Last updated · first published · reviewed by the Smart Money Verified Team
How to Verify Investment Brokers & Advisers
Use FINRA BrokerCheck and SEC IAPD to confirm your broker or adviser is properly registered and review their disciplinary history before trusting them with your money.
Free Official Verification Tools
What is the step-by-step verification process?
1Get the CRD Number
Ask your broker or adviser for their CRD number. This unique identifier is required for registration and can be used to look up their complete regulatory history.
2Check FINRA BrokerCheck
Visit brokercheck.finra.org and enter the broker's name, firm name, or CRD number. Review their registration status, employment history, and any disclosed events.
3Verify on SEC IAPD
For investment advisers, check the SEC's Investment Adviser Public Disclosure database. This shows RIA registrations, Form ADV filings, and disclosure events.
4Review Disclosure Events
Carefully review any disclosed events including customer complaints, regulatory actions, arbitrations, and terminations. Understand the context before making judgments.
5Check State Registration
Brokers and advisers must be registered in states where they conduct business. Your state securities regulator can confirm local registration and provide additional records.
What do BrokerCheck & IAPD actually show?
FINRA BrokerCheck
- Registration status and CRD number
- Licenses held (Series 7, 63, 66, etc.)
- Employment history at broker-dealers
- Customer complaints and arbitrations
- Regulatory actions and sanctions
- Criminal disclosures
- Bankruptcy filings
- Termination reasons from prior employers
SEC IAPD
- Investment adviser registration status
- CRD number and SEC file number
- Form ADV Parts 1 and 2 (brochure)
- Assets under management
- Types of clients served
- Fee structure and compensation
- Disciplinary history and disclosures
- State registrations
What should you look for?
Red Flags
- Not registered with FINRA or SEC
- No CRD number or refuses to provide it
- Multiple customer complaints or arbitration cases
- Recent regulatory actions or sanctions
- History of terminations for cause
- Inconsistent employment history with gaps
- Claims exemption from registration requirements
- Pressure to invest before you can verify credentials
Positive Indicators
- Active, current registration with FINRA/SEC
- Clean disclosure history or minor issues clearly explained
- Stable employment history with reputable firms
- Appropriate licenses for products they recommend
- Willingly provides CRD number and encourages verification
- Registered in your state
- Form ADV available and up-to-date
Verify Brokers with Smart Money Verified
Smart Money Verified integrates directly with SEC IAPD to verify broker and adviser registrations automatically. When you search for a broker or firm, we check for CRD numbers, registration status, and disclosure events alongside our other 20+ data sources.
Frequently Asked Questions
Protect Your Investments
Download our free Investor Protection Guide with actionable steps to verify companies and avoid scams.
How do you check a company or person right now?
Use the free check on this site. Enter the name and it searches the official registers for you in one step, then shows you what those records say — registration status and anything reported against them. Every answer names the official source behind it, so you can confirm it yourself if you want to.
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Who writes these guides
Written and reviewed by the Smart Money Verified Team. We build every guide from primary regulator material, we take no payment from any company we write about, and we say plainly when public records cannot answer a question. Our guides are education, not financial advice.
Primary sources we work from
How we check things: our methodology · disclosures