How to check if a broker is actually regulated

Why this is the first check, not an extra one#

Marketing, a professional-looking website, and even a real-sounding regulatory claim are all things a fake broker can fake. A regulator's own public register is not — it's maintained directly by the regulator, and checking it takes a few minutes.

Where to check, by region#

• United Kingdom — FCA Financial Services Register lists every firm and individual authorised to provide financial services in the UK. Cross-check against the FCA Warning List of known unauthorised and clone firms.
• United States — FINRA BrokerCheck covers brokers and investment advisers; NFA BASIC covers forex and futures firms specifically. The SEC also maintains a PAUSE list of unregistered entities known to be soliciting US investors.
• Cyprus (a common licensing jurisdiction for CFD/forex brokers marketing to Europe) — CySEC's register of Cypriot investment firms.
• Australia — ASIC's professional registers search, and ASIC's investment scam alerts page for known scam warnings.

What to actually check once you find the firm#

Finding a similarly-named firm on a register isn't enough by itself — confirm the firm's registered address, registration number, and contact details on the register match exactly what the broker gave you. Scammers regularly run "clone firm" scams: copying a real, regulated firm's name and registration number, then using a lookalike website and their own contact details, banking on people stopping their check as soon as they see a familiar name on the register.

If anything doesn't match, or you can't find the firm at all, contact the regulator directly using contact details from the regulator's own website — never from a link or number the broker itself gave you — before sending any money.

What a real check can't tell you#

Being on a regulator's register confirms the firm is licensed; it doesn't guarantee the specific product or account manager you're dealing with is being honest, and licensed firms can still engage in bad practices. Treat the register check as a mandatory first filter, not the only precaution — the warning signs in our fake broker guide still apply even to a firm that passes this check.