How to check an FCA firm
Use official checking tools
Open the FCA Firm Checker or Financial Services Register independently. Search the firm’s legal name or firm reference number. Confirm the status and permission for the particular service, then compare the contact details you received. Registration for one purpose is not blanket permission for all investment activities.
Do not reuse a genuine identity
A copied FRN can belong to an unrelated authorised firm. Contact the genuine business using details obtained from the FCA, not a chat message or advert. If contact information is absent or contradictory, ask the FCA. Check warnings and record the date; absence of a warning does not complete the check.
Keep the evidence in context
Note the particular permission and any restriction rather than writing only FCA regulated. Check the source date and exact contracting entity. Information about another group company cannot complete the check. The fact that a firm appears in an official tool also does not mean the FCA recommends its investment or guarantees returns.
Make a permission-specific enquiry
Name the service you were offered when using official checking tools or contacting the FCA. A general statement that a business is registered may concern a different activity or legal capacity. Keep the firm reference number and the exact result together. If the source contains conditions, restrictions or a status explanation, read them before relying on a short search-summary label or an image sent by the seller.
Verify the conversation separately
Even when the firm exists, the person contacting you still needs authentication. End an unexpected conversation and initiate contact using the official details you obtained yourself. Ask whether the exact website, email and proposed account belong to that firm. Do not use a new number supplied during the suspicious conversation to perform this independent check. If no trustworthy contact is available, ask the authority for guidance instead of improvising a match.
Understand what the result cannot establish
A register entry does not show your expected return, settle a withdrawal dispute or guarantee eligibility for an ombudsman or compensation scheme. Those questions require the actual entity, activity, circumstances and relevant eligibility rules. Keep the regulatory identity check separate from product risk and any complaint. If you have already paid an impersonator, contact your payment provider promptly rather than waiting for the register search to become conclusive.