Quick answer
To verify a forex broker, first identify the exact legal entity that would hold or service your account. Search that entity or licence number on the relevant regulator’s official register and verify its status, permissions, registered details and jurisdiction. A brand name or affiliate licence alone does not establish coverage for your account. Compare the registered domain and contact details with the website you plan to use.
Key points
- Regulators record legal entities and permissions, not an entire broker brand.
- Match the entity, licence reference, current status, permissions, website and jurisdiction.
- A search result does not prove which entity will onboard a particular client.
- A missing result is not, by itself, proof that a business is unauthorised.
Published: Not recorded
Last reviewed: Not recorded
Author: FXBrokerAlert Research Team
Research methodology: How research and evidence are handled
Sources checked: 2026-10-29
Reading time: 8 minutes
A broker’s website may show a regulator logo or licence number, but a reliable check starts with the official register entry for the company that would contract with you. The steps below help avoid two errors: treating a brand as a legal entity, and assuming one licence covers every service, country or client.
Start with the proposed contract entity
Find the exact company name in the client agreement, account application or legal terms. Record the reference number and jurisdiction shown there. If the provider has not assigned an entity, ask which company would onboard a resident of your country. Do not infer the answer from a global brand page.
Use the regulator’s own search
Navigate to the authority independently rather than relying only on a broker’s licence link. Search both the legal name and reference number. A regulator may maintain more than one register, and an authority’s warning list is different from its authorisation register.
- Match the legal name and reference number.
- Read the current status and any conditions or historical entries shown.
- Check permitted activities and client categories, not only the word “authorised”.
- Compare registered websites, email addresses, phone numbers and office details.
- Confirm the jurisdiction and client type relevant to your account.
- Save the official URL and date of the check.
Interpret a match carefully
A matching entry is evidence about the named entity and the permissions displayed on that record. It is not a promise of performance, a guarantee against loss, or proof that the same entity will serve every user of a shared brand. A search with no result is not a definitive finding that a firm is unregulated until the entity, authority and search terms are confirmed.
Official register guides
These jurisdiction guides link to official lookup tools and explain their limits. Use the guide that matches the entity and service in your proposed agreement:
What a register check cannot settle
- Which entity will ultimately appear in an individual account agreement.
- Whether every advertised product falls within the listed permissions.
- Whether current fees, execution, withdrawals or service quality suit a user.
- Whether a website is a clone of the authorised firm.
For the entity distinction, read broker brand vs legal entity
For copied identities, see how to identify a clone broker
Illustrative example
Illustrative example: a marketing page names a group company, while an account agreement names a local subsidiary. The group-company record does not verify the subsidiary; search the exact contracting entity and its permissions separately.
How to verify it yourself
- Read the proposed account agreement to identify the exact contracting entity.
- Open the regulator’s official register independently and search its name and reference.
- Compare status, permissions, client category, registered domain and contact details.
- Save the source URL and the date checked; ask the provider about any mismatch.
Research limitations
This guide explains a verification process; it does not check every broker or determine which entity will serve an individual client. Registers and permissions may change after the source-check date.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check whether a forex broker is regulated?
Identify the exact contracting entity and search the relevant regulator’s official register. Match its status, permissions, client type, website and contact details.
Does a regulated broker mean my account is protected?
Not by itself. Any protections depend on the contracting entity, client classification, product, jurisdiction and applicable scheme rules.
Is a broker unregulated if I cannot find it?
Not necessarily. You may be searching a brand, the wrong authority or an outdated reference. Confirm the entity and ask the provider for the exact register entry.
Not advice
Official sources & research notes
Official sources
Regulator guidance: FCA Firm Checker · Financial Conduct Authority
Checked 2026-10-29 · Scope: UK-specific consumer tool; inspect the exact firm and relevant permission.
Regulator register: ASIC Professional Registers Search · Australian Securities and Investments Commission
Checked 2026-10-29 · Scope: Search the relevant entity and register category, then read its services.
Regulator register: NFA BASIC · National Futures Association
Checked 2026-10-29 · Scope: A US derivatives background tool, not a global authorisation certificate.
Regulator register: MAS Financial Institutions Directory · Monetary Authority of Singapore
Checked 2026-10-29 · Scope: Confirm the institution and relevant licence or activity.
Last material update: Not recorded
Methodology: FXBrokerAlert research methodology. Publication dates are not inferred from unrelated profile checks.