trainee / apprentice: salary only, no commission until CAS£18,000 – £25,000
Reality check
- Your retention rate is the biggest lever, not your case volume. Switching from employed to AR roughly doubles your commission take, which usually outweighs losing a base salary if you’re writing 5 plus cases per month.
- This figure does not include protection commission (life insurance, income protection, critical illness). Most advisers add £5,000 to £20,000 per year from cross-selling protection. Treat this calculator as a floor, not a ceiling.
- Self-employed advisers retain the most but bear all costs: FCA fees, PI insurance, mortgage software, lead generation. Net retention is typically 85 to 95 percent after overheads.
Figures rounded to the nearest £500. This calculator is for guidance only. Actual earnings depend on your firm, performance, market conditions, and protection-product mix not modelled here.
The numbers behind UK adviser commission
Typical lender range
High-street lenders pay 0.30 to 0.35 percent. Specialist lenders (BTL, adverse, equity release) pay up to 0.55 percent.
Realistic baseline
Newly qualified advisers (1–3 years post-CAS) typically write 4 to 7 cases monthly. Volumes climb with experience.
Average proc fee
At a £200k mortgage with 0.35 percent procuration. Higher-value mortgages and specialist cases pay more.
Before split
5 cases per month at £700 procuration each, over 12 months. Your share depends on employment type.
How we calculate your commission
Commission income is built from four levers: average mortgage size, monthly case volume, the lender’s procuration fee, and your employment-type retention rate. Multiply them together and you get gross procuration; apply your retention rate to get take-home. Add base salary if employed, subtract overheads if self-employed.
Procuration fees
Lenders pay the firm a procuration fee at completion, expressed in basis points. 0.30 percent is typical for high-street lenders; 0.35 to 0.40 percent for the broader market; up to 0.55 percent for specialist or complex cases. The fee is calculated on the loan amount, not the property value.
Case volume
Newly qualified advisers (post-CAS, 1 to 2 years) typically write 3 to 7 cases monthly. Established advisers (3 to 5 years) reach 6 to 10. Senior advisers and brokers with strong lead pipelines write 8 to 15. Most “top-broker” claims of 20 plus cases monthly come from team leaders writing under multiple advisers.
Employment-type split
Employed advisers retain 20 to 40 percent of procuration fees plus a base salary (£25 to £35k typical). AR / network advisers retain 65 to 80 percent, no salary, network covers compliance. Self-employed (DA) retain 90 to 100 percent but pay their own FCA fees, PI insurance, and software (£3 to £8k annually).
Client broker fees
Optional: some advisers charge clients a £200 to £500 fee per case on top of the procuration fee. Premium and specialist advisers charge £500 to £1,500. These broker fees go 100 percent to the adviser regardless of employment type, since they’re billed direct to the client. Banks and free-service brokers don’t charge them.
What’s not included. Protection commission (life, critical illness, income protection, buildings/contents) typically adds £5,000 to £20,000 annually for advisers who cross-sell. Conveyancing referral fees can add another £100 to £300 per case. The figures above are mortgage commission only — a defensible floor, not the full income picture.
Sources: published procuration fee schedules from major UK lenders (Halifax, NatWest, Santander, Barclays, Nationwide), public AR network commission structures, and FCA register data. Salary ranges reflect 2025–2026 market data for UK mortgage adviser roles.
The honest picture: how mortgage adviser commission actually works
How procuration fees actually work
The procuration fee (or “proc fee”) is paid by the lender to the broker firm at completion. Despite being widely reported as the adviser’s commission, it isn’t paid to the adviser directly — it’s paid to whoever holds the FCA authorisation. That could be the bank you work for, the network you’re an AR of, or your own DA firm. The split with the adviser then depends on the employment relationship.
Proc fees are quoted in basis points (one basis point = 0.01 percent). A typical residential mortgage proc fee in 2026 is 30 to 35 basis points from high-street lenders, climbing to 40 to 45 bps for mid-market lenders and 45 to 55 bps for specialist lenders (buy-to-let, adverse credit, bridging, equity release). The fee is calculated on the loan amount at completion. A £200,000 mortgage at 35 bps generates £700; a £400,000 mortgage at the same rate generates £1,400.
The fee is paid by the lender, not the client. This is a structural feature of UK mortgage broking — the borrower doesn’t pay the proc fee, the lender does (effectively pricing it into their cost of acquisition). Some brokers also charge clients a separate broker fee on top. Whether that fee is reasonable depends on the service: a complex case requiring extensive sourcing genuinely justifies it; a simple residential remortgage usually doesn’t.
