The processor connects to on-chip coprocessors through an external coprocessor interface. All types of coprocessor instruction are supported.

The ARM instruction set supports the connection of 16 coprocessors, numbered 0-15, to an ARM processor. In ARM1156T2F-S processors, the following coprocessor numbers are reserved:

You can use CP0-9, CP12, and CP13 for your own external coprocessors.

The ARM1156T2F-S processor is designed to pass instructions to several coprocessors and exchange data with them. These coprocessors are intended to run in step with the core and are pipelined in a similar way to the core. Instructions are passed out of the Fetch stage of the core pipeline to the coprocessor and decoded. The decoded instruction is passed down its own pipeline. Coprocessor instructions can be canceled by the core if a condition code fails, or the entire coprocessor pipeline can be flushed in the event of a mispredicted branch. Load and store data are also required to pass between the core Logic Store Unit (LSU) and the coprocessor pipeline.

The coprocessor interface operates over a two-cycle delay. Any signal passing from the core to the coprocessor, or from the coprocessor to the core, is given a whole clock cycle to propagate from one to the other. This means that a signal crossing the interface is clocked out of a register on one side of the interface and clocked directly into another register on the other side. No combinatorial process must intervene. This constraint exists because the core and coprocessor can be placed a considerable distance apart and generous timing margins are necessary to cover signal propagation times. This delay in signal propagation makes it difficult to maintain pipeline synchronization, ruling out a tightly-coupled synchronization method.

ARM1156T2F-S processors implement a token-based pipeline synchronization method that permits some slack between the two pipelines, while ensuring that the pipelines are correctly aligned for crucial transfers of information.