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How to Verify a Company’s SEBI Registration and Enforcement History

A practical, source-based method to check SEBI registration, interpret enforcement orders and use SCORES without mistaking complaints for findings.
From TheFinanceBase Team12 min to read
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To verify a company, first identify the exact legal or trade name, the service it is offering and any claimed SEBI registration number. Search that information in SEBI’s Recognised Intermediaries directory, matching the result’s category and identity details. Then search SEBI’s Enforcement Orders records for the entity and read each relevant order, including its procedural type, date, findings and operative directions. Use SCORES only as supplementary grievance context—not as a registration register or a complete disciplinary-history database.

A name appearing in one SEBI category does not authorise every financial service, and a blank search result does not by itself prove fraud or clean conduct. The reliable answer comes from matching the firm’s identity and regulated activity, then checking the underlying regulatory documents and any later appeal, stay, settlement or court development.

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What SEBI registration actually tells you

SEBI registration is tied to a regulated intermediary category and the activity covered by that category. “Company” is not a single SEBI registration class. A business may be a stock broker, investment adviser, research analyst, portfolio manager, registrar and transfer agent, merchant banker, alternative investment fund manager or another listed intermediary type. Each category has its own regulatory requirements and scope.

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That distinction matters when a promoter says, for example, that the business is “SEBI approved.” The statement may refer to a particular entity, a related group company, an individual associated with the business, or a registration that covers a different service. A registration in one category does not establish authorisation for every product, recommendation or transaction the business advertises.

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SEBI’s Recognised Intermediaries directory displayed 4,998 registered stock brokers in the equity segment on October 12, 2026. That is a category count on that date, not a count of unique firms across all SEBI categories and not evidence about any particular company. Directory totals can change as registrations are granted, surrendered, suspended or otherwise updated.

Collect the firm’s identity before you search

Do not begin with a shortened brand name from an advertisement. Record the details that let you distinguish the business from similarly named entities.

  • Exact legal name: Copy the name from the engagement letter, invoice, account-opening form, website terms, bank details or company disclosure.
  • Trade name: Note the public-facing name if it differs from the legal entity.
  • Claimed registration number: Record every letter, number, slash and punctuation mark exactly as shown.
  • Regulated service: Write down whether the firm claims to provide investment advice, research, broking, portfolio management, fund management, issue-related services or another activity.
  • Contact and payment identity: Preserve the domain, email address, phone number, bank-account name and payment instructions. These details help you detect an impersonator using a genuine firm’s name.
  • Associated people and entities: Capture the names of advisers, directors, group companies or app providers mentioned in the solicitation, without assuming that an individual’s registration belongs to the company.

Take screenshots or save PDFs showing the offer and the claimed credentials. A firm can change a webpage after you question it, and an impersonator may remove a misleading page once a payment is made.

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Step 1: Search the Recognised Intermediaries directory

Open the official intermediary search

SEBI’s Recognised Intermediaries page provides searches by member name or trade name and by registration number. It also lists the intermediary categories. Start with the exact legal name when you have it. If the legal-name search produces no useful result, try the trade name and known spelling variants, then repeat the search with the claimed registration number.

Use the category selector or category information to keep the search tied to the service being offered. A result for a stock broker should not be treated as proof that the same entity is registered as an investment adviser. If the firm advertises several services, verify each service separately and ask which legal entity performs each one.

Match the returned particulars, not just the name

Compare the directory result with the information you collected:

  • full legal name and any trade name;
  • registration number;
  • intermediary category;
  • address or other listed particulars;
  • the status or other information shown in the official record.

A similar name is only a lead. Fraudsters commonly copy a legitimate entity’s name, logo or registration number while directing customers to a different phone number, website or bank account. The legal name in the directory should correspond to the entity in your contract and to the name receiving money. Differences should be resolved with the firm through independently obtained contact details, not through a phone number supplied only in the solicitation.

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What a missing result means

No result is a reason to pause, not a final legal conclusion. Recheck punctuation, abbreviations, old and new legal names, trade names and the registration number. Confirm that the business is actually claiming to perform a regulated intermediary activity. Some companies are ordinary service providers, listed issuers or technology vendors rather than SEBI-registered intermediaries; a missing intermediary entry may therefore be unsurprising.

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If the firm is clearly selling a service that ordinarily requires registration and still cannot be matched after those checks, do not send money or share sensitive account credentials while the discrepancy remains. Ask for the precise legal entity and category in writing. A refusal, evasive answer or demand for immediate payment is a material warning sign, although it is not itself a SEBI finding.