Why case volumes matter more than mortgage size
It’s tempting to focus on mortgage size as the income driver — bigger mortgages = bigger fees. But case volume is the bigger lever. A £400,000 mortgage at 0.35 percent generates £1,400; doubling that to £800,000 generates £2,800. Doubling case volume from 5 to 10 cases monthly at the same average size generates £4,200 extra per month — three times the impact of doubling mortgage size on a single case.
For most advisers, average mortgage size is largely determined by your local market. London and South East advisers naturally see larger mortgages; Northern and rural advisers see smaller. You can’t easily change that without relocating or repositioning to a niche. Case volume, on the other hand, is largely about lead generation, follow-up systems, and time efficiency — things you can actively work on.
The employment-type retention picture
The employment split is where commission income gets really different across paths. The same 5 cases per month at £700 procuration produces wildly different take-home figures depending on whether you’re employed, AR, or self-employed.
Employed at a bank or large brokerage: you retain 20 to 40 percent of procuration. The firm keeps the rest to fund your salary (£25 to £35k typical for newly qualified, £35 to £55k for experienced), office space, compliance, software, and management overhead. Some employed roles pay no commission at all — fully salaried positions exist, particularly at banks. Total package for newly qualified: £35 to £55k including base + commission.
AR / network adviser: you retain 65 to 80 percent of procuration. There’s typically no base salary; you eat what you kill. The network keeps 20 to 35 percent for compliance oversight, software (Mortgage Brain, Twenty7tec, etc.), training, and PI insurance. You usually still pay for your own marketing and lead generation. Total income for 5 cases monthly: £27 to £33k procuration only, plus any broker fees and protection commission.
Self-employed / directly authorised: you retain 90 to 100 percent of procuration. No network split. But you bear all costs directly: FCA application and ongoing fees (£600 to £2,000 annually), PI insurance (£1,000 to £3,000), mortgage software subscriptions (£1,500 to £3,000), CRM, marketing, accountancy. Realistic overheads for a solo DA broker: £3,000 to £8,000 annually. Net retention after overheads: typically 85 to 95 percent.
The realistic picture for new advisers
If you’re newly qualified and looking at this calculator to decide a path, here’s the honest summary. Year 1 to 2: stay employed. The salary smooths out the variability of your case volume while you learn the job, build a pipeline, and get used to writing cases at pace. Total package £35 to £50k is realistic, and you don’t have the cognitive load of running a business on top of learning the trade.
Year 2 to 4: consider AR. By this point you should be writing 6 to 10 cases monthly with reasonable consistency. AR economics outpace employed at this volume, even without a base salary. Most advisers who go AR do it via a network like Stonebridge, The Right Mortgage, or HL Partnership.
Year 5 plus: consider DA if you’re writing 10 plus cases monthly and want full control. The economics tip toward DA at higher volumes because the fixed overheads of FCA authorisation get amortised across more revenue. Below that, AR is usually better.
Common questions about commission income
What’s a typical procuration fee for mortgage advisers?
How many cases does a new mortgage adviser write per month?
Why do employed mortgage advisers keep less commission than self-employed advisers?
Do mortgage advisers earn commission on insurance and protection too?
What’s the difference between AR and DA (directly authorised)?
More tools for your mortgage adviser career
Mortgage Adviser Salary Calculator
The salary view: takes years experience, region, and employment type. Use this alongside the commission view for the full picture.
Open calculator → ToolCeMAP Cost Calculator
Before you can earn commission you need to qualify. The genuine minimum is £690 to LIBF. See what the path costs.
Open calculator → ToolRoute Quiz: which path is right for you?
Five quick questions on your situation, funding, and timeline. Get a personalised route recommendation in 2 minutes.
Open quiz →Ready to start earning these figures?
CeMAP is the qualification you need before any of these commission paths open up. uAcademy gets you there in 6 to 12 months for £198 — with 274 lessons, 30 mock exams, expert tutor support, and a pass guarantee.
£198 is the uAcademy course fee. LIBF (Walbrook Institute) exam registration is paid separately, currently £690 for full registration. Together that’s the genuine minimum to qualify.
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Last updated · Authored by Jay Lee, CeMAP-qualified, 10+ years in UK mortgages