How to Use FINRA BrokerCheck
FINRA BrokerCheck is a free public tool that lets you look up any US brokerage firm or registered broker and see their registration status, employment history, qualification exams and any disclosures, such as customer complaints, regulatory actions or arbitration awards. To use it, go to FINRA’s BrokerCheck website, type the name of the firm or person into the search box, open the matching profile and read the full report, paying closest attention to the disclosures section.
It takes about five minutes, and it is one of the most useful habits an investor can build. It is also free, needs no account, and draws on the same central registration records regulators use.
This guide walks you through exactly how to search, what every part of a report means, how to read disclosures fairly, and what BrokerCheck cannot tell you. FRC has no stake in where you invest: we do not run brokerage accounts, sell investments or earn referral fees, so everything here is explained impartially from the regulatory rules up.
Learning by watching? Explore FRC’s ETF videos on YouTube for each stage of investing in minutes, and use FRC’s complete step-by-step guide to investing in ETFs for the full journey.
Reading a BrokerCheck Report, Section by Section
What BrokerCheck Is and Where Its Data Comes From
BrokerCheck is run by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, the organisation that writes and enforces the rules for US brokerage firms. It covers every FINRA-registered broker-dealer and the individuals registered through them.
Its information comes from the Central Registration Depository, the industry’s licensing and registration database. Firms and individuals must file and update registration forms, and those filings feed what you see.
What BrokerCheck may show is governed by FINRA Rule 8312. That rule sets out which information is made public, for how long, and what stays private.
BrokerCheck also links to the SEC’s Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database, so you can see adviser registrations as well as broker registrations. Many professionals are registered as both.
Why Regulators Want You to Use It
FINRA does not hide BrokerCheck away. Under FINRA Rule 2210, firms must include a readily apparent reference and hyperlink to BrokerCheck on websites intended for retail investors.
Under FINRA Rule 2267, firms must also tell customers in writing, at least once a year, about BrokerCheck, including its hotline number and website address. The BrokerCheck hotline is (800) 289-9999. Regulators want you looking, because an informed investor is the first line of defence against misconduct.
The exams a professional has passed, which BrokerCheck lists, are the same qualifications that teach these rules. FRC’s SIE Exam Prep, Series 7 Exam Preparation and Series 65 courses cover them in full, and they are open to anyone who wants to understand what the qualifications on a BrokerCheck report actually mean.
How to Search, Step by Step
Start on FINRA’s BrokerCheck website, which you can find by searching for “FINRA BrokerCheck” or through the link on any registered firm’s website. Always type the address yourself or use a search engine, rather than clicking a link someone has sent you.
Choose whether you are looking for an individual or a firm. For a person, enter their full name and, if you know it, the firm or the city; for a firm, enter its name.
If you have a CRD number, the unique registration number assigned to each firm and individual, you can search by that instead. It removes any confusion between people or firms with similar names.
Open the matching profile, check that the name, firm and location are the ones you expected, and then open or download the full detailed report. The summary page is useful, but the full report contains the detail that matters.
Searching for the Right Firm Name
Large firms often operate through several legal entities, and BrokerCheck lists the registered broker-dealer, not the brand. Searching “Fidelity” alone, for example, can return several entities, while your account is held with a specific one such as Fidelity Brokerage Services LLC.
The legal name of your broker-dealer appears in your account documents, statements and the disclosures on the firm’s website. Other examples include Charles Schwab & Co., Inc., Vanguard Marketing Corporation and Robinhood Financial LLC.
If you cannot find a firm that claims to be a US broker, try variations of the name. If it still does not appear, treat that as a stop sign.
Reading a Firm Report
A firm report opens with the basics: the firm’s legal name, its CRD number, its main office address and whether it is currently registered. It then shows which regulators and self-regulatory organisations it is registered with, and in how many states.
You will also see the types of business the firm conducts, information about its owners and executive officers, and its history, including mergers, name changes and predecessor firms. Firms may carry designations as well, such as Restricted Firm status, which signals a firm with a significant history of misconduct among its people.
