Guide
How to check a broker yourself
Four steps, ten minutes, and you need not trust our word — or theirs.
What to do now
Find the company name, not the brand
The website markets a brand; the register lists a company. The legal name is often in the footer, terms, or payment page — search for forms like Ltd, S.A., Pty, PT. If the site never identifies a company, that is the answer.
Access the regulator's own register
Visit the regulator's website directly by typing its address — not via a link on the broker's site. A licence page hosted on the broker's own domain proves nothing.
Check the company and the number
The name on the licence must be the company you are engaging with, and the number must match exactly. A licence held by a sister company in another country is that company's licence, not the one you are about to trade under.
Check the licence's current standing
Registers show status and dates: withdrawn, suspended, ended. A screenshot on the broker's site might be years old; the register is current, and the date you read it is the only date that matters.
Keep these
- the exact legal name and licence number you found
- the address of the register page, and the date you opened it
- a copy of the broker's own licence claim, in case it changes later
Sourceswww.cysec.gov.cyregisters.esma.europa.euregisters.esma.europa.eubappebti.go.idregisters.esma.europa.euafsa.aifc.kzwww.gov.kzwww.pmex.com.pkwww.psx.com.pkwww.secp.gov.pkregisters.esma.europa.euwww.knf.gov.plregisters.esma.europa.eufsaseychelles.scwww.vfsc.vuwww.fsca.co.za
How to check a broker yourself
Four steps, ten minutes, and you need not trust our word — or theirs.
Check a broker
Paste the link you were sent, or type the company name.
The register holds the legal company, the site advertises the brand. We match on both, so a trading name finds the company that actually holds the licence.
