Step by step
- Find the entity: the website footer and the client agreement name the licensed company and number.
- Open the regulator's register directly from the regulator pages on this site or by typing its address; never through a link on the broker's site.
- Search by the company name, not the brand.
- Confirm the licence number, the status (authorised, not lapsed or suspended), the permitted activities (dealing in forex or CFDs, not just advice), and the listed website.
- Check the regulator's warning list for clones.
- Check that the entity in your client agreement is the one you verified.
What a mismatch means
| Mismatch | Likely meaning |
|---|---|
| Website on the register differs from the one you are on | Clone firm |
| Licence number belongs to a different company name | Borrowed licence; walk away |
| Status suspended or lapsed | Not currently licensed |
| Permitted activities exclude dealing | The firm may only advise or introduce |
| Entity in your agreement is not on any register | You are contracting with an unlicensed company in a licensed group |
Registrations that are not licences
A St Vincent and the Grenadines company registration is not a forex licence and the SVG authority has said so. A Marshall Islands or Comoros company has no forex regulator. A broker that presents a company registration as regulation is either careless or dishonest.
The registers
Every regulator page on this site links to that authority's register and lists the brokers in our database it licenses.
Trading forex, CFDs and other leveraged products carries a high risk of losing money. This guide is general education, not advice.