The disclosures section lists regulatory events, civil events, arbitration awards and certain financial events at the firm level. For large firms, this section can be long, which is a function of size and decades of operation rather than an automatic warning sign.
Reading an Individual Report
An individual report shows whether the person is currently registered as a broker, an investment adviser or both, and with which firm. It lists the states they are registered in.
Employment history shows where they have worked in the securities industry, and other business activities they have disclosed. Frequent moves are not wrong in themselves, but moves that line up with disputes or terminations deserve a closer look.
The exams section lists the qualification exams the person has passed and when, such as the SIE, Series 7, Series 63 or Series 65. According to the rules governing BrokerCheck, it does not show exam scores or failed attempts.
Understanding Disclosures
Disclosures are the heart of a BrokerCheck report, and they need careful, fair reading. They can include customer disputes, regulatory actions, civil cases, criminal matters, terminations, and certain financial events such as bankruptcies, judgments or liens.
Customer disputes are shown with their status, such as pending, settled, denied or closed. A settled complaint is not an admission of wrongdoing, because firms sometimes settle to avoid the cost of a dispute, but several settled complaints of the same kind form a pattern worth noticing.
Regulatory actions are the most serious category. They show fines, suspensions, bars or other sanctions imposed by FINRA, the SEC or state regulators, and a bar from the industry means that person may not work for a FINRA member firm.
Firms and individuals are required to report many of these events under FINRA Rule 4530, and individuals can add comments to give their side. Read those comments, along with the dates and amounts, before you reach a conclusion.
How to Judge What You Find
Context is everything. A single old complaint over a decade-long career is very different from a recent group of similar complaints, and a firm with millions of customers will always have more entries than a small one.
Look for patterns, recency and seriousness. Repeated allegations of unsuitable recommendations, unauthorised trading or misrepresentation, regulatory sanctions, or a termination after allegations are the entries that should give you real pause.
If something concerns you, ask the professional directly. A reputable broker will explain a disclosure openly, while evasion or pressure is itself an answer.
A Worked Example: Reading a Report
Imagine you have been introduced to an adviser called Alex, who works at a well-known firm. You search Alex’s name on BrokerCheck, add the firm’s name to narrow the results, and open the profile that matches.
The report shows Alex is registered as both a broker and an investment adviser, has passed the SIE, Series 7 and Series 66 exams, and has worked at three firms over fifteen years. So far, nothing unusual.
The disclosures section shows two customer disputes: one from twelve years ago, settled for a small amount, alleging an unsuitable recommendation, and one from last year, still pending, making a similar allegation. Alex has added a comment to each.
Reading this fairly, one old settled dispute over a long career would not be alarming on its own. But a second, recent allegation of the same kind is worth raising directly, so you ask Alex about both and listen to how openly the answers come.
Questions to Ask After You Read a Report
A report is most useful when you act on it. Ask the professional to explain any disclosure you do not understand, and whether anything new is pending that is not yet showing.
Ask which firm will hold your account, and check that firm’s own report and SIPC membership too. A professional and their firm should each stand up to scrutiny.
How Long Information Stays on BrokerCheck
Information about currently registered firms and individuals remains visible while they are registered. For people who have left the industry, BrokerCheck generally stops showing their information after 10 years.
There are important exceptions. Under the rules governing BrokerCheck, a former broker’s information remains visible after the 10-year window if they were ever the subject of a final regulatory action, or if they had certain serious disclosures, such as criminal convictions, investment-related civil injunctions or sales practice arbitration awards.
That means a person who left the industry after serious misconduct cannot simply wait for their record to disappear.
What BrokerCheck Does Not Show
BrokerCheck is powerful, but it has limits. It does not show private information such as Social Security numbers, home addresses or physical descriptions, and it does not show investigations that were withdrawn or vacated.
It also does not tell you whether a broker is good at investing, whether their fees are competitive or whether a product is right for you. It shows registration and conduct, not skill or suitability.
Crucially, BrokerCheck cannot confirm that the person contacting you is the person on the report. Scammers copy real brokers’ names and CRD numbers, so you must also confirm contact details through the firm’s official channels.
