How to verify a forex broker licence — and the traps that catch people
Verdict
- A licence number printed in a website footer is a claim, not proof: the only confirmation is the regulator's own public register.
- The commonest trap is entity mismatch — a group advertises a strong licence while onboarding your country through a different, lighter-regulated entity.
- Clone firms copy a real firm's registration number onto a fake site, so always reach the register from the regulator's own domain rather than a link on the broker's page.
- The register entry to check is the one for the entity named in your own account agreement, not the most impressive licence in the group.
- Regulation is not insurance: it governs conduct and client-money handling, but compensation schemes and leverage caps differ sharply by regulator.
Every broker page on this site lists licence numbers with a link to the register they came from, because a number alone is worth very little. This guide explains how to run that check yourself in a few minutes, and what people usually get wrong when they do.
The five-minute check
The process is the same at every regulator: find the number, look it up at source, and confirm the entity matches the one that will actually hold your money.
- Find the licence number and the exact legal entity name, usually in the website footer or legal documents page.
- Open the regulator's public register by typing its domain yourself — never by following a link on the broker's site.
- Search the number and confirm the entity name matches character for character.
- Check the register's status field: authorised, restricted, or with conditions attached.
- Confirm that this entity is the one named in the client agreement you would sign for your country.
Entity mismatch: the trap that catches most people
A broker group can hold a strict licence in one jurisdiction and a light one elsewhere, then route clients from most countries to the lighter entity. The marketing shows the strongest licence; the account agreement names the entity that actually onboards you. Those are often not the same, and the difference decides your leverage cap, your compensation rights and how your funds are held.
- The licence in the advert is frequently not the licence covering your account.
- Leverage caps follow the entity, which is why the same brand can offer 30:1 in one country and several hundred to one in another.
- Compensation schemes are entity-specific and most offshore entities have none.
Clone firms
Regulators repeatedly warn about clone firms: fraudulent sites that copy a genuine firm's name and registration number to appear authorised. Because the number is real, checking it in isolation confirms nothing. What defeats a clone is comparing the contact details and website domain on the register entry against the site you are actually on — a clone can copy the number but cannot change the register.
What regulation does and does not give you
Authorisation means the entity is subject to that regulator's conduct rules, which typically cover client-money segregation and reporting. It does not mean your capital is protected from market losses, and it does not guarantee compensation if the firm fails — that depends on the specific scheme, if any, attached to that entity.
- Client-money segregation is common across major regulators; compensation limits vary widely.
- Negative balance protection is standard for retail clients in some jurisdictions and absent in others.
- A licence says nothing about execution quality, spreads, or how quickly withdrawals actually arrive.
How do I check if a forex broker is regulated?
Take the licence number and legal entity name from the broker's own legal page, then search that number on the regulator's public register, reached by typing the regulator's domain directly. Confirm the entity name matches exactly and that its status is current.
What is a clone firm?
A fraudulent operation that copies an authorised firm's name and registration number to appear legitimate. Because the number itself is genuine, the way to detect it is to compare the website domain and contact details shown on the register against the site you are visiting.
Does a licence mean my money is safe?
It means the entity is subject to that regulator's conduct and client-money rules. It does not protect you from trading losses, and compensation in the event of firm failure depends on the scheme attached to that specific entity — many offshore entities have none.
Which regulator is the strictest?
Rather than ranking regulators, check what the one covering your entity actually provides: the retail leverage cap, whether negative balance protection applies, and whether a compensation scheme covers you. Those three answers matter more than a regulator's reputation.