IAS and IOBSP Professional Competence: Which Level for Which Role

This is the condition that blocks the most applications for entry in the French register of intermediaries. Professional competence (capacité professionnelle) is not a box to tick: it is a level to evidence, different for each role, and it often means several weeks of training. Here is how it is built, in insurance and in credit intermediation alike.

The principle: the level follows the responsibility

The logic is the same in both worlds. The rules define levels of professional competence, numbered I to III, and assign a level to each role. The greater the responsibility, the higher the requirement.

Running a brokerage means mastering an entire trade: product selection, the duty to advise, compliance, relationships with insurers. Selling travel-cancellation cover alongside a plane ticket does not call for the same depth. The legislator therefore graded the requirement rather than imposing a single standard.

That grading has an immediate practical consequence: you must choose your role before choosing a course. The level is not inferred from an ambition; it follows from the contract that will bind you to your partners — a subject covered in our article on the conditions and steps of registration.

In insurance: levels I, II and III

Level I covers the most senior profiles: insurance brokers, tied agents, managers and employees with distribution responsibilities.

Level II covers in particular insurance agents and agents of intermediaries, who operate under a mandate.

Level III is reserved for distributing insurance as an ancillary activity: a car dealership offering an extended warranty, a travel agency offering cancellation cover, a phone retailer offering damage cover.

Levels I and II rest on a 150-hour professional course, or on an equivalent diploma, or on professional experience acquired in functions and for durations defined by the Insurance Code. Level III rests on a much shorter course, matched to the narrow range of products distributed.

In credit intermediation: the same mechanism, different durations

For banking and payment services intermediaries, the structure is identical but the durations differ.

Level I, required in particular of credit brokers, is obtained through three routes: a diploma in banking, finance or insurance specialities; professional experience in the sector combined with a course; or a 150-hour course.

Level II rests on an 80-hour course or on professional experience in the sector.

Level III corresponds to intermediation carried on as an ancillary activity. Its training duration is shorter and varies with the categories of credit distributed — consumer credit, mortgage credit, debt consolidation. The ministerial order of 18 July 2022 approves the training programmes currently in force for banking and payment services intermediaries.

Three classic traps

Confusing the company with the person. A firm does not “hold” level I. A natural person does — the manager, or whoever is designated as responsible for distribution. The day that person leaves, the question arises again.

Assuming one level covers everything. Insurance and credit are two distinct frameworks. An insurance broker adding a credit-broking arm must follow the corresponding IOBSP route: IAS competence is no substitute.

Forgetting employees. Registration applies to the intermediary, but the competence requirement extends to those actually involved in distribution. A firm recruiting a salesperson must check their level, or have them acquire it.

The course: from whom, and with what funding

The competence certificate is issued by a training provider, on a programme complying with the rules. That deserves attention when choosing a supplier: a general insurance course does not produce a competence certificate.

Some of these courses are entered in the répertoire spécifique — the French register of specific certifications kept by France compétences — which opens funding options. And the provider delivering them must hold Qualiopi certification for those courses to be eligible for public and pooled funding — a subject developed in our article for providers training intermediaries.

What the research says about entry requirements

Does it follow that the higher the requirement, the better the market? The economic literature counsels nuance. Morris Kleiner and Alan Krueger, in “Analyzing the Extent and Influence of Occupational Licensing on the Labor Market”, published in 2013 in the Journal of Labor Economics, measure the reach of licensed occupations in the United States and their effect on wages: they find a positive effect on the pay of the professionals concerned, without an equally clear net effect on the quality of the service delivered (see the study).

The useful reading is not “regulation is pointless” but rather: the required level guarantees nothing on its own. What actually protects the client is the combination of an entry requirement, financial cover and skills maintained over time — which is precisely what French rules organise through annual continuing training.

How much time to allow

A 150-hour course rarely fits into a week. Providers usually deliver it as distance learning or a blended programme, spread over several weeks to several months. Enrolment, final assessment and issuing the certificate add to that.

This is why professional competence should be the first workstream of a setting-up project, before the company is even incorporated. The other items — insurance, financial guarantee, association membership — run in parallel and settle faster.

A preliminary check sometimes removes the whole route: if a diploma or prior experience exempts you from the course, that is several weeks and a training budget saved. The check is made on documents, before enrolling.

Take action

Identify your exact role, then the level it matches, before comparing a single training offer: that order is what saves time. Our full sheet on ORIAS registration details the categories and conditions, and the overview of French professional certifications places this scheme among the country’s other practising titles.