FINRA BrokerCheck is a free public database at brokercheck.finra.org that lets you look up any current or recently registered broker or brokerage firm and see their licensing, employment history, and any disciplinary events or customer complaints on file. It draws from records on more than 600,000 professionals. Most people check it before handing money to a financial professional, but it works just as well when something starts to feel off after the relationship is underway. The tool has real blind spots, and knowing what it leaves out matters almost as much as what it shows.
Who Shows Up in BrokerCheck
FINRA is a private, not-for-profit self-regulatory organization that oversees broker-dealer firms in the United States under SEC supervision.1Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. About FINRA Most brokers and dealers must register with the SEC and join FINRA before doing business, so the vast majority of securities professionals end up in this database.2U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Guide to Broker-Dealer Registration BrokerCheck also covers professionals who left the industry within the past ten years, and longer in some cases if they have certain regulatory actions or criminal matters on file.3FINRA. FINRA Rule 8312 – FINRA BrokerCheck Disclosure
One boundary catches people off guard. BrokerCheck focuses on broker-dealers, not investment advisers who are registered only with the SEC or a state. If the person managing your money is a registered investment adviser and not also a broker-dealer, their record lives in a separate database called Investment Adviser Public Disclosure (IAPD) at adviserinfo.sec.gov.4Investment Adviser Public Disclosure. Investment Adviser Public Disclosure – Homepage Many professionals are dual-registered and appear in both systems. When in doubt, search both.
How to Run a Search
Go to brokercheck.finra.org and use the search bar at the top of the page. Toggle between individual and firm, then enter a name, the firm’s legal name, or a CRD number. The Central Registration Depository assigns each registered professional and firm a unique CRD number that follows them throughout their career regardless of where they work.5Investor.gov. Central Registration Depository (CRD) You can usually find it on a business card, the firm’s website, or an account statement.
Using the CRD number matters more than people think. Common names return dozens of results, and picking the wrong profile defeats the whole purpose. Without a CRD number, narrow the search by adding the firm name or the broker’s location. You can also call FINRA’s BrokerCheck hotline at (800) 289-9999 and a representative will look up the information for you.
Clicking a name opens a summary dashboard. For the full picture, download the detailed PDF report. That document is where every registration, past employer, and disclosure is laid out.
When the Search Comes Back Empty
If someone claiming to be a licensed broker doesn’t appear in BrokerCheck at all, that is a serious warning. It could mean they were never registered, their registration lapsed more than ten years ago, or the name is misspelled. Try a partial last name or a different spelling. If they still don’t come up, they may be registered only as an investment adviser, so check IAPD. If they don’t appear in either system, don’t hand them your money. An unregistered person selling securities is likely breaking the law.
What the Report Contains
The detailed report opens with a summary showing current registration status and whether any disclosures are on file. That snapshot alone answers the most basic question: is this person currently authorized to sell securities? Below that, the report breaks into several sections.
Qualifications and Licensing
This section lists every industry exam the broker has passed. Common ones include the Series 7 (General Securities Representative Exam), which qualifies someone to sell a broad range of securities, and the Series 63 (Uniform Securities Agent State Law Exam), which covers state-level regulations.6FINRA. Qualification Exams The specific exams matter because they dictate what products the broker can legally sell. Someone with only a Series 6 license, for example, is limited to mutual funds and variable annuities and cannot sell individual stocks.
Employment History
BrokerCheck shows the past ten years of employment, covering securities industry jobs, non-securities jobs, self-employment, military service, and periods of unemployment.7FINRA. About BrokerCheck Frequent moves aren’t automatically a problem, but a pattern of short stints at multiple firms sometimes indicates the broker was pushed out rather than leaving on their own. The report won’t tell you the reason for a termination, because the “Reason for Termination” from Form U5 is specifically excluded from public disclosure.3FINRA. FINRA Rule 8312 – FINRA BrokerCheck Disclosure Employment gaps that line up with disclosure events often tell a story the report doesn’t spell out.
Disclosure Events
This is where BrokerCheck earns its keep. Entries fall into several categories:
- Customer disputes: formal complaints, arbitrations, or civil lawsuits alleging sales practice violations. Each entry shows the original claim amount, the allegations, and whether the matter resulted in a settlement, award, or denial.
- Regulatory actions: disciplinary proceedings by FINRA, the SEC, state regulators, or other authorities, ranging from fines to suspensions to a permanent bar from the industry.
