How to Verify a Broker License in 2026: Step-by-Step

Any broker can put a regulator's logo on its homepage. The only way to know a license is genuine is to search the license number directly on the regulator's own public register and confirm the legal entity name matches exactly. This takes about five minutes and is worth doing before every deposit, not just the first one — and it's the single check that catches both unlicensed operators and clone firms impersonating a real, licensed broker.

Step 1: Find the exact legal entity name, not just the brand

Broker brands and legal entities are often different things. 'IC Markets' is a brand; the entity that actually holds your funds might be 'International Capital Markets Pty Ltd' (its ASIC entity), 'IC Markets (EU) Ltd' (its CySEC entity), or 'Raw Trading Ltd' (its Seychelles FSA entity) depending on your country of residence. This information lives in the account opening agreement, the terms of business, or sometimes the footer of the broker's website — look for phrases like 'operated by' or 'a trading name of'. Write down the exact entity name and the license number quoted next to it before searching anywhere else.

Step 2: Search the FCA register (for UK-regulated brokers)

Go to register.fca.org.uk and search by firm name or Firm Reference Number (FRN). A genuine entry shows the firm's current status (authorized, not 'previously authorized' or cancelled), its permitted activities, and any individuals or trading names linked to it. Examples of real FCA entries: Pepperstone Limited (FRN 684312), IG Markets Limited (944492), Exness (UK) Ltd (730729), FxPro UK Limited (509956), Tickmill UK Ltd (717270), and XTB Limited (522157). If the firm name you searched doesn't appear, or appears with a warning that it's impersonating a genuine firm — a real and common scam tactic — do not proceed.

Step 3: Search ASIC's register (for Australian-regulated brokers)

ASIC's online licensee search lets you look up an Australian Financial Services Licence (AFSL) by number or entity name. Confirm the AFSL is current and check what it authorizes the firm to do. Real examples include International Capital Markets Pty Ltd (AFSL 335692), Pepperstone Group Limited (414530), OANDA Australia Pty Ltd (412981), IG Australia Pty Ltd (220440), Vantage Global Prime Pty Ltd (428901), and Plus500AU Pty Ltd (417727). As with the FCA, match the exact entity name — a similarly-named but unlicensed entity is a common clone-firm tactic.

Step 4: Search CySEC's register (for EU-passportable brokers)

CySEC publishes a register of Cypriot investment firms on its website, searchable alphabetically or by license number. Because CySEC licenses are the entry point most large brokers use to serve the wider EU/EEA under MiFID II passporting, this register covers a large share of the brokers UK and EU traders will encounter: IC Markets (EU) Ltd (362/18), Pepperstone EU Limited (388/20), Trading Point of Financial Instruments Ltd — XM's entity (120/10), Exness (Cy) Ltd (178/12), XTB Limited's Cyprus entity (169/12), Tickmill Europe Ltd (278/15), FxPro Financial Services Limited (078/07), and Admiral Markets Cyprus Ltd (201/13) are all real, verifiable entries.

Step 5: Check for regulator warnings and clone-firm alerts

All three regulators — and most others — publish public warning lists of firms found to be operating without authorization or impersonating genuine licensed firms (so-called 'clone firms', which copy a real firm's name and license number but use a different website or contact details to solicit deposits). Before trusting a search result that looks correct, also search the regulator's warning list for the same firm name to rule out a clone-firm alert tied to it. This step catches a specific and common scam pattern that a plain license lookup alone won't reveal.

Step 6: For offshore-only brokers, adjust your expectations rather than skip the check

Brokers regulated solely by offshore authorities — Seychelles FSA, Belize FSC, Vanuatu VFSC, Mauritius FSC, Comoros' MISA, or similar — usually publish their own registers too, and it's still worth confirming the license number resolves to the correct entity. But treat a match here differently: these regulators typically don't require negative balance protection, don't cap leverage, and audit less frequently than the FCA, ASIC, or CySEC. RoboForex (FSC Belize), Alpari (MISA), and AMarkets (MISA, FSC Cook Islands, and SVG FSA) are examples of brokers whose primary regulation sits at this tier — a valid license number confirms the entity is real, not that it carries the same protections as a tier-one regulator.