Using BrokerCheck to Spot Impersonators
FINRA warns that scammers send victims fake BrokerCheck reports using a real professional’s name and CRD number, linked to a company that is not registered. The defence is simple: never rely on a report someone sends you, and always run the search yourself.
Compare what you find with what you have been told. If the real person on BrokerCheck works for a different firm, in a different state, or the website and phone number you were given do not match the firm’s official details, you have found the problem.
Call the firm on a number from its official website or Form CRS and ask whether the person really works there. FRC’s guide on how to avoid investment scams covers impersonation and the other common scams in detail.
What BrokerCheck Covers and What It Does Not
BrokerCheck covers securities brokers and firms. Investment advisers who are not also brokers appear on the SEC’s IAPD database, which BrokerCheck links to.
Futures and forex firms are regulated separately and appear on the National Futures Association’s BASIC database instead. Insurance agents selling products such as fixed annuities are licensed by state insurance regulators.
Crypto platforms that are not registered broker-dealers will not appear on BrokerCheck at all. That absence is itself important information, because it means the brokerage protections in this guide, including SIPC membership, do not apply.
Combine BrokerCheck With Two Other Checks
BrokerCheck is the start of a short routine, not the whole of it. Second, confirm the firm on SIPC’s own list of members, because the Securities Investor Protection Corporation protects customers of failed member firms up to $500,000, including $250,000 in cash.
Third, read the firm’s Form CRS, its plain-language relationship summary of services, fees and conflicts of interest. Between them, these three checks tell you who the firm is, how it is protected and what it charges.
When to Run a BrokerCheck Search
The obvious moment is before you open an account, but it is far from the only one. Run a search whenever someone new contacts you about investing, before you move an account or roll over a retirement plan to a new firm, and when a professional you already work with changes firms.
It is also worth checking your existing broker and adviser once a year. Disclosures can be added at any time, and a quick annual look means you hear about a new regulatory action from the record, not from the news.
What to Do If You Find Something Wrong
If BrokerCheck shows information about you that is inaccurate, the process for correcting it runs through the firm that filed it, or through FINRA’s dispute process for BrokerCheck information. Individuals can also add comments to certain disclosures.
If you find that someone is posing as a registered broker, or using a real broker’s identity, report it. You can submit a tip to FINRA through its website, report to the SEC at sec.gov/tcr, and contact your state securities regulator.
If you have a complaint about a real broker, put it in writing to the firm. Brokers must keep records of written customer complaints under FINRA Rule 4513, and FINRA’s arbitration forum handles most money disputes between customers and firms.
Common Questions
Is BrokerCheck free? Yes. It is free to use, needs no account, and is available to anyone.
Does BrokerCheck show investment advisers? It shows people registered as brokers and links to the SEC’s IAPD database for investment advisers, so you can check both from one starting point.
Does a clean BrokerCheck report mean a broker is good? No. It means no reportable disclosures are on record, but it does not measure skill, fees or whether a recommendation suits you.
Why does a large firm have so many disclosures? Size and history. A firm serving millions of customers over decades will accumulate more matters, so focus on what each was about, how recent it is and how it was resolved.
Can a broker remove a complaint from BrokerCheck? Only through formal processes, such as expungement through arbitration, which has its own requirements. Serious events such as final regulatory actions remain visible even after a person leaves the industry.
Reading a BrokerCheck Report Is a Skill Anyone Can Learn
You do not need to work in finance to understand a BrokerCheck report. Every section in this guide, from exams to disclosures, reflects rules that anyone can learn.
FRC’s programmes and memberships are open to everyone. Whether you want to invest with more confidence, check the professionals you deal with, or explore a career in the industry, the SIE is the natural starting point, and the full USA course list shows where you can go next.
FRC’s Professional Membership adds structured learning, verified progress and a growing set of tools for people who want to keep building their knowledge. The FRC dictionary, which explains every term used in this guide, is free for everyone.
Your Next Step
Search your own broker today. Find its legal name on your statement, look it up on BrokerCheck, read the full report, and then do the same for any individual who advises you.
Make it a habit every time someone new contacts you about your money. Then, with firms and people you have checked, carry on with FRC’s complete guide to investing in ETFs and invest with confidence.
