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Check a regulator’s official register yourself, then verify that the listing matches the exact legal entity, website and service you plan to use. A name appearing in a register is not a guarantee that the firm—or the investment—is safe: permissions are limited, crypto rules vary by activity and country, and scammers can impersonate genuine firms.
The steps below use UK and US examples. If you are elsewhere, use your own national or state regulator’s official register. Status and rules can change, so check the live record before you deposit money, share identity documents or send crypto.
What to check before trusting a firm’s regulatory claim
First identify what the firm actually does for you. An exchange, broker, investment adviser, custodian, payments provider and derivatives platform may be different legal entities or fall under different rules—even when they share a brand or parent company.
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- Legal identity: the full legal name, trading names and any registration or reference number.
- Contact identity: the website domain, phone number and address you will use.
- Service and product: for example, spot crypto trading, custody, investment advice, securities or derivatives.
- Jurisdiction: where the service is offered and which regulator the firm says oversees that activity.
Do not treat a badge, certificate, claimed licence number or link supplied by a salesperson as proof. Start from the regulator’s known official website or a government directory, and search its register yourself.
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How to verify a firm step by step
- Write down the details. Record the legal name, trading name, domain, phone, address, claimed registration number and exact service or asset being offered. Note which country’s regulator the firm claims to answer to.
- Open the official register independently. In the UK, use the FCA Firm Checker and Financial Services Register. The FCA describes the register as its official public record for firms and individuals. In the US, choose the database that fits the person or firm’s role: Investor.gov’s investment professional search, SEC IAPD for investment advisers, or FINRA BrokerCheck for brokers. CFTC guidance also points consumers to NFA and state securities regulator records where relevant.
- Match the whole identity. Compare the register entry’s legal and trading names, website, phone, address and reference number with the details you will actually use. A genuine firm can be impersonated by a clone using a similar name but a different domain or phone number. Contact the firm through details independently verified in the official record—not a number, email or link sent by the seller. Investor.gov recommends using independently confirmed contact details, such as those in the firm’s genuine Form CRS.
- Read the detailed record. Check current status, permitted activities, products, services and any restrictions. Ask whether the permission covers the specific transaction, product and customer relationship in question. In the US, requirements differ by role—for example, broker-dealer, investment adviser, exchange or alternative trading system—and by product.
- Check warnings and history. Look for regulator warnings, clone-firm notices, disciplinary action and historical status. A firm marked revoked or no longer authorised should not be treated as currently authorised for regulated activities. An absent warning is not proof of legitimacy; a regulator may not yet have investigated or listed a firm.
- Pause if anything does not match. Do not send money or crypto while the identity, permission or contact details remain unclear. Ask the regulator through its independently verified contact channel if you cannot interpret the entry.
What a register entry does—and does not—establish
A record establishes only what the relevant regulator says about that entity, activity and status. It does not necessarily cover every product sold under the firm’s brand. The FCA specifically warns that an authorised firm may also offer unregulated products and services. A firm’s presence on one country’s register does not establish that it is authorised for all services worldwide.
Registration or authorisation is not a regulator’s endorsement of an investment, proof that a firm is solvent, or a guarantee against fraud or loss. The FCA’s consumer guidance puts the limit plainly: “Using an authorised firm, with the correct permissions, will greatly reduce the risk of harm. It won’t remove all risk.”
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UK checks: FCA authorisation versus crypto AML registration
Use the FCA Firm Checker and Financial Services Register to check the entity’s status, contact details, permissions, warnings and available historical information. Then read what activities those permissions cover; do not infer that a firm is authorised for a service simply because its name appears in the register.
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The distinction matters especially for crypto. The FCA registers certain crypto businesses, including exchanges and custody providers, for anti-money-laundering supervision. That narrower registration is not the same as authorisation to conduct every regulated investment activity. The FCA says most crypto-related activities are not regulated in the UK, and crypto registration does not automatically provide access to the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or the Financial Ombudsman Service. Check the actual activity and applicable protections rather than treating “FCA registered” as a general safety label. See the FCA’s crypto investment scams guidance.
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US checks: choose records for the firm’s role
For securities brokers and investment advisers, begin with Investor.gov’s investment-professional search, then use the relevant SEC or FINRA record. Investor.gov says most brokers must register with the SEC and join FINRA, while retail investment advisers generally register with the SEC or their state securities regulator. Which record matters depends on the professional’s role.
Crypto platforms can combine activities that are usually handled by separate types of firm. A platform’s spot trading, custody, advice, derivatives or securities activity may raise different regulatory questions; do not assume one registration covers them all. The SEC warns about crypto asset securities in its crypto asset securities guidance. For relevant digital-asset offers, the CFTC advises checking records such as NFA, SEC, FINRA and state regulator databases, and watching for red flags in its crypto red-flags guide.
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Compare firms using the same checks
If you are assessing more than one provider, compare the same dimensions rather than relying on a “regulated” label:
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- Which legal entity and jurisdiction operate the service?
- Do the permissions cover the exact product and activity?
- What is the current status, and is there relevant regulatory history?
- Do the register’s domain and contact details match the channel you will use?
- What complaint, compensation or custody protections actually apply to this service?
Keep the register record and verified contact details separate from links and contact information sent in sales messages. If a return is described as guaranteed, you are pressured to act quickly, or you are asked to use an unofficial channel, stop and verify before proceeding. The SEC’s guidance on virtual-currency-related investment scams and the FCA’s consumer guidance explain why a convincing firm name alone is not enough.
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