How to verify a broker's licence (and spot clone scams)
A licence number on a website proves nothing by itself. Here's how to check it on the regulator's own register — and catch the copycat sites that borrow real licences.
Key takeaways
- Never trust a licence number printed on a broker's site — confirm it on the regulator's own register.
- Clone firms copy a real company's name and licence number; match the exact spelling, website and contact details, not just the number.
- Check which legal entity will hold your account — many brands park most countries under a lightly regulated offshore subsidiary.
Every scam broker claims to be regulated — the claim costs nothing to type. Verifying it takes about five minutes and catches the overwhelming majority of fakes. Here's exactly how.
What a real licence actually gives you
- Segregated funds — client money held separately from the broker's own, so it isn't spent on running the business
- Conduct rules — requirements on pricing, marketing, leverage and complaint handling, with audits behind them
- A complaints route — an ombudsman or regulator you can escalate to when the broker won't resolve a dispute
- Compensation schemes at some regulators — for example the UK's FSCS — that can repay part of your money if the firm collapses
Note
Regulation protects you from a dishonest or bankrupt broker. It does not protect you from losing money on your own trades — no licence changes what the market does.
Not all licences are equal
| Tier | Examples | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Top-tier | FCA (UK), ASIC (Australia) | Strict rules, real enforcement, compensation schemes |
| Established | CySEC (Cyprus / EU) | Solid EU-level protections, investor compensation fund |
| Offshore-only | Unnamed 'international' licences, loose island registrations | Minimal oversight — little recourse if things go wrong |
An offshore licence isn't automatically a scam — plenty of real brokers use offshore entities to serve countries their top-tier licences don't cover. But if a broker's only licence is an offshore one, understand that you're relying almost entirely on the company's goodwill.
Verify it yourself in three steps
- 1
Find the licence number on the broker's site
It's usually in the website footer or the 'About' / 'Legal' page, next to a company name and regulator. No number anywhere is itself an answer — walk away.
- 2
Look it up on the regulator's own register
Go directly to the register — the FCA's Financial Services Register, ASIC Connect via Moneysmart, CySEC's list of regulated entities — by typing the regulator's address yourself. Never follow a 'verify our licence' link from the broker's page; a fake site links to a fake register.
- 3
Match the exact name, website and contacts
The register entry lists the company's legal name, registered domain and phone details. Every one of them must match the site you're actually on. A licence under a similar-but-different name, or a domain the register doesn't mention, is a fail.
Clone firms: the scam that survives a lazy check
Clone firms copy a genuine company's name, address and licence number onto a lookalike website. If you only check that the number exists, the clone passes — the number is real, it just belongs to someone else. That's why step three matters: regulators like the FCA publish the authorised firm's real domain and phone number precisely so you can spot the imposter.
Common clone tells
A domain slightly different from the registered one, contact only via WhatsApp or Telegram, and pressure to deposit through a personal 'account manager'. Real regulated brokers don't onboard clients through chat apps.
Which entity will hold your account?
Big broker brands run several legal entities. The FCA-regulated one may serve only the UK, while clients from Nigeria, the Philippines or Vietnam are signed up under an offshore subsidiary with far weaker protections. During sign-up, check the legal entity named in the account agreement — that entity's regulation, not the group's best licence, is what actually covers your money.
One last check: the warning lists
Regulators publish running lists of firms to avoid — the FCA Warning List, Moneysmart's investor alert list, and advisories from local regulators such as the Philippine SEC. Search the broker's name there too. Being absent proves nothing, but being present settles the question.
Five minutes, once
Register lookup, name-and-domain match, warning-list search. It's a one-time chore per broker, and it filters out most scams before they ever touch your money.
“Scammers can copy a logo, a website and a licence number. They can't copy the regulator's register.”