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RegulatorsBrokers by Market SignalIs my broker regulated?

Is my broker regulated?

Before you send money to a broker, take two minutes to check who you’re really dealing with. Type in the broker’s name, the company name from the bottom of its website, a licence number, or paste the web address you were given.

We’ll show you who holds the licence, which regulator oversees them, and whether that website actually belongs to them. It’s free and there’s nothing to sign up for.

Where the answers come from

We’ve reviewed 98 brokers ourselves and checked each of their 224 licensed companies against the regulator’s own register. On top of that, we keep copies of three public registers with 3,154 licensed firms between them:

Registers change all the time, and a firm can lose its licence after we took our copy. So think of our answer as a first look, and open the register entry yourself before you deposit. If you’re curious how we check brokers, here’s our method. Coinish provides general information only. Nothing on this site is investment, tax or legal advice.

How to check a broker yourself

  1. Scroll to the bottom of the broker’s website. A regulated broker names the company you’d sign up with, its regulator and its licence number, usually in the footer or the legal documents. If you can’t find any of that, it already tells you something.
  2. Go to the regulator’s website on your own and search its register for that company or licence number. Don’t use a link the broker sends you: clone sites sometimes fake the register page too.
  3. Compare the details. The register entry lists the firm’s websites, address and phone numbers. If the site you’re on isn’t there, treat it as a possible clone until you’re sure it isn’t.

Red flags to watch for

Most investment scams follow the same script. Be careful if:

  • they got in touch with you first, by phone, WhatsApp or Telegram, or through someone you met on social media or a dating app;
  • you’re promised returns, or told the profits are “guaranteed”;
  • you’re asked to deposit more before you’re allowed to withdraw;
  • they only take crypto, gift cards or a transfer to someone’s personal account;
  • the only licence is from an offshore regulator, or the licence number leads to a different company;
  • they ask you to install remote-access software “so we can help you trade”.

Has a regulator already warned about them?

Regulators publish lists of firms they’ve caught operating without a licence. Search for both the company name and the website address:

Search a regulator’s register yourself

These are the registers of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 regulators we follow. The tiers are our own editorial call, and this is how we set them. You can also browse every regulator we track.

Common questions

How can I tell if a broker is regulated?

Look at the bottom of the broker's website for the company name, the regulator and a licence number. Then go to that regulator's website yourself and search its register. If the entry shows the same company, a current licence and the website you're on, you're dealing with a regulated firm.

What is a clone broker?

A scam site that borrows the identity of a real, regulated firm: its name, its licence number, sometimes even its address. The licence you find in the register is genuine, but it belongs to someone else. The giveaway is the website: the register lists the real firm's sites, and the clone's address won't be one of them.

If a broker is regulated, is my money safe?

Safer, not safe. A regulator sets rules on things like keeping client money separate from the firm's own, and some regulators back a compensation scheme if the firm goes bust. None of that covers trading losses. And your protection comes from the regulator of the company that actually opens your account, which isn't always the one in the headlines.

Why do some brokers have several licences?

Big brokers set up a separate company in each region they serve, and each one is licensed locally. Where you live decides which of those companies you sign up with, and its regulator decides what protections you get.

The broker I'm checking isn't found. Is it a scam?

Not necessarily. We search the brokers we review plus copies of the CySEC, ESMA (MiCA) and ASIC registers, not every regulator in the world. But a missing result is a reason to slow down. Search the register of whichever regulator the firm names, and check the warning lists on this page, before you send any money.