How to verify a broker licence yourself

A licence claim on a broker’s homepage is marketing until you have seen the same information on the regulator’s own website. This guide sets out a repeatable process you can apply to any provider, along with the most common ways a genuine licence can still be misleading for you as a client.

1. Separate the brand from the legal entity

Regulators authorise legal entities, not logos. A single brand can operate five or more companies in different countries, each with different permissions and protections. Start by finding the full legal name of the company that would hold your money and be your counterparty.

• Look in the client agreement, terms of business, or account opening documents, not just the website footer.
• Note the registered address and company number, if given.
• Check which entity your country of residence would be assigned to during sign-up. This is often stated in a jurisdiction selector or onboarding page.

2. Go to the regulator directly

Type the regulator’s address yourself or use a search engine result you can confirm is the official government or authority domain. Do not follow a link from the broker’s site to its “licence page”: clone sites can forge register lookalikes.

3. Match every detail

1. Search the register by entity name and by the reference number the broker gives.
2. Confirm the status is current, not cancelled, suspended or lapsed.
3. Read the permissions. Advisory or introducing permissions do not allow a firm to hold client money or act as your counterparty.
4. Compare websites, phone numbers and email domains listed on the register with the ones you are using.
5. Record the date you checked, and keep a screenshot or copy of the register page.

4. Watch for clone firms

A clone uses the name, reference number or address of a genuine authorised firm. Most major regulators maintain warning lists of known clones. A mismatch in contact details is the clearest sign; legitimate firms rarely ask you to call an unlisted number or pay into a personal account.

5. Understand what the licence actually gives you

Protection depends on the entity that onboards you. Negative balance protection, client money segregation, compensation schemes and dispute resolution routes are jurisdiction-specific. A strong licence held by a sister company may provide you with nothing if your account sits with an offshore entity.

Questions to ask in writing

• Which legal entity will my account be held with?
• Which regulator authorises that entity, and under what reference?
• Which compensation or dispute scheme, if any, applies to my account?

Why FXBrokerAlert marks facts as unverified

Our files show “Not independently verified” until we have completed this process ourselves and recorded the source URL and check date. We would rather show a gap than repeat a provider’s claim as fact.