To check a forex broker license, identify the company that will hold your account, find that company through the regulator’s official website, and match its permissions and contact details to the service you are being offered. Finding a familiar brand name or a valid license number is not enough: the FCA warns that clone firms can copy genuine firms’ names, addresses and reference numbers in its guide to clone firms.

The aim is a documented match between your account and an authorized business—not a certificate that trading is safe. This guide uses UK and Australian verification resources as practical examples. It does not determine whether a particular broker can serve residents of every country.

1. Identify the legal entity before searching

Start with the proposed client agreement and account-opening documents. Record the full legal company name, claimed regulator, license or reference number, website address and your proposed client classification. Compare these with the website footer, but do not use the footer as your only evidence.

Why begin with the contract? A group’s regulatory credentials do not, by themselves, establish which company you would be dealing with. The FCA has warned about firms redirecting retail CFD clients and encouraging professional classification in ways that risk losing protections in its CFD consumer warning.

If several companies appear, ask which one is the contracting provider for your country and chosen account. Request the answer in writing. Treat an unexplained mismatch between the application and agreement as an unresolved question, not an administrative detail to ignore.

Create a short verification record:

2. Reach the regulator independently

Navigate to the regulator’s official website yourself rather than relying on a certificate image, an advertisement or a link sent by a salesperson. Check the spelling of the regulator’s domain. The FCA’s clone-firm guidance specifically warns that imitation register and Firm Checker addresses can contain small changes.

For a proposed UK financial service, the FCA recommends its Firm Checker to check authorization and permission for the service. Its Financial Services Register contains the fuller regulatory record and is the appropriate resource for checking historical authorization. Both are linked from the FCA’s authorization-checking guide.

For an Australian provider, follow the Professional Registers Search link in ASIC Moneysmart’s check-before-you-invest guide. The guide explains searching by name, business number, company number or license number and selecting the Australian financial services licensee register.

Search using both the company name and number where available. A matching number should lead back to the same company, not just produce a plausible result.

3. Read status, permissions and representative details

Do not stop at “found.” Check the current status and the activities the business is permitted to undertake. The FCA explains that an authorized firm can offer both regulated and unregulated products. It also distinguishes authorization from registration; these labels are not interchangeable evidence of permission for your service.

In Australia, an AFS license controls the kinds of financial products a business can sell. ASIC Moneysmart emphasizes that a license is not ASIC endorsement of a company, product or advice. Finding company-registration information is therefore not a substitute for checking financial-services authorization.

If the business is an appointed representative in the UK, check its principal and permitted activities. The FCA says the principal agrees which activities the representative can perform and is responsible for that business. Ask the principal to confirm the service if anything is unclear; protection may not apply when a representative acts beyond its permitted scope.

Do not interpret unfamiliar permission wording as a yes. Ask the regulator or the verified firm to explain how the listed permission relates to the proposed product.

4. Check that you are dealing with the genuine firm

A real license can be used in a fake offer. The FCA describes scammers copying a firm’s reference number and claiming official contact details are outdated. Independently compare the domain, telephone and email information available through official records with the details you received.

Where ASIC’s register lists a website, Moneysmart instructs readers to check it against the website they are using. If a field is absent or details conflict, do not fill the gap with an assumption. Seek confirmation through independently verified contact information.

Also check the warning and alert resources linked by those regulators. A warning search is an additional check, not a replacement for positive identity and permission checks. Save the result and date alongside your notes.

5. Verify protections separately from the license

Ask which rules apply to your actual entity, product and classification. For Australian retail CFDs, Moneysmart describes leverage restrictions, margin close-out protection and negative balance protection. It warns that wholesale classification can remove important retail protections. Do not extend these statements to every account a global brand offers.

Negative balance protection also does not mean a losing trade is refunded. The same CFD guide explains that losses can exceed a position’s opening margin, while the retail protection limits losses to money in the CFD trading account. The account’s funds remain at risk.

Compensation is a different question. FSCS investment guidance requires the relevant provider and activity to fall within its scope and excludes claims for poor investment performance. A license lookup alone does not establish your eligibility, especially where cross-border circumstances have not been checked.

6. Keep a decision record, not just a screenshot

Before proceeding, confirm that you can answer these questions from saved evidence:

• Which company would contract with me?

• Does its current official record support this service?

• Have I independently matched the website and contact details?

• What classification will my account use?

• What protection and complaint arrangements apply to that entity?

• What remains unresolved about serving someone in my country?

Keep the agreement version, register result, relevant correspondence and check date. Repeat the checks if the entity or classification changes. If the answers remain inconsistent, pause the application rather than treating a recognizable logo as the deciding factor.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is a license certificate on the broker’s website enough?

No. Check the regulator’s record and the identity behind the offer independently. The FCA’s clone-firm warning shows why genuine names and reference numbers can be misleading when copied.

What if the firm appears as “no longer authorised”?

The FCA says this means its authorization has been canceled and advises avoiding dealings with it. A historical register entry is not evidence of current permission.

Does a regulated broker guarantee my money is safe?

No. ASIC Moneysmart explicitly says licensing neither guarantees investment safety nor prevents losses. Verify authorization, then assess the product and account risks separately.

Can I rely on the group’s UK license for an overseas account?

Not from the group’s claim alone. Establish your contracting company and the applicable arrangements; the FCA warns that redirection and changes in classification can put retail protections at risk. Eligibility for your specific cross-border account still needs checking.