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---
title: "ESMA Q&A 1851 — Q&A — Client categorisation [Answer Published]"
shortTitle: "ESMA Q&A 1851 — Q&A — Client categorisation [Answer Published]"
answer_id: ESMA_QA_1851
topic: "Client categorisation"
status: "Answer Published"
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instrument_type: qa
authority: ESMA
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binding_character: non_binding
legal_status: in_force
regulation: "MiFID II"
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legal_basis: "MiFID II"
date: 25 May 2018
source_link: https://www.esma.europa.eu/publications-data/questions-answers/1851
lifecycle: "Answer Published"
text_version: "ESMA Q&A register, 25 May 2018"
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---

**Answer by ESMA, published in its Q&A tool · not legislation · published 25 May 2018 [Answer Published]**

*Answer Published · ESMA Q&A register, 25 May 2018 · Checked against the ESMA publication on 26 Oct 2026 · [Official source](https://www.esma.europa.eu/publications-data/questions-answers/1851)*

| | |
|---|---|
| **Full title** | ESMA Q&A 1851 — Q&A — Client categorisation \[Answer Published\] |
| **Prepared by** | ESMA |
| **Published by** | ESMA, in the ESMA Q&A tool |
| **Reference** | ESMA_QA_1851 |
| **Document type** | Q&A |
| **Legal nature** | Not legislation |
| **Addressees** | Not stated in the document |
| **Dates** | Published 25 May 2018; question submitted 25 May 2018 |
| **Legal basis** | MiFID II |
| **Related instruments** | None recorded |
| **Text on this page** | Word for word — the full text of the ESMA publication |

**Client categorisation**

### Question

How should an investment firm assess whether a private individual client meets the conditions under the first limb in the fifth paragraph of Section II.1 of Annex II of MiFID II where such investor has been trading on the relevant market for less than a year?

***

### Answer

\[ESAM 35-43-349 MiFID II Q&As on Investor protection Ch 11, question 5\]

Clients who have been trading on the relevant market for less than a year cannot fulfill the conditions imposed by the first limb in the fifth paragraph of Section II.1 of Annex II of MiFID II. This is because, to assess whether a client meets such conditions, investment firms shall review the client’s trading history on the relevant market over the past four quarters. For the avoidance of doubt, a lack of one-year trading history on the relevant market does not prevent clients from meeting the conditions set out in limbs two and three of the fifth paragraph of Section II.1 of Annex II of MiFID II.

***

**Source:** [ESMA original document](https://www.esma.europa.eu/publications-data/questions-answers/1851)