- Criminal matters: charges or convictions for felonies and certain investment-related misdemeanors, with a summary of allegations and final outcome.
- Financial disclosures: personal bankruptcies, unpaid judgments, and liens, since financial instability can signal risk.
Not every disclosure means the broker did something wrong. Some customer complaints are dismissed or denied, and pending matters appear with a clear “unresolved” label. One disclosure in a twenty-year career is qualitatively different from five in three years. Look for patterns rather than isolated incidents.
What BrokerCheck Does Not Show
This is where people get a false sense of security. Several categories of information are excluded by rule.
Customer complaints that don’t allege sales practice violations, fraud, or theft are left out. Non-investment-related civil matters like protective orders don’t appear. Arrests that never resulted in charges, and misdemeanor charges unrelated to investments or theft, are also excluded. Customer complaints older than two years that were never settled or adjudicated can drop off the main report into a “historic complaint” category. Settled complaints below $15,000 (for settlements on or after May 18, 2009) are no longer reported on the main registration form.3FINRA. FINRA Rule 8312 – FINRA BrokerCheck Disclosure Regulatory investigations that were vacated or withdrawn by the authority that started them are also excluded.
Most important of all: BrokerCheck only shows what professionals have reported or were required to report. If a broker failed to disclose something on their registration forms, it won’t appear. The system is only as good as the data fed into it.
Disclosures That Were Removed Through Expungement
Some brokers try to scrub negative entries through an arbitration process called expungement. A clean report doesn’t always mean a clean history. FINRA tightened the rules significantly in October 2023.8FINRA. Regulatory Notice 23-12 – FINRA Adopts Amendments to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure to Modify the Process Relating to the Expungement of Customer Dispute Information
Under the current rules, a broker seeking to remove a customer dispute must convince a panel of three specially trained public arbitrators, selected randomly from a dedicated roster. The panel must unanimously agree that at least one of three narrow grounds applies: the claim was factually impossible or clearly erroneous, the broker wasn’t involved in the alleged misconduct, or the information is false.9FINRA. FINRA Rule 13805 – Expungement of Customer Dispute Information from the Central Registration Depository (CRD) System No other grounds qualify, and the panel must explain in writing which ground it relied on and what evidence supported the decision.
Deadlines are strict. For customer arbitrations closed after October 2023, an expungement request must be filed within two years of the case closing. For complaints initially reported to the CRD after that date, the deadline is three years from the initial report.8FINRA. Regulatory Notice 23-12 – FINRA Adopts Amendments to the Codes of Arbitration Procedure to Modify the Process Relating to the Expungement of Customer Dispute Information State securities regulators can attend the hearing and introduce their own evidence against expungement. If a broker starts the process and then abandons it, the panel must deny the request with prejudice, so the broker can’t try again. These safeguards make expungement far more difficult than it used to be, but there’s still no way to tell from a report whether past entries were once there.
What to Do When You Find Problems
A report full of disclosures doesn’t automatically mean you should walk away, but certain patterns warrant action. Multiple customer disputes alleging similar misconduct, a regulatory suspension, or a criminal conviction related to investments are reasons to look elsewhere. A single settled complaint from years ago with no repeat is far less concerning.
Call the Firm’s Compliance Department
Every FINRA-registered firm must designate a chief compliance officer.10FINRA. FINRA Rule 3130 – Annual Certification of Compliance and Supervisory Processes If something on the report concerns you, calling compliance and asking for context is a reasonable first step. They may explain that a complaint was denied or that the broker was cleared. They may also refuse to give you details, which tells you something too.
File a Complaint With FINRA
If you believe a broker has engaged in fraud or violated industry rules, you can file a complaint directly through FINRA’s complaint program. FINRA investigates these complaints and can impose fines, suspensions, or a permanent bar from the industry.11FINRA. File a Complaint Published sanction guidelines start at $2,500 for many violation categories and scale up for repeat or serious conduct.12Financial Industry Regulatory Authority. FINRA Sanction Guidelines
Pursue FINRA Arbitration
If you’ve suffered financial losses because of a broker’s misconduct, FINRA arbitration is the standard path for seeking monetary recovery. Most brokerage account agreements require disputes to go through FINRA arbitration rather than court. You must file your claim within six years of the event that caused the harm.13FINRA. FINRA Rule 12206 – Time Limits State statutes of limitations may be shorter and still apply, so waiting close to the deadline is risky. The documentation from a BrokerCheck report makes useful starting evidence when building a case.