Guide
How to independently check a broker
Four steps, ten minutes, and you never have to believe us — or them.
Identify the legal name, not the brand
The website sells a brand; the register holds a company. The legal name is usually in the footer, in the terms, or on the payment page — look for a form like Ltd, S.A., Pty, PT. If the site never names a company, that is itself the answer.
Open the regulator's own register
Go to the regulator's site by entering its address directly — not through a link on the broker's site. A licence page on the broker's own domain is not proof.
Match the company and licence number
The name on the licence must be the company you are dealing 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 trading under.
Verify the licence status today
Registers show status and dates: withdrawn, suspended, ended. A screenshot on the broker's site may be outdated; the register is current, and the date you access it is what matters.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
