CFTC-Regulated Forex Brokers: The NFA Register of US Retail Forex Dealers

The CFTC RED list, and what registration means

The RED list names foreign entities that appear to be acting in a capacity requiring CFTC registration while not being registered with the CFTC. Inclusion is not a finding of a violation, as the CFTC itself makes clear. Entries run from August 21, 2015 to May 29, 2025, when the CFTC added 42 names. Registration and examination of intermediaries are carried out on the CFTC’s behalf by the National Futures Association, under the CFTC’s supervision.

The CFTC warns that you may have little or no protection if you trade with unregistered firms operating outside the United States, and that registration “is no guarantee against fraud or mismanagement.” In my view, before you send money anywhere, you should check the name against this list and then confirm the registration on NFA BASIC, because the two US dispute forums reach registered firms only.

How to check a forex dealer on NFA BASIC

You can run the whole check yourself on NFA BASIC, a free tool, and the CFTC’s own advice is to verify registration before you trade. I would give the most time to the regulatory actions under the NFA ID, because they show you a firm’s dated history at a glance.

1. Search BASIC by firm name or NFA ID, which covers registration, disciplinary or regulatory history, and financial information.
2. Confirm the registration, either Retail Foreign Exchange Dealer or Futures Commission Merchant, and that the record shows “NFA Member Approved”.
3. Confirm the “Forex Dealer Member” designation with its approval date, which the NFA applies to a Member that acts, or offers to act, as counterparty to at least one customer.
4. Read the regulatory actions listed under the NFA ID, with their dates.
5. Check the name against the CFTC’s RED list, and for any securities license, follow BASIC’s own pointer to FINRA’s BrokerCheck.

What the CFTC and NFA require of a forex dealer

Leverage in US retail forex is set as a security deposit, not as a ratio. Under 17 CFR 5.9(a)(1), a forex dealer must collect a minimum security deposit set by the NFA, which cannot be less than 2% of the notional value of the transaction for major currency pairs (50:1, by our arithmetic) and 5% for all other pairs (20:1, by our arithmetic). NFA Financial Requirements Section 12 names the ten major currencies: the British pound, the Swiss franc, the Canadian dollar, the Japanese yen, the euro, the Australian dollar, the New Zealand dollar, the Swedish krona, the Norwegian krone, and the Danish krone. Where a transaction pairs the US dollar with a non-major currency, the deposit is based on the foreign currency, so the dealer collects the non-major deposit on the whole transaction (the NFA’s Forex Transactions Regulatory Guide). A position in USD/MXN therefore takes the non-major deposit, because the Mexican peso is not one of the ten majors. A dealer may charge more than the minimum, so check the margin rate before sizing a position.

FCMs and RFEDs must maintain net capital of $20 million plus 5 percent of the amount, if any, by which liabilities to retail forex customers exceed $10 million (CFTC, Foreign Currency Trading page, read September 23, 2026). In my view this floor is something you can check for yourself, because the obligations table above shows each firm’s adjusted net capital beside its retail forex obligations.

Under NFA Compliance Rule 2-43(b), a Forex Dealer Member may not carry offsetting positions in a customer account and must offset them on a first-in, first-out basis, though at the customer’s request the dealer may offset same-size transactions even where older transactions of a different size are open. The effect is that a long and a short on the same pair cannot sit in one account.

Is forex trading legal in the US?

Yes, forex trading is legal for US residents through a counterparty registered with the CFTC. The CFTC’s final rules on off-exchange retail foreign currency transactions took effect on October 18, 2010, and they require counterparties offering retail foreign currency contracts to register as either a futures commission merchant or a retail foreign exchange dealer, a category those rules created. Entities that are otherwise regulated, such as financial institutions and SEC-registered brokers or dealers, remain able to serve as counterparties under the oversight of their primary regulators. The six CFTC-registered forex dealers that are NFA Forex Dealer Members are on this page, and if you want to compare them on price and platform, our CFTC-regulated forex brokers ranked for US traders page is where I would send you.

Recourse against a registered forex dealer

Both US dispute forums, CFTC reparations and NFA arbitration, reach registered firms only, and that is the practical reason I would verify a firm’s registration before you send it money. A firm on the RED list is by definition not registered, so neither forum reaches it.

CFTC reparations

CFTC reparations, run through the Commission’s Office of Proceedings, provides what the CFTC describes as an inexpensive, expeditious, and fair forum to resolve disputes between derivatives customers and registered trading professionals. If you have tried and cannot resolve the matter directly with the dealer, and your complaint meets the filing requirements, a CFTC Administrative Judge can decide it. You file on the CFTC’s reparations complaint form with a filing fee.

NFA arbitration

NFA arbitration exists so that customers and Members can avoid costly litigation and present their case to an impartial third party or panel. It covers disputes between customers and NFA Members, their employees, and Associates, which includes every firm on this register. You do not need a lawyer to bring a claim.

What SIPC does not cover

SIPC does not protect foreign exchange trades. Cash held at a SIPC member broker-dealer is protected only when it is there to invest in securities, not for another purpose such as foreign exchange trading, and cash held in connection with a commodities trade is not protected either. So if a firm’s marketing leans on SIPC membership, I would treat that as a fact about its securities business, not as protection for your forex balance.

RFED, FCM, FDM and IB: what the registration labels mean

The register uses three CFTC registrations (RFED, FCM, and IB) and one NFA designation (FDM), and each tells you what a firm’s role is. I would look for the “Forex Dealer Member” designation first, because it is the label that tells you a firm can be your counterparty.

• RFED, retail foreign exchange dealer: under 17 CFR 5.1(h)(1), any person that is, or that offers to be, the counterparty to a retail forex transaction, with statutory exceptions.
• FCM, futures commission merchant: one of the two registrations the CFTC’s rules accept for a retail forex counterparty, and also the registration for a futures broker.
• FDM, Forex Dealer Member: an NFA designation, held by a Member that acts as counterparty, or offers to act as counterparty, to at least one customer, and FDMs must be registered as either an FCM or an RFED.
• IB, introducing broker: under 17 CFR 5.1(f)(1), a person who solicits or accepts orders from a customer, other than an eligible contract participant, in connection with retail forex transactions, and tastyfx LLC holds this registration alongside its RFED registration.
• A futures-only FCM: Plus500US Financial Services LLC is a CFTC-registered FCM and an NFA member without the Forex Dealer Member designation, so it appears on the register as a futures firm and is not a counterparty for retail forex.