This page covers both "UK forex licence" and "forex trading license UK" searches — same check, two spellings. In the UK, the key question for any UK forex broker is whether the firm is authorised by the FCA.
What a UK forex licence actually means
There is no separate "forex licence" document — a broker serving UK retail clients needs FCA authorisation with the right permissions (dealing/arranging in CFDs and rolling spot forex). FCA authorisation brings specific, checkable rules: retail CFD leverage capped at 30:1 on major pairs, negative balance protection, segregated client money under CASS rules, and FSCS cover of up to £85,000 per person if the firm itself fails (never for trading losses).
FCA-authorised vs offshore entity — the trap to check
Many broker groups hold an FCA licence and offshore licences at the same time. "FCA regulated" on a homepage can describe the group while your account sits with a Seychelles, Mauritius or Bahamas entity that the FCA has never supervised. The entity named on your client agreement — not the brand — decides whether UK protections apply. Our entity checker maps which entity typically onboards UK residents for each broker we track, and this guide explains the pattern.
How to check the FCA register (4 steps)
- Get the firm's FCA reference number (FRN) from the broker's website footer or legal documents.
- Go directly to register.fca.org.uk — type it yourself; never follow a link the broker or a caller sends you.
- Search by FRN and confirm the legal name matches the entity on your client agreement exactly — clone firms rely on near-miss names.
- Check the status says the firm is authorised with permissions for the products you'll trade, and note any warnings on the entry.
Full walkthrough with screenshots of what each field means: how to verify a broker licence.
The FCA warning list
The FCA publishes a running list of unauthorised firms and clone scams at fca.org.uk — Warning List. Check it even when the register entry looks right: clone firms impersonate genuine authorised brokers, borrowing their name and FRN. But read the FCA's own caveat on that page: if a firm isn't on the list, it may still be unauthorised or a scam — an empty warning search is one check passed, not clearance. The FCA has published clone warnings affecting brokers in our own database — a fake "Eightcap VIP" operation impersonating the genuine Eightcap Group Ltd (our record of the warning), and an "FX Time" clone targeting people searching for Exinity UK Ltd, FXTM (our record). Our clone-firm guide shows how the scam works, and our WorldCapital1 licence check is a worked example of running these register and warning-list checks on a live platform.
What a passed check does — and does not — mean
A matching register entry is evidence about the named firm's regulatory position. It does not prove that the website or caller in front of you is that firm: clones copy a real name and FRN and swap in their own contact details. Compare the website, phone number and email you were given against the official record, and reach the genuine firm through a route you checked yourself. And keep authorisation separate from compensation — the FCA's own Firm Checker states that it cannot confirm whether FSCS or Financial Ombudsman protection will definitely apply if something goes wrong. A passed check tells you who is regulated, not that your money cannot be lost.
Official evidence
- FCA Firm Checker — is the firm authorised, and for the service you are being offered.
- Financial Services Register — the detailed firm record; search by FRN.
- FCA guidance on clone firms — how to authenticate contact details.
- FCA Warning List — and why a no-match result is not clearance.
Type these addresses yourself rather than following a link from an unsolicited message. These are the regulator's tools; they are not affiliated with Clarytrade.
What UK residents should verify before depositing
- The exact legal entity on the client agreement is the FCA-authorised one — not a sister entity offshore.
- The FRN on the FCA register resolves to that same legal name and an authorised status.
- Leverage offered to you is capped at 30:1 on majors — an offer of 500:1 to a UK retail client is a sign you're being onboarded offshore.
- FSCS eligibility is stated for the entity holding your money.
- The domain you're using matches the one on the FCA register entry.
FCA-regulated brokers we track are listed with their register-checked licence details on the regulation page, and every broker profile shows its licence evidence status — for example Pepperstone (FCA 684312, register-verified).