Step 7: Cross-check company details against independent sources

For an extra layer of confidence, especially before larger deposits: check whether the broker or its parent is publicly listed — Plus500 Ltd (LSE: PLUS), XTB S.A. (Warsaw Stock Exchange), and IG Group Holdings plc (LSE) all publish audited annual reports as public companies, which is independently verifiable through the relevant stock exchange's own filings, separate from anything the broker claims on its own site. Also check the broker's registered office address and company registration number against your country's companies registry where relevant, and search the entity name plus 'regulator warning' or 'FCA warning list' to catch anything a plain license search might miss.

Verifying crypto exchanges and prop trading firms is different

Not every trading platform is regulated the same way a forex broker is, and it's worth knowing the difference before applying the same checklist everywhere. Major crypto exchanges like Binance, Coinbase, Kraken, and OKX typically hold a patchwork of money-transmitter, virtual asset service provider (VASP), or similar registrations region by region rather than a single unified 'broker license' — verify these against the specific national registry named in the exchange's terms (for example a state money-transmitter license in the US, or a VASP registration in the EU under MiCA), and expect the coverage to be narrower than FCA/ASIC/CySEC-style retail protections.

Proprietary trading firms — FTMO, FundedNext, The5ers, Topstep, and similar — are a different category again: they're evaluation and funding businesses, not regulated brokers holding client deposits for leveraged trading, so there's usually no forex-style regulator license to verify at all. For these, the relevant checks shift to business registration records, payout track record and independent trader reviews, and the clarity of their published trading rules, rather than a financial regulator's register.

Red flags that mean stop and don't deposit

• The license number returns no result, or returns a different, unrelated firm name
• The regulator's site shows the firm on a public warning or clone-firm alert list
• The broker pressures you to deposit quickly, discourages you from checking the register yourself, or provides a license number only after you ask twice
• The entity name in the account agreement doesn't match the regulator badge shown on the marketing site
• The only regulation offered is an offshore license with no verifiable public register at all, or a name that doesn't match any authority you can independently confirm exists

Frequently asked questions

Where can I check if a forex broker is really FCA regulated?

Go directly to register.fca.org.uk and search the firm name or its Firm Reference Number, which should be printed in the broker's terms of business. Confirm the entity name matches exactly and the status shows as currently authorized, not cancelled or 'previously authorized'.

What is a clone firm and how do I avoid one?

A clone firm copies a genuine, licensed broker's name and license number but operates a different website or contact channel to solicit deposits. Regulators publish specific clone-firm warning lists — always check a firm name against both the main register and the warning list, not just one of them.

Is an offshore broker license (like Seychelles FSA or Belize FSC) legitimate?

It can be a genuine license, but these regulators have lower capital requirements, audit less frequently, and typically don't mandate negative balance protection or leverage caps the way the FCA, ASIC, or CySEC do. Confirm the license is real, but treat the level of protection differently from a tier-one regulator.

Why does a broker have different license numbers in different countries?

Large broker groups operate multiple separately regulated legal entities to serve different regions. The specific entity that actually contracts with you — and its license number — is usually determined by your country of residence at signup, and can differ from the regulator most prominently shown on the homepage.

How long does it take to verify a broker's license?

About five minutes: find the entity name and license number in the account agreement, search it on the relevant regulator's public register, confirm the name matches and the license is active, then check the regulator's warning list for the same firm name.

What should I do if I can't verify a broker's license at all?

Treat it as a serious warning sign and avoid depositing funds. A legitimate, regulated broker's license will always resolve on the relevant regulator's own public register — if it doesn't, or the broker is vague about which entity and regulator actually covers your account, look for a different broker.