Step 2: Search SEBI Enforcement Orders

Use the entity-name search and sensible variants

SEBI’s Enforcement Orders search interface accepts title, keyword and entity-name searches. Search the exact legal name first. Then search the trade name, former name, common abbreviation and any major spelling variant. If a group has several legal entities, search each entity separately and search the names of prominent associated persons when the order or solicitation identifies them.

Search results are indexes, not substitutes for the documents. Open every potentially relevant order and confirm that the named party is the same legal entity you are evaluating. A similar name, a group-company reference or a person with the same surname can produce a misleading match.

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Read the order itself

For each relevant document, record:

  • the date of the order;
  • the exact party or parties named;
  • the conduct examined and the period involved;
  • whether the document describes allegations, findings, admissions or another procedural posture;
  • the operative direction, such as a penalty, prohibition, disgorgement, suspension, remedial requirement or dismissal;
  • any stated settlement, consent, withdrawal or other resolution;
  • references to earlier or later proceedings.

Do not convert every result into the sentence “SEBI found the company guilty.” An interim direction, a show-cause or adjudication proceeding, a settlement order, an appellate order and a court order have different meanings. Describe the document using its own terms and distinguish an allegation from an established finding.

How to interpret different enforcement records

SEBI’s enforcement index includes several kinds of records. They should not be treated as interchangeable.

Record type What it can show What you must not assume from it alone
Adjudicating-officer order The outcome of an adjudication proceeding and any monetary penalty or other direction stated in that order. That every allegation in the underlying notice was established, or that the order remains unchanged after an appeal.
Chairperson or Member order Directions made by SEBI’s decision-maker, which may include interim, final or remedial measures depending on the document. That the order has the same procedural effect as a penalty order or a court judgment.
Settlement order That the matter was resolved under a settlement process and the terms or directions stated in the document. That a settlement is an admission of every alleged violation or proof that no compliance issue existed.
SAT order An appellate tribunal’s decision concerning an appeal from a SEBI action. That the original SEBI order should be read without the tribunal’s reasoning, scope or disposition.
Court order A judicial decision or direction connected with the matter. That a court reference automatically confirms or cancels every regulatory allegation.

The table is a reading guide, not a substitute for the language of a particular document. Quote or paraphrase only what the order actually decides.

Check what happened after an old order

An enforcement search is a moving record. A party may appeal to the Securities Appellate Tribunal, seek a stay, obtain a modification, enter a settlement or become subject to a later order. Before describing an old order as currently operative, search later SEBI, SAT or court records referenced in the document or associated with the same proceeding.

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Keep the procedural timeline separate from the merits:

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  1. Identify the original notice or order and its date.
  2. Read the operative directions in that document.
  3. Look for a later appellate, settlement or court record.
  4. Check whether the later record confirms, varies, stays, remands or sets aside the earlier action.
  5. State the status as of the date you checked, and preserve the documents supporting that statement.

The available public search instructions explain how to locate these records; they do not establish the present status of an unnamed company. A company-specific conclusion requires a current lookup of the live records.

Use SCORES for complaint context, not as a clearance certificate

SEBI describes SCORES as “an online grievance redressal facilitation platform provided by SEBI.” It facilitates investor complaints concerning listed companies, SEBI-registered intermediaries and market infrastructure institutions. Its guidance tells investors to approach the company or intermediary first, then use the platform if the matter is not resolved.

SCORES can help you understand whether an entity has appeared in the platform’s grievance process and can help identify an entity for complaint handling. It does not replace the Recognised Intermediaries directory, and a complaint is not by itself a finding that the firm violated securities law. Conversely, the absence of a complaint entry does not prove that the firm has no enforcement history.

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Understand the entity-status caveat

The SCORES entity-status page says its data is collected from stock exchanges or the Ministry of Corporate Affairs, warns that inaccuracies may occur and marks non-authenticated companies with an asterisk. Treat that information as a supplementary identity check. Confirm registration in SEBI’s intermediary directory and confirm enforcement history in the actual orders.

Know what SCORES does not accept

The SCORES FAQ says the platform cannot consider certain complaints, including anonymous complaints, incomplete or unspecified complaints and unsupported allegations. That limitation makes the database unsuitable as an exhaustive list of misconduct. A rejected, incomplete or never-filed complaint can leave no useful entry even when an investor has a genuine dispute.

Account for the portal change

The current SCORES site states that the old site stopped accepting new complaints on March 28, 2024. Some complaints that were pending on that date may remain viewable in the old system. When checking an older matter, follow the portal’s instructions for viewing legacy records and note which system supplied the information.

