How to check whether a broker or investment firm is regulated in the UAE

Search the firm's exact legal name on the public register of the regulator that should supervise it, using the regulator's own website rather than a link the firm sends you. Then check three things: the licence is active, it covers the activity the firm is actually offering you, and the name, address and website on the register match the ones you are dealing with. If any of those fail, stop.

This guide is educational and written to help you protect yourself. It is not investment advice. Almahira does not provide brokerage, investment advice or any regulated financial service, and does not handle client money.

Which register should you check?

The Securities and Commodities Authority was renamed the Capital Market Authority on 1 January 2026, so a firm quoting an "SCA licence" should appear on the CMA's list. Our guide to who regulates what in UAE finance explains how the regulators divide the work. If a firm is on none of these registers, treat it as unlicensed in the UAE, whatever its website says.

How to check a firm, step by step

1. Get the legal details in writing. Ask for the full legal name of the entity that will hold your account, its licence number and its regulator. A brand or app name is not enough.
2. Search the register yourself. Go to the regulator's website directly and search by name and by licence number.
3. Match every detail. Compare the registered name, address, phone numbers and website with what you have been given. Scammers copy real firms: in September 2026 alone, the DFSA published several alerts about authorised firms being impersonated.
4. Check the activity, not just the name. The CMA's list shows separate activities, such as "Introduction", "Trading broker" and "Trading broker of OTC derivatives and currencies in the spot market". A firm licensed only for introduction is not licensed to act as your broker.
5. Check the status. You want an active licence. The DFSA register also lists firms whose authorisation has been withdrawn, and VARA lists firms holding only an in-principle approval, which VARA says may not start operating.
6. Check the warning lists. The CMA warnings list, the DFSA alerts and VARA's list of unlicensed firms name entities the regulators have flagged.
7. Follow the money. Before you deposit, confirm that the bank account belongs to the licensed entity named on the register. If the payment details point to another company, a personal account or a crypto wallet, stop.

Say an app advertised on social media describes itself as regulated in Dubai. The client agreement, buried in the sign-up screens, names a company incorporated offshore, with a Dubai sales office on its letterhead. The CMA register shows a UAE company with a similar name, licensed only for introduction. That company may be allowed to refer you, but your account, your money and any dispute would sit with the offshore entity, outside UAE supervision.

Red flags that should stop you

• Guaranteed or fixed returns, or trading described as risk free.
• Pressure to deposit quickly, often from an "account manager" on WhatsApp or Telegram.
• Requests to pay in crypto, by gift card or into a personal account.
• A claim of regulation you cannot find on the register, or a licence number that belongs to a different firm.
• A UAE address on the website but a client agreement with an offshore company.
• Withdrawals blocked until you pay a "tax", "release fee" or extra deposit.
• A request to install remote-access software so that "support" can operate your screen.
• Unsolicited offers to recover money you have lost, especially from someone claiming to work for a regulator. The DFSA has warned about scammers impersonating it in advance fee schemes.

One of these is enough reason to walk away. Two or more together should end the conversation.

What to do if you think you have been scammed

1. Stop paying. Do not send more money to release a withdrawal or to recover earlier losses.
2. Call your bank immediately. Ask whether the transfer can be recalled or the card payment disputed. Speed matters more than anything else here.
3. Keep the evidence. Save the website address, app details, chats, emails, wallet addresses and payment receipts before anything is deleted.
4. Report it to the police. The UAE government portal lists the Ministry of Interior's eCrimes platform in the MOI UAE app, the Dubai Police eCrime website (ecrime.ae) and Abu Dhabi Police's Aman service. In an emergency, call 999.
5. Tell the regulator. If the firm claimed a UAE licence or copied a licensed firm, report it to that regulator. The CMA has an online complaints service, and the DFSA, FSRA and VARA publish their own contact routes. For a dispute with a licensed bank or insurer, Sanadak handles banking and insurance complaints.
6. Expect a second approach. People who have lost money are often targeted again by fake recovery services. No genuine regulator or police force will ask you for a fee to return your money.

What a licence does and does not tell you

A licence means a regulator has authorised the firm for specific activities and supervises how it carries them out. It gives you a complaints route and a regulator that can act. It does not mean a product is suitable for you, and it does not protect you from trading losses. Margin products such as forex and CFDs can lose money fast, for experienced traders as well as beginners.

Be careful, too, with firms that say they are regulated abroad. A licence from another country's regulator does not tell you which entity will hold your account, or which rules protect you here. Ask, and check the answer against a UAE register.

If you want to understand how trading works before choosing a licensed broker, our forex education service covers the basics and introduces only brokers listed on UAE regulators' public registers; we never handle client money or give trading advice. For wider investing, see our investment guidance in Dubai, and for crypto, our VARA licensing guide explains what a licensed platform has to meet.

Sources

• Capital Market Authority: licensed companies
• Dubai Financial Services Authority: public register
• ADGM Financial Services Regulatory Authority: public register
• VARA: public register of virtual asset service providers
• Central Bank of the UAE: licensing and register
• UAE government portal: cyber safety and reporting cybercrime