How to Verify a Forex Broker Licence in 5 Minutes
A step-by-step method to confirm that a forex broker is really licensed — and that you are dealing with the licensed entity, not a clone.
Almost every forex broker website has a "Regulation" or "Licences" page. The problem is that these pages are marketing: they list every licence held anywhere in the group, while the company that actually holds your money may have only the weakest of them. Verifying a licence properly takes about five minutes and is the single most useful thing you can do before depositing.
Step 1 — Find the legal entity, not the brand
Scroll to the footer of the broker's website or open the client agreement. You are looking for a sentence such as "Services are provided by XYZ Markets Ltd, registered in Seychelles, licensed by the FSA under licence SD000". Write down three things: the exact company name, the jurisdiction and the licence or reference number. If you cannot find a company name at all, stop there.
Be careful when a footer lists several entities. The one that matters is the entity named in your client agreement, which usually depends on your country of residence. A UK resident and a Nigerian resident signing up on the same website can end up with completely different companies.
Step 2 — Search the regulator's own register
Go directly to the official register — type the address yourself or use the links on our regulator pages, never a link supplied by the broker. Search by company name and by licence number. For the major regulators:
- UK: the FCA Financial Services Register (search by firm name or FRN).
- Australia: ASIC's professional registers (search the AFSL number).
- Cyprus: the CySEC CIF list.
- United States: NFA BASIC — look for "Forex Dealer Member" status.
- South Africa: the FSCA FAIS search by FSP number.
Step 3 — Match the website domain
This is the step most people skip, and it is where clone scams succeed. Registers such as the FCA's list the websites an authorised firm uses. If the domain you are on is not listed — or the register shows a different phone number or address — treat the site as a potential clone even if the company name and number check out. Clone firms routinely copy the details of genuine, authorised companies.
Step 4 — Check the permissions, not just the listing
Being on a register does not always mean being allowed to deal with you. Look at the status (authorised, registered, cancelled, suspended) and the permissions. Common traps include New Zealand's FSP Register, which is a registration rather than a licence; St. Vincent and the Grenadines, whose authority says it does not regulate forex at all; and firms that are only authorised as tied agents or introducing brokers. A licence for "reception and transmission of orders" is not the same as a licence to deal on own account as a market maker.
Step 5 — Search the warning lists
Finally, search the broker's name on the regulator warning lists — the FCA Warning List, IOSCO's I-SCAN (which aggregates warnings from dozens of regulators) and the list of the country where the entity is based. A warning about the same brand name is a serious red flag, although it can also mean a scammer is impersonating a legitimate firm.
A quick checklist
- Legal entity name, jurisdiction and licence number found in the client agreement
- Entity found on the official register, status "authorised" or equivalent
- Website domain and contact details match the register
- Permissions cover dealing in CFDs/forex with retail clients
- No warnings on IOSCO I-SCAN or the local regulator's list
Our licence checker shows which regulators we have matched to each broker and links every licence straight to the right register search, so you can complete steps 2 to 5 quickly.