Fractional MLRO salary · day rate, retainer, year
What a fractional MLRO earns, by the day, the month and the year
A fractional MLRO is paid a day rate or a retainer, not a salary.
FD Capital puts a fractional MLRO at an SME or start-up at £400–£650 a day for one to two days a week, or £30,000–£60,000 a year pro rata.
Exec Capital puts experienced FCA-approved SMF17 holders in the fractional market at £800–£1,500 a day.
What a fractional MLRO salary comes to over a year depends on the days sold across firms, not the rate alone.
When you hire a fractional MLRO through us, we send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
How a brief runswhat we undertake
- 01Brief30-MINUTE SCOPING CALLDay 0
- 02Shortlist of 3–5VETTED · RATE BENCHMARK · IR35After the brief
- 03InterviewsYOU MEET THE SHORTLISTYour diary
- 04Scoped startFIRST-MONTH OUTCOMES AGREEDYou set the date
- 05Fractional, interim and permanentIR35 POSITION SET OUTOn every brief
Shortlist3–5
15 minutes · video or phone
Book 15 minutes to hire a fractional MLRO
Tell us the scope and the days a week. We come back with Fractional MLRO candidates, their day rates and availability.
- 0115 minutes, video or phone
- 02We scope the role and the days a week
- 03A shortlist of 3–5 after the call
- 04Fractional, interim and permanent briefs
Pick a day that suits · live availability
On the board · last 3 months
Fractional MLRO jobs on the board
No Fractional MLRO roles on the board in the last three months. Showing legal and compliance roles instead.
Fractional MLRO roles on the board
How fractional recruitment agencies compare is set out in one place, including how we work: a Fractional MLRO brief and a shortlist of three to five.
01/ the role
How a fractional MLRO is paid, and what sets the rate
A fractional MLRO holds the money laundering reporting seat for a firm part of the week, usually alongside the same seat at other firms.
FD Capital says fractional MLROs typically hold the SMF17 function at two or three firms at once.
The firm pays a day rate, or a retainer for an agreed number of days; there is no salary, bonus or employer pension.
Part-time does not mean partly accountable.
Under SYSC 6.3, every FCA firm must appoint an MLRO, and FD Capital notes there is no regulatory requirement for the MLRO to be full-time, provided the function is genuinely performed.
FD Capital adds that the FCA approval requirement applies whether the appointment is full-time, part-time or fractional.
SMF17 is a senior management function under the FCA’s Senior Managers and Certification Regime.
Seniority and the firm set the rate.
FD Capital’s 2026 figures for an SME or start-up sit at £400–£650 a day, and its 16 May 2026 benchmarks put an experienced practitioner holding SMF17 for several firms at £400–£600.
Exec Capital puts experienced SMF17 holders in the fractional market at £800–£1,500, depending on seniority, sector and firm complexity.
02/ scope
How to hire a fractional MLRO
1. Count the days the work needs
List what the MLRO must own: SAR decisions, the firm-wide risk assessment, training, the annual MLRO report, contact with the FCA.
Suspicious activity reports go to the National Crime Agency.
The firm-wide risk assessment is a duty under the Money Laundering Regulations 2017.
Then estimate the days a month it takes.
Exec Capital says the agreement should set the time to the firm’s actual AML activity, not a number that looks proportionate on paper.
2. Match sector experience to your permissions
Payments, e-money, consumer credit, wealth and crypto each carry their own money laundering risks.
A fractional MLRO who has held SMF17 in your sector shortens the FCA approval and the learning curve.
3. Agree availability for SAR decisions
Write down how fast the MLRO will respond to an urgent suspicious activity report, and who covers when they are away.
A retainer works when both sides know what it buys.
What we do on a fractional brief
We recruit fractional, interim, part-time, temporary and permanent compliance leaders, and non-executive directors.
We send a shortlist of 3–5, each with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, and every candidate goes through our five-stage vetting first.
To start, hire a fractional MLRO; for roles on the board, see MLRO jobs.
03/ the week
How a week divides.
Part of a week is the point of the model: the days you buy are yours, the rest of the week goes to other clients. Move the days a week and the week redraws.
Illustration only: one way a fractional MLRO’s week can divide at 2 days a week for you. Each block is half a day.
