Broker check
Broker Licence & Entity Checker
A forex broker is a brand. Your account is held by a company, and the licence that matters is that company’s. Pick a broker and your region to see which companies it lists, who regulates them and how to verify each one yourself.
One brand, four links to check
A licence held by a sister company does not cover your account.
Step 1. Choose a broker
01One brand, several companies
This table is counted from the records behind the checker. It shows why a single “is it regulated?” answer cannot exist for a brand.
| Brand | Companies listed | In the site footer | Regulators named | Cross-checked by us |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exness | 10 | 3 | CBCS (Curacao and Sint Maarten), CMA Kenya, CySEC, FCA, FSA Seychelles, FSC Belize, FSC British Virgin Islands, FSC Mauritius, FSCA South Africa, Jordan Securities Commission | 1 of 10 |
| IC Markets | 1 | 1 | FSA Seychelles | 1 of 1 |
| Tickmill | 5 | 5 | CySEC, FCA, FSA Seychelles, FSCA South Africa, No regulator named | 1 of 5 |
Source: each broker’s own legal or regulation page, read October 19, 2026. “Cross-checked” means we found the company on the regulator’s own register and compared name, type and website. Exness’s Regulation page lists ten companies, its Help Center fewer, and the footer of its Vietnamese-language site three, while a second footer with account links names only one, so pages from the same broker can disagree. The footer column counts companies named in each broker’s footer as we saw it on October 19, 2026.
02What your protection depends on
Which company
Protection attaches to the entity holding your account, not to the brand. Ask which company that is before you deposit.
Which regulator
Tickmill states FSCS cover for its UK company and Investor Compensation Fund cover for its Cyprus company. For the offshore companies we read, the pages did not state a compensation scheme.
Segregated funds
Ask for a written statement of whether client money is held apart from the firm’s own money, and where.
Negative balance and complaints
Ask whether your balance can go below zero and where you can complain if there is a dispute. We did not collect these answers for each company.
03How to verify any entity in five minutes
- Get the exact name. Use the Client Agreement or your account footer, not the advert.
- Type the register address yourself. Never use a link sent by the firm or a chat contact. A fake regulator site, fsaseychelles.com, was reported on 20 May 2024; the real domain is fsaseychelles.sc.
- Search the number, then the name. They must both match what you were given.
- Read what the entry covers. Look at the status, the type of licence and the website listed.
- Write to support. Ask about segregated funds, negative balance protection and complaints for that company, and save the reply.
Spotted something odd while checking? Run it through the Broker Red Flag Scanner.
04Where your company name is written
- Exness: Exness says the footer of the Personal Area shows the company that holds your account.
- IC Markets and Tickmill: look at the Client Agreement and the footer of the client portal.
- Any broker: the legal documents page, the terms you accept when you register and your account statements.
The footer of Exness’s Vietnamese-language site names three companies, but none of the three brokers’ public pages says which company holds a Vietnamese client’s account. Offshore forex in Vietnam is a legal grey area, and authorities have said that only licensed institutions may offer foreign-exchange and derivatives services. Check local rules with a qualified local professional.
05What this checker cannot do
- It cannot tell you which company will serve you. Only the broker can, in your account.
- It shows what each broker says on its own pages, read on the date shown. Pages change.
- Cross-checks are partial: where the register page did not show a licence number or status, we say so. For the companies we have not cross-checked, we say that too.
- It is not a safety rating. A licence does not guarantee that a broker is solvent or honest.
Method, evidence levels and removal rules: How We Evaluate Brokers.
06Questions
How do I check a forex broker licence?
Find the company name in your agreement, then search that name and number on the regulator’s own register, typing the address yourself. The checklist above walks you through it.
Why does the same broker have several licences?
Brokers often run separate companies in different jurisdictions, each with its own regulator and rules. Which one holds your account depends on your country and on the broker’s decision.
Is an offshore licence worthless?
Not automatically, but it usually comes with fewer protections than a UK or EU licence. Ask what the regulator requires and what compensation, if any, applies.
My company name is not in your list. Is it fake?
Not necessarily. It may be spelled differently or be a newer entity. Treat it as a reason to verify carefully on the regulator’s register before you deposit.
Do you recommend one of these brokers?
No. We hold partner links with all three, which can bias us, so we show the same fields for each and our weak spots. See the affiliate disclosure.
07Ready to open an account?
Check the company in your Client Agreement first, then verify it on the register. These are affiliate links: we may be paid if you open an account. They are not ranked or recommended, and not every broker serves every country.
See the affiliate disclosure. Each broker, not us, assigns the company that holds your account.