Start with the country where you live or will use the exchange, then identify the exact legal entity that will provide your service. Check that entity in the relevant official regulator register, review what its status and permissions cover, and separately search the current sanctions sources that apply to you and the transaction. A clean register or sanctions-list search is useful evidence, but neither is a universal certificate that an exchange complies with every sanctions rule.
What can you verify from public records?
Public checks can establish whether a named company appears in a regulator’s register with a particular status or permission, and whether its name appears in the sanctions sources you searched. They cannot reveal every internal control the exchange uses or certify that it will comply with every restriction in every transaction.
Keep the questions separate: Is this company permitted or registered for the service it offers me? and Are this company, relevant owners, counterparties, or this transaction restricted under the sanctions rules that apply? A regulator-register result answers only the first question, and only within the register’s scope.
How to check an exchange step by step
1. Identify the country and service
Write down where you reside, where you will access the service, and what you plan to do: buy or exchange crypto, hold it with a custodian, transfer it, or use another service. More than one country’s rules may matter. The exchange’s country of incorporation alone does not settle which regulator or sanctions authority is relevant.
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2. Find the legal entity in your account documents
Read the customer agreement and, where relevant, the custody or privacy disclosures. Record the exact company name responsible for your account, any company or registration number, the website domain, and contact details. A familiar brand may use different contracting companies in different countries, so searching only the brand name can lead to the wrong result.
3. Search the official regulator register
- Navigate to the regulator’s website yourself and open its official register. Do not rely solely on a badge, screenshot, or register link supplied by the exchange.
- Search the legal entity’s exact name or official reference number. Check whether the entry is current and whether the listed domain and contact details match the exchange information you recorded.
- Read the entry’s status and permitted activities. Confirm that its scope covers the service you intend to use; a company appearing in a register is not enough by itself.
- Check the regulator’s warning notices for the firm or a similarly named business. A matching name without matching details can be a sign of an impersonator or an unrelated company.
4. Search sanctions sources independently
Use the current official sanctions authority and list or search tool for the jurisdiction whose rules apply. Search the exact legal name and known aliases. Where relevant under that jurisdiction’s law, consider ownership or control, counterparties, geography, and the specific transaction—not only whether the exchange’s brand appears on a list.
Absence from one list is not proof that every service or transaction is allowed. Sanctions regimes can include restrictions beyond a simple name match, and a company can operate through multiple entities. If a possible match or ownership issue is unclear, do not treat a brand-level search as clearance.
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5. Check what the register status actually means
Registration for a particular regulatory regime, authorization for a defined activity, and sanctions compliance are different things. Read the regulator’s explanation of the status rather than relying on how the exchange describes it. Also check what consumer protections, if any, the status provides; it may not mean deposits are protected or that compensation or complaint schemes apply.
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Keep a dated note of the entity searched, country, official register and sanctions sources consulted, and the status or scope shown. Recheck shortly before depositing or transacting because firm permissions and sanctions information can change. If the entity is unclear, the service does not fit the recorded scope, or a sanctions result may apply, ask the regulator or a qualified sanctions lawyer for advice specific to your country and circumstances.
How to interpret country-specific examples
The examples below show why the regulator check and sanctions check must remain distinct. They describe U.S. and UK sources and are not universal rules for readers elsewhere.
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| Jurisdiction and official source | What the source helps establish | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| United States: Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) | OFAC says U.S. persons and persons otherwise subject to U.S. jurisdiction have sanctions obligations whether a transaction uses digital currency or traditional fiat. Its guidance describes prohibitions involving blocked persons or property, including entities owned 50 percent or more in aggregate by blocked persons. | OFAC’s industry guidance does not provide consumers with a certificate that an exchange complies. OFAC says companies should tailor risk-based controls to their circumstances and risk profile. |
| United Kingdom: Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) Register | The FCA advises consumers to search by firm name or reference number, check permitted activities and services, and compare contact details. UK authorities also direct firms to the FCA Register or the equivalent register in an exchange’s home jurisdiction. | FCA registration does not itself establish eligibility for Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) or Financial Ombudsman Service protection. |
| United Kingdom: Money Laundering Regulations registration | The FCA says certain cryptoasset services carried on by way of business in the UK require FCA registration under the Money Laundering Regulations. Its guidance says that merely having a UK client does not automatically mean an overseas firm is carrying on business in the UK. | MLR registration is not a general sanctions-compliance certification. The UK authorities say money-laundering controls can help, but sanctions-specific controls may also be appropriate. |
U.S. sanctions guidance is about a risk-based program
OFAC’s 2021 virtual-currency guidance describes measures businesses may use, including sanctions-list and geographic screening, customer and transaction screening, digital-wallet or address screening, IP-address screening, and ongoing screening. It presents these as risk-based controls, not a checklist that lets a consumer certify a company from the outside.
OFAC FAQ 1250, updated May 1, 2026, addresses Iranian digital asset exchanges. It says such exchanges fall within the cited U.S. regulatory definition of Iranian financial institutions and that relevant property within U.S. jurisdiction or in the possession or control of U.S. persons is blocked. This is a specific U.S.-law example; it should not be applied as a blanket rule to unrelated countries or exchanges.
OFAC organizes sanctions through active programs that can be comprehensive or selective. Its program index showed program-specific update dates through October 2, 2026. An old “sanctioned countries” list may therefore miss current program details; use the current official source for the relevant jurisdiction.
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UK crypto regulation has a stated transition date
The FCA says a new UK regime for cryptoasset firms starts on October 25, 2027. That is a UK-specific transition date, not a global deadline and not a substitute for checking the rules and register status that apply today.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.How to compare two exchanges fairly
Use the same evidence for each candidate instead of ranking them by a compliance badge or marketing claim.
| Evidence to compare | What to record |
|---|---|
| Legal entity | Exact contracting company, registration or company number if available, and whether the brand uses different entities for different countries. |
| Jurisdiction and reach | Your residence and use country, the entity’s home jurisdiction, and whether the regulator says its rules cover the service. |
| Register status and scope | Current status, registration or permission type, covered activities, and whether official contact details and domain match. |
| Sanctions exposure | Current official list results and any ownership, control, geographic, counterparty, or transaction restrictions relevant under the applicable law. |
| Transparency and warnings | Whether the terms clearly name the provider, references can be independently verified, and the regulator has issued a relevant warning. |
| Protection limits | What the status does—and does not—say about deposit protection, compensation, complaints, or recovery if something goes wrong. |
When recording a result, state which official record you checked, for which legal entity and jurisdiction, on what date, and what that record covers. That is more informative than calling an exchange “sanctions compliant” based on a single search or badge.
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When a public check is not enough
- The exchange’s terms do not clearly identify the company responsible for your account.
- The register entry belongs to a similarly named company, or its domain and contact details do not match.
- The recorded permissions do not appear to cover the service you plan to use.
- A sanctions search returns a possible name match, or ownership, control, counterparty, or transaction restrictions are uncertain.
- The exchange presents registration as proof of compensation, deposit protection, or broad sanctions clearance without support from the regulator’s explanation.
Pause before depositing or transacting in those circumstances. A regulator or lawyer qualified in the relevant jurisdiction can help resolve whether the company’s status or a particular restriction applies.
International standards are context, not a country-specific clearance
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) publishes risk-based material on virtual assets, including licensing and registration, customer identification, secure information handling, and suspicious-transaction detection and reporting. It provides standards and implementation context; it does not replace a country’s regulator register or sanctions law. FATF listed its seventh targeted implementation update as published July 16, 2026.
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