04/ the board
What the board holds.
A read of the roles on the board on this page, counted as they stand: how each is engaged, whether the posting gives the days and the rate, and where the work happens.
On this board, last 90 days · 1 role · legal and compliance
Engagement
- Fractional1
Days a week
- Stated in the posting1
- Not stated0
Day rate
- Verified rate0
- Estimated (est)1
- Rate not stated0
Work arrangement (as the job feed classifies it)
- Remote0
- Hybrid1
- On-site0
Newest posting on the board: 3 Oct 2026.
05/ rates by stage
Fractional MLRO salary day rates by source
Fractional MLRO day rates as FD Capital and Exec Capital, both recruiters, publish them in 2026. The bands differ widely: FD Capital’s describe SME and start-up work, Exec Capital’s experienced FCA-approved SMF17 holders. FD Capital’s sector bands on the same page are interim rates and are not shown here.
06/ rates by commitment
Fractional MLRO rates by days a week, a month and a year
The weekly rows are FD Capital’s £400–£650 day rate × days: × 4.33 weeks for a month and × 52 for a year, our arithmetic, a comparison and not a salary. The monthly-days rows are Exec Capital’s published annual cost; it publishes no monthly figure.
07/ economics
Rate is not income: what a fractional MLRO keeps
The day rate is what the firm pays, not what the MLRO takes home.
Most fractional MLROs invoice through their own limited company and take money out as a salary through PAYE and as dividends from profit.
Out of the same income they fund their pension, holidays, insurance and the days they do not sell.
Tax status changes the number too.
Under the off-payroll working rules (IR35), a medium or large client makes the status determination; for a small client outside the public sector, the MLRO’s own company decides.
The rules apply contract by contract, so a fractional MLRO with three firms can have three different answers.
HMRC’s CEST tool gives its view on one engagement; our IR35 guide sets out the tests.
08/ vetting
How we vet fractional MLROs
What we undertake on every brief, before a candidate reaches you.
- 01
Qualification screen
Verify Fractional MLRO tenure, sector context and stage fit.
SOURCING - 02
Mandate fit
Match to your situation — stage, board dynamics, timing.
MATCHING - 03
Reference deep-dive
We take references ourselves, from recent past clients — real outcomes, not titles.
VERIFY - 04
Shortlist
Three to five candidates with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out.
SHORTLIST OF 3–5
09/ fractional mlro day rate
Fractional MLRO day rate, and what a year adds up to
The fractional MLRO day rate published for 2026 runs from £400 to £1,500.
FD Capital’s £400–£650 describes SME and start-up work at one to two days a week; Exec Capital’s £800–£1,500 describes experienced SMF17 holders, with the rate set by seniority, sector and firm complexity.
At FD Capital’s rates, each day a week sold for 52 weeks bills £20,800–£33,800 (our arithmetic, before any weeks off).
FD Capital’s own pro-rata figure for the seat is £30,000–£60,000 a year.
Several firms at a day or two each add up; a full diary is rare, and the gaps between firms come off the total.
Exec Capital prices the seat by days a month: £18,000–£36,000 a year for one to two days a month at a smaller FCA firm, and £40,000–£72,000 for three to five days at a growing or higher-risk firm.
10/ part-time mlro
Part-time MLRO on a salary
A firm can also employ a part-time MLRO on a salary rather than engage a fractional one by the day.
A part-time employee must not be treated less favourably than a comparable full-time one, with some benefits applied pro rata (GOV.UK).
FD Capital’s £30,000–£60,000 pro-rata figure gives the scale for an SME seat at one to two days a week.
11/ the comparison
Fractional, permanent or interim: comparing like with like
A permanent MLRO is paid a salary and package, with employer’s National Insurance and pension on top; see MLRO salary for those benchmarks.
An interim is paid by the day for full-time cover over a fixed period; see interim MLRO salary.
A fractional MLRO is paid only for the days bought.
Compare the total cost for the days the firm needs, not the headline figures.
12/ questions
Fractional MLRO salary FAQ
The questions people ask before bringing in a fractional MLRO.
Book 15 minutes · shortlist of 3–5
Bring the brief. We architect the team.
A shortlist of 3–5 with day rate, availability and IR35 position set out, after five-stage vetting.
