Checking a licence on the regulator's register

“Regulated by the FCA” in a website footer is a claim. The regulator’s register is where you find out whether it is true, and it takes about five minutes.

What a licence gives you

FCAASICCySECCFTC / NFAOffshore licenceUnregulated

• Supervised by a serious regulator
• Client money segregated
• Negative balance protection
• Compensation scheme

Region

Retail leverage cap

Compensation if the broker fails

Where to complain

Typical rules at the time of writing. Rules change; confirm on the regulator’s own website before opening an account.

The protections above apply only to clients of the company the regulator actually supervises. That is why the check has two halves: is there a real licence, and is it held by the company you are dealing with? A register is the regulator’s public database of the firms it authorises, with each firm’s legal name, reference number, status, permissions and contact details.

The four registers, and what to look for

• FCA (UK): Financial Services Register. Search by firm name or Firm Reference Number (FRN). Check the status says Authorised, then the website, phone and trading names. Also search the FCA Warning List, which flags clones of authorised firms.
• ASIC (Australia): Professional Registers Search. It replaced the old ASIC Connect register search in 2024. Search for the Australian financial services (AFS) licensee by name or licence number and check the licence is current and covers derivatives and foreign exchange.
• CySEC (Cyprus): Investment Firms. Find the firm in the list of Cypriot investment firms, then open the List of Approved Domains: CySEC publishes every website each licensed firm may use.
• NFA (United States): BASIC. Search by firm name or NFA ID. A firm offering forex to US retail clients must be registered with the CFTC and be an NFA Forex Dealer Member; BASIC also shows disciplinary actions.

Reach each register by typing the regulator’s address yourself or from our check-a-broker page, never from a link the broker or a stranger sent. Registers change their layout; if one looks different, search for the regulator’s name and open its official site.

Step 6 is common. Groups often run several companies, and clients from outside a strict regulator’s region are frequently signed up through a different, lightly regulated one. The company named in your agreement is the one whose licence counts.

Try it

Licence check

0 of 8

• I found the legal company name and licence number in the legal documents, not only the brand name.
• I opened the register by typing the regulator’s address myself.
• The entry’s status is current (authorised, not cancelled or expired).
• Its permissions cover what I want to trade, for retail clients.
• The website on the entry matches the address bar exactly.
• The phone and email match, or I confirmed by calling the number on the register.
• The company in my client agreement is the one on the register.
• Neither the firm nor the website is on the regulator’s warning list.

Run it on any broker you are considering; if even one box stays empty, do not deposit.

What would you do?

The FCA register shows the broker as authorised, but the website you were sent is not on the entry. The live chat says it is a new domain that has not been added yet. What do you do?

Accept it; registers are often out of dateCall the phone number on the register entry and ask the firm whether the domain is theirsDeposit a small amount and see whether it works

Quick check

Quick check

1. Question 1 of 4

   CySEC publishes a list that lets you check one thing the other registers do not show as directly. Which?

   AEvery website domain each licensed firm is approved to useBEach firm's trading resultsCWhich brokers are the best

Go deeper: Forex broker regulation: FCA, ASIC, CySEC, NFA and offshore · How to choose a forex broker: the 10-point checklist · Broker profiles