--- title: "Does SEIS/EIS Advance Assurance expire? For how long is it valid?" id: "1845" type: "post" slug: "how-long-does-seis-eis-advance-assurance-last" published_at: "2019-10-22T10:12:36+00:00" modified_at: "2023-07-24T16:00:00+00:00" url: "https://seedlegals.com/resources/how-long-does-seis-eis-advance-assurance-last/" markdown_url: "https://seedlegals.com/resources/how-long-does-seis-eis-advance-assurance-last.md" excerpt: "Your Advance Assurance doesn't have any particular expiry date. But it will lapse in some circumstances. We explain the rules." taxonomy_category: - "SEIS EIS" --- 3 min read Expert reviewed This article has been fact-checked by a SeedLegals subject matter expert. [Meet our experts](https://seedlegals.com/authors-and-experts/) and learn more about our review process and quality assurance in our [editorial policy](https://seedlegals.com/editorial-policy/) . # Does SEIS/EIS Advance Assurance expire? For how long is it valid? Published: Oct 22, 2019 Updated: Jul 24, 2023 Contents [If you’re no longer eligible, Advance Assurance is invalid](#if-youre-no-longer-eligible-advance-assurance-is-invalid) [If you’re over the time limits, your Advance Assurance might be invalid](#if-youre-over-the-time-limits-your-advance-assurance-might-be-invalid) [If you’ve ever raised with EIS, you might be able to keep raising (up to a limit)](#if-youve-ever-raised-with-eis-you-might-be-able-to-keep-raising-up-to-a-limit) [If you pivot, you could reset the clock to raise with EIS](#if-you-pivot-you-could-reset-the-clock-to-raise-with-eis) [Talk to an expert](#talk-to-an-expert) [WriterZlatina TrifonovaCX Associate - Funding Rounds](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/zlatina-trifonova/) [EditorSuzanne WorthingtonSenior Writer](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/suzanne/) Got your Advance Assurance? Congrats! Founders often ask us if Advance Assurance has an expiry date. It doesn’t. But your Advance Assurance will lapse and you won’t be able to offer [SEIS/EIS tax relief](https://seedlegals.com/resources/what-is-seis-eis-an-essential-read-for-uk-startups/) to your investors if there are changes to your company’s situation that make it no longer [eligible for SEIS/EIS](https://seedlegals.com/blog/seis-eis-company-eligibility-criteria) . In this post, we explain how and when your SEIS/EIS Advance Assurance can expire. ### In this post - [If you’re no longer eligible, Advance Assurance is invalid](#no-longer-eligible) - [If you pivot, you could reset the clock to raise with EIS](#pivot) - [If you’re over the time limits, your Advance Assurance might be invalid](#time-limits) - [If you’ve ever raised with EIS, you might be able to keep raising (up to a limit)](#ever-raised-with-eis) - [Talk to an expert](#talk-to-an-expert) **Check you’re ready to apply** Use our handy SEIS/EIS Advance Assurance checklist to make sure you’re ticking off everything you need for a speedy approval. [Get free checklist](https://seedlegals.com/resources/apply-for-seis-eis-advance-assurance-online/#seis-eis-checklist-download) ## **If you’re no longer eligible, Advance Assurance is invalid** [SEIS/EIS Advance Assurance](https://seedlegals.com/start/seis-eis/) isn’t a *guarantee* that investments in your company will qualify for tax relief. It’s proof that *if nothing changes* for the company, and the deal documents for the [SeedFAST](https://seedlegals.com/raise/raise-before-a-round/) or [funding round](https://seedlegals.com/raise/raise-a-round/) are in line with the documents shown to HMRC when you applied for Advance Assurance, then the investments *should* qualify. And Advance Assurance can’t tell you if your investors themselves are eligible for SEIS / EIS tax relief. If it helps, you can think of Advance Assurance as an *assurance that the investment is not disqualified*. **Need a reminder of the rules for investors?** Our posts explain the tax benefits and eligibility rules for investors: - [SEIS rules and benefits for investors](https://seedlegals.com/resources/seis-rules-investors/) - [EIS rules and benefits for investors](https://seedlegals.com/resources/eis-rules-investors/) > Sometimes an investor might ask you to re-apply – to effectively renew – your Advance Assurance if you obtained it more than a year from the time you started fundraising. This mostly happens with SEIS and EIS VC funds, because generally they do more due diligence than angel investors. > > [Zlatina Trifonova](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/zlatina-trifonova/) > CX Team Lead, SEIS/EIS Specialist, > > [SeedLegals](https://seedlegals.com) ## If you’re over the time limits, your Advance Assurance *might* be invalid When it comes to SEIS and EIS Advance Assurance, there are some time limits