Registration, enforcement and complaints answer different questions

Record Question it helps answer Question it cannot answer by itself
Recognised Intermediaries directory Does the named intermediary appear in a SEBI registration category, and what identity and category details are listed? Does it have a clean enforcement history, or is it authorised for every activity it advertises?
Enforcement Orders search Has SEBI published an order involving the entity, and what does that specific order say? What is the present status of an old order without checking later appeals, stays or subsequent orders?
SCORES entity and complaint resources Is the entity identifiable within the grievance platform, and are there complaint records within its scope? Is the entity registered, did a complaint allegation occur, or is the entity free of regulatory action?

A practical verification worksheet

Use one worksheet per company so that similarly named businesses do not get mixed together.

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  1. Copy the solicitation: Save the webpage, message, brochure, contract and payment instructions.
  2. Write the identity: Enter the legal name, trade name, claimed number, service, address, phone and payment-account name.
  3. Search the directory: Run legal-name, trade-name and registration-number searches. Record the category and all matching particulars.
  4. Reconcile differences: Mark every mismatch in legal name, category, number, address or payment identity. Do not treat an unresolved mismatch as verified.
  5. Search enforcement records: Run exact-name and variant searches. Download the underlying orders that appear relevant.
  6. Build a timeline: Put each order, appeal, settlement, stay or court record in date order and label its procedural type.
  7. Check SCORES separately: Note any entity or grievance information, the authentication marker and the portal version used.
  8. Make a bounded conclusion: State only what the records establish—for example, that the entity appears in a particular category, that a dated order contains specified directions, or that identity could not be matched.
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Common mistakes and how to correct them

Searching only the marketing name

Problem: A brand name may not be the registered legal entity, and an impersonator may use a genuine brand.

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Correction: Obtain the legal name and registration number from formal documents, then match the directory entry to the contract and payment recipient.

Assuming one category covers every service

Problem: A firm may show a valid registration while promoting an activity outside that category.

Correction: Map each advertised service to the category that authorises it and verify the entity performing that service.

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Treating a search snippet as the result

Problem: A snippet may omit parties, dates, directions or procedural status.

Correction: Open and save the complete order, then read the operative portion and any cited later proceeding.

Calling every proceeding a finding of guilt

Problem: Notices, interim directions, settlements, appeals and court records have different legal effects.

Correction: Name the document type and describe the result using neutral, document-based language.

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Using SCORES as a clean-record search

Problem: SCORES is a facilitative complaint platform with scope and data-quality limits.

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Correction: Use it for grievance context only; use the directory and enforcement orders for registration and regulatory history.

Stopping at the first old order

Problem: A later appeal, stay, settlement or court ruling may change the practical status.

Correction: Search forward from the original date and report the latest confirmed procedural position.

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What a verified registration still does not guarantee

A matching directory entry confirms that the named entity appears in a SEBI category with listed particulars. It does not guarantee investment performance, solvency, suitability of a recommendation, absence of complaints or absence of enforcement proceedings. It also does not prove that every person contacting you works for that entity.

Continue ordinary investor-protection checks: confirm that communications come through independently verified channels, ensure the contract names the same legal entity, understand fees and conflicts, and avoid sharing passwords, one-time codes or remote-access control. Registration verification is an identity and regulatory-scope check, not a promise that a proposed investment will make money.

How to write a responsible company-specific conclusion

A useful conclusion is narrow and dated. It should identify the entity searched, the category checked, the documents found and the limits of the result.

  • Registration: “The legal entity [named in the document] appears in the directory under [category], with registration number [number] and the particulars shown there.” Put any variable or copied text in your own records; do not silently substitute a trade name for the legal entity.
  • No match: “The searches of the legal name, trade name and claimed number did not produce a matching entry as checked on [date]. This does not establish fraud; the entity and activity need to be clarified.”
  • Enforcement: “The dated [order type] names [entity] and states [documented conduct and direction]. A later search found [appeal, stay, settlement or no later record located], subject to the limits of the public index.”
  • Complaints: “SCORES contains [the record found] within its platform scope. That is complaint context, not a finding that the allegation is true.”

Avoid calling a company “SEBI-approved,” “clean” or “fraudulent” unless a specific official document supports that exact characterization. Explain the evidence and its boundary instead.

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When to pause a transaction

Stop and seek independent advice before paying if the firm refuses to provide its legal identity, gives a number that cannot be matched, claims a registration in the wrong category, directs money to an unrelated account, pressures you to act before verification or dismisses a discrepancy without documentation. Preserve the evidence and report suspected impersonation or investor harm through the appropriate official channels. Do not wait for a complaint record to appear before protecting your account and funds.

For a live decision, repeat the searches immediately before acting. Directory entries, enforcement indexes and complaint portals change, and a result that was accurate months ago may no longer describe the entity’s current status.

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