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Check the firm in the live IFSCA Directory, reached from the regulator’s own website. Match the exact legal entity, its authorization category and the service it offers, then compare its authorization number, validity dates and contact details. A similar name—or a missing search result—is not enough to establish that a firm is authorized or unauthorized. If anything is unclear, pause and confirm with IFSCA through the contact route on its official website before sharing money or personal information.

How to check an IFSC firm in the IFSCA Directory

  1. Open the directory from IFSCA’s website. Start at the official IFSCA Directory, rather than relying on a link, screenshot or certificate sent by the firm. IFSCA says: “Always access the Directory from our website to see if an entity is registered or authorised or licensed with the Authority.” Its consumer guidance is available on the Consumer Protection page.
  2. Search the exact legal name. The directory supports a global search across entity name, category and subcategory, as well as name search and category selectors. Search the legal name shown in the firm’s documents. If it also uses a brand or trading name, search that too, but establish whether it belongs to the same legal entity recorded by IFSCA.
  3. Check the activity category and subcategory. Compare the directory classification with the actual service being offered. For example, IFSCA lists capital-market intermediaries in distinct categories such as broker-dealers, investment advisers, custodians and distributors. Use the relevant capital-market intermediaries page when you need to check those sector lists.
  4. Compare the record’s identifying details. Check the registration, authorization or license number; registered address; contact person; phone; email; website; and any remarks against information obtained independently, not just details the firm supplied. The directory includes these fields alongside the entity’s name and category.
  5. Check validity and scope. Read the dates of registration, authorization or licensing and the “validity from” and “validity to” fields. Confirm the record is valid for the date you are checking and covers the particular activity or product the firm is offering. Do not treat a record for a related entity or a different service as proof for the offer in front of you.

Use the right sector list for the service

Capital-market services

Broker-dealers, investment advisers, custodians and distributors are separate intermediary categories. Match the firm’s record to the service it is actually providing; the fact that a company appears somewhere in a broad directory does not establish authorization for every financial activity.

Fund management and funds

IFSCA’s fund-management page has a list of registered Fund Management Entities (FMEs) and a separate list of authorized schemes or funds. These are distinct checks: a manager’s status does not by itself establish that a particular scheme is authorized.

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TechFin and ancillary services

For firms claiming to provide TechFin or ancillary services, consult the applicable authorized-entity lists on IFSCA’s TechFin and ancillary-services page. Verify the listed entity and the relevant service rather than inferring authorization from a company’s technology or business description.

What to do if the result is missing or does not match

Do not treat an absent result as a clean bill of health—or as definitive proof that the firm is unauthorized. The firm may be listed under a different legal name or category, or there may be a status issue. Likewise, a close name match may refer to a different entity. IFSCA warns that unauthorized firms may use names similar to authorized firms or falsely claim association with regulated entities.

  • Pause before sending money, identity documents or other personal information.
  • Recheck the legal name and likely category, then compare the result’s number, address, website and contacts against independently obtained details.
  • If the discrepancy remains, use consumer-protection contacts or complaint guidance reached from IFSCA’s official Consumer Protection page. Do not rely on the firm’s own explanation as the only confirmation.
  • IFSCA’s consumer guidance also points to IOSCO’s I-SCAN alerts, which can provide context about warnings concerning firms potentially unauthorized in a jurisdiction. An alert is not a substitute for checking IFSCA’s own directory for IFSCA status.
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What an authorization check does—and does not—tell you

A directory entry helps answer whether a named entity is registered, authorized or licensed by IFSCA for the recorded activity and period. It does not establish that an investment is suitable, profitable or risk-free, nor does it verify every claim made in a sales pitch. IFSCA’s consumer-protection materials include warnings about unauthorized entities, unregistered broker-dealers and claims about crypto-exchange or crypto-asset regulation; do not infer IFSCA authorization for a crypto service from unrelated regulatory claims.

IFSCA’s consumer-protection page lists dated public cautions, including a caution about unregistered broker-dealers dated 20 September 2024 and one against unauthorized entities dated 2 November 2023. Those notices illustrate the kinds of warnings the regulator publishes; they do not determine the current status of a particular firm. For a current check, use the live directory and contact IFSCA if the record or its scope is unclear.

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