to watch out for. If you go over these, your Advance Assurance is invalid and an investment in your company won’t be eligible for the scheme: - For SEIS, your company must have been [trading](https://help.seedlegals.com/seis-and-eis/seis-trading-period-rules?query=EMI) for **less than three years** up to the time you issue SEIS shares - For EIS, your company must have been [trading](https://help.seedlegals.com/seis-and-eis/seis-trading-period-rules?query=EMI) for **less than seven years** up to the time you issue EIS shares - If you qualify as a [Knowledge Intensive Company (KIC)](https://seedlegals.com/blog/what-is-a-knowledge-intensive-company-the-criteria?query=EMI) , your company must have made its first commercial sale **less than 10 years** before you issue EIS shares or – if you choose – the date when your company reached an annual turnover of £200,000 ## If you’ve ever raised with EIS, you might be able to keep raising (up to a limit) If you’ve raised some EIS investment in the first seven years you were trading (ten years for [Knowledge Intensive Companies](https://seedlegals.com/blog/what-is-a-knowledge-intensive-company-the-criteria?query=EMI) , KICs), you can then submit a new application for Advance Assurance under what’s known as **Condition A**. You can continue to raise with EIS *for as long as you like*, as long as: - your company’s need for investment beyond the limit of seven years (ten years for KICs) was anticipated in the pitch deck you sent when you first applied for Advance Assurance and: - your trade is still the same (and not an [excluded activity](https://seedlegals.com/resources/seis/#seis-eligibility-criteria) ) There’s a limit to *how much* you can raise though: - no more than £10 million in any 12 months (£20 million for KICs) - £24 million in total (£40 million for KICs) Read more about Condition A in our post, [EIS: What to do if you have been trading for more than 7 years and want to issue EIS shares](https://help.seedlegals.com/en/4515022-what-to-do-if-you-have-been-trading-for-more-than-7-years-and-want-to-issue-eis-shares) ## **If you pivot, you could reset the clock to raise with EIS** If your company is beyond the trading limit for EIS and you start a new business activity that HMRC considers to be a new startup for the purposes of the scheme, then you can reset the clock to raise with EIS. This is called **Condition B** – if you can show HMRC that your pivot, whether it’s a different product or geographical market, makes your company very risky, then you can reset the clock for EIS. (Not for SEIS – this only applies for EIS.) Read more about Condition B in our post, [EIS: What to do if you have been trading for more than 7 years and want to issue EIS shares](https://help.seedlegals.com/en/4515022-what-to-do-if-you-have-been-trading-for-more-than-7-years-and-want-to-issue-eis-shares) Can I reset the clock for SEIS/EIS trading limits? Are we a Knowledge Intensive Company? Can I repay a loan with investment scheme funds? We've explained these and more little-known facts in our post, [8 things you didn’t know about SEIS/EIS tax relief](https://seedlegals.com/blog/seis-eis-tax-relief-facts) ## Talk to an expert Got questions about SEIS / EIS? We’ve helped thousands of companies obtain Advance Assurance and our SEIS/EIS experts are here to help you. To message us, hit the chat button (at the bottom right of your screen). ##### SEIS EIS Advance Assurance ### Get investment ready with Advance Assurance With Advance Assurance, your company is dramatically more investable. Use SeedLegals to apply and get approved fast. [Get started](https://seedlegals.com/start/seis-eis/) #### Zlatina Trifonova Zlatina is a Senior SEIS Associate at SeedLegals helping companies navigate the complex world of SEIS/EIS applications. [Read more](https://seedlegals.com/resources/author/zlatina-trifonova/) [https://www.linkedin.com/in/zlatina-trifonova-b7628412b/](https://www.linkedin.com/in/zlatina-trifonova-b7628412b/) ## Related posts [11 min readSEIS: Guide to the Seed Enterprise Investment SchemeFounders guide to SEIS. Find out how it helps startups and investors, eligibility criteria, how to get Advance Assurance... Suzanne Worthington](https://seedlegals.com/resources/seis/) [9 min readEIS explained: the UK startup’s guide to the Enterprise Investment SchemeGet investment-ready with this EIS guide. Find out what EIS is, what types of companies qualify and why it makes attract... Zlatina Trifonova](https://seedlegals.com/resources/eis-scheme/) [7 min readStartup funding strategies for 2026With data, experience and insights gained from £2B+ raised on SeedLegals, we’ve curated these top three funding strategi... Kirsty MacSween](https://seedlegals.com/resources/startup-funding-strategies/)