The short answer
Search for the firm on the regulator’s own website, not the broker’s. Type the regulator’s address into your browser yourself, find its public register, and look the firm up by name or licence number. Then check that every detail matches: legal company name, licence or reference number, what it is allowed to do, its website address and its phone number. Finally, check the regulator’s warning list and IOSCO’s I-SCAN alerts portal.
If any detail does not match, or the firm is only on a warning list, do not deposit. A licence number on the broker’s own website is a claim, not proof.
Why this check matters
A licence decides which rules protect you. In the EU, UK and Australia, for example, regulated providers must cap retail leverage on gold at 20:1, close positions at a 50% margin level and offer negative balance protection; our guide to gold leverage has the details. Licensed firms also usually fall under a complaint scheme such as an ombudsman. If something goes wrong with an unlicensed firm, the FCA warns that UK consumers will not have access to the Financial Ombudsman Service or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.
The check also protects against the most common trick: a website that shows a genuine licence belonging to a different company.
Exactly how to check, step by step
- Find the legal name. Scroll to the footer or the client agreement and note the full company name, the registration or licence number and the country of the regulator. Brands are not legal names.
- Go to the regulator directly. Type the regulator’s web address yourself or search for it, rather than clicking a link from the broker’s site or an email.
- Search the register by licence number and by name. Both should land on the same entry.
- Match every field. Name, number, status (authorised, not suspended or cancelled), permissions (dealing in investments or derivatives, not only, say, payment services), registered address, website domains and phone numbers.
- Check which entity holds your account. Your account agreement names one company. Make sure that company, not a sister company elsewhere, is the one you just found.
- Read the warning list of the same regulator, and search the firm name and website on I-SCAN, IOSCO’s international alerts portal, where regulators post warnings about unauthorised firms.
- Contact the firm only through the details on the register if anything is unclear. Ask it to confirm your account number by email from a domain listed there.
The main registers
| Where | Regulator | What to search |
|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) | Financial Services Register; FCA Warning List |
| Australia | Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC) | Professional Registers Search (AFS licensees); investor alert list |
| United States | Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA) | NFA’s BASIC database (search by firm, NFA ID or individual) |
| Cyprus (EU) | Cyprus Securities and Exchange Commission (CySEC) | List of regulated entities on cysec.gov.cy |
| Other EU countries | The national regulator, plus ESMA’s registers for passported firms | National register; ESMA registers |
| Anywhere | IOSCO (international body of securities regulators) | I-SCAN alerts on unauthorised firms |
Other countries have their own financial or securities regulators with public registers. If your country’s regulator does not publish one, that itself tells you something about the protection you would have.
Spotting a clone firm
Clone firms copy a real firm’s name and reference number and then give you different contact details. According to the FCA, scammers may also fake email addresses, phone numbers, postal addresses and firm reference numbers, and may claim the register’s contact details are out of date. The FCA says it updates the register, on average, every 24 hours.
Signs of a clone:
- The register entry is real, but the website domain is not listed or is slightly different (an extra letter, a different ending).
- You were contacted first, by phone, social media or messaging app.
- The phone number or email does not appear on the register.
- The “account manager” asks you to deposit to a personal account, a crypto wallet or a company with a different name.
ASIC is now publishing licensees’ website addresses on its Professional Registers Search, and advises caution if a website claiming to belong to a licensee is not listed there.
A worked example (fictional names)
A website for “Example Bullion Markets” shows “Authorised and regulated, licence no. 123456”. You search the regulator’s register:
| Field | Website says | Register says | Match? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Legal name | Example Bullion Markets Ltd | Example Bullion Markets Ltd | Yes |
| Number | 123456 | 123456 | Yes |
| Status | Regulated | Authorised | Yes |
| Website | example-bullion-markets.com | examplebullionmarkets.co.uk | No |
| Phone | +44 20 0000 1111 | +44 20 0000 9999 | No |
Two mismatches mean the website is very probably a clone of the real firm. Call the number on the register to confirm, and report the clone to the regulator.
Offshore and multi-entity brands
Many trading brands run several companies: one regulated by a major authority, others registered offshore. When you sign up from certain countries you may be placed with the offshore company, which can offer higher leverage and fewer protections. Neither choice is illegal in itself, but you should know which you have. The client agreement, the account-opening email and the deposit receipt name the entity. If they do not match the register you checked, ask before you deposit.
For US residents, the rules are different again: retail CFDs are generally not available, and firms dealing with US retail forex customers must be registered with the CFTC and be NFA members; see how to trade gold in the USA.
What a licence does not guarantee
- It does not make leveraged trading safe; most of the risk is your position size.
- It does not mean the firm’s prices or execution suit you.
- It does not cover signal sellers, “account managers” or mentors who are not themselves licensed. Our signal-group red flags cover that side.
If you already have money with a firm that fails these checks, see what to do when a broker won’t process a withdrawal. More fixes are in gold trading problems solved.
Sources
- Financial Conduct Authority: How to avoid clone firms and FCA Warning List
- ASIC: Professional registers search and Use ASIC’s resources to help avoid scams
- National Futures Association: BASIC
- IOSCO: I-SCAN, International Securities and Commodities Alerts Network (launched March 2025)
- ESMA retail CFD measures (20:1 gold, 50% close-out, negative balance protection): ESMA, 27 March 2018
- The company names and numbers in the worked example are fictional
Educational content only, not financial or legal advice. We never name or recommend brokers. Registers change; always check the regulator’s live site before you deposit.
Frequently asked questions
How do I check if a broker is regulated?
Go directly to the regulator’s website (type the address yourself), search its public register for the firm’s name or reference number, and check that the legal name, licence number, permissions, website address and phone number all match the firm you are dealing with. Then check the regulator’s warning list and IOSCO’s I-SCAN alerts portal.
What is a clone firm?
A clone firm copies the name, reference number and sometimes the address of a genuine licensed firm, but gives you its own website, email or phone number. The register entry looks real because it is real; it just belongs to someone else. The defence is to contact the firm only through the contact details shown on the regulator’s register.
Is an offshore licence the same as a licence from a major regulator?
No. Protections differ a lot between jurisdictions. Some regulators impose retail leverage limits, negative balance protection, client-money rules and access to an ombudsman or compensation scheme; others register companies with few conduct rules. Check what the specific regulator requires and which entity your own account is actually with.
The broker is on the register. Does that mean my money is safe?
It means the firm is authorised for the permissions listed, and that you can usually use that country’s complaint routes. It does not guarantee you won’t lose money trading, and protections apply only to the regulated entity. Many groups run several companies under one brand, so check which company your account agreement names.
Can I trade gold CFDs with a regulated broker in the United States?
Retail clients in the US generally cannot trade CFDs. US firms offering retail forex must be registered with the CFTC and be members of the National Futures Association, which you can check on NFA’s BASIC database. Gold exposure for US retail traders usually comes through exchange-traded futures instead.
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