How to Check a Broker or Firm's Background and Disciplinary Record on FINRA.org

Updated

FINRA.org provides two separate lookup paths for this: BrokerCheck for researching a broker or firm's background, and a disciplinary actions lookup for FINRA enforcement actions. Use BrokerCheck when you want a person's or firm's registration and employment history; use the disciplinary actions search when you want to find formal FINRA actions. Both are reachable from the FINRA homepage.

BrokerCheck: Researching a Broker or Firm

BrokerCheck is the tool FINRA points investors to for researching a broker or firm. On the FINRA homepage, the entry point is labeled "Research a Broker or Firm" with a "Search Brokercheck" action.

What to do

  1. Go to finra.org.
  2. Find the "Research a Broker or Firm" area on the homepage.
  3. Select "Search Brokercheck."
  4. Enter the name of the individual broker or the firm you want to check.
  5. Review the results for the matching person or firm.

Expected result: You reach BrokerCheck's search interface and can pull up records tied to a named broker or firm. The homepage itself does not list what each record contains, so treat the specific fields you see as defined by BrokerCheck, not by the homepage.

When to use it

  • You are about to work with a specific broker and want their background.
  • You want to confirm a firm's identity or history before doing business.
  • You have a name and want the most direct person-or-firm lookup.

Disciplinary Actions Lookup

FINRA also offers a dedicated entry point for disciplinary actions, labeled "Look up FINRA Disciplinary Actions" on the homepage. This is a separate path from BrokerCheck.

What to do

  1. Go to finra.org.
  2. Find "Look up FINRA Disciplinary Actions."
  3. Follow that link to the disciplinary actions search.
  4. Search for the firm or individual.

Expected result: You reach FINRA's disciplinary actions lookup rather than a general broker profile. Use this when your question is specifically about enforcement or disciplinary history.

Search Cases

The homepage also lists "Search Cases" as its own entry point, alongside the disciplinary actions lookup. The site presents these as separate searches, so if one path does not surface what you need, try the other. The homepage does not spell out how the two result sets differ, so compare what each returns for your name rather than assuming they are the same database.

Choosing the Right Entry Point

Your goal Use this entry point
Background on a specific broker or firm Research a Broker or Firm → Search Brokercheck
Formal FINRA disciplinary actions Look up FINRA Disciplinary Actions
Case-related searching Search Cases

Common Snags

  • Starting in the wrong search. BrokerCheck and the disciplinary actions lookup are distinct. If you want a broker's history, start with BrokerCheck; if you want enforcement records, start with the disciplinary lookup.
  • Name ambiguity. Common names can return multiple matches. Confirm you have the right person or firm before relying on a record.
  • Expecting one search to cover everything. The homepage treats these as separate tools, so a single search may not surface every relevant record.

Related Resources on the Site

The homepage also points to FINRA's 2026 Industry Snapshot, which shares an annual snapshot of data collected about FINRA-registered firms and individuals to increase public understanding of the range of registered firms and people. It is context, not a substitute for a name-specific lookup.