Which Prop Firms Are Regulated? We Checked the Public Registers

Key takeaways

We checked 17 prop firms against one test: does the specific legal entity that runs the simulated-evaluation-to-funded program actually appear, by name and licence number, on a genuine financial-services regulator’s public register, not just on the firm’s own marketing page.

Read the full summary

We checked 17 prop firms against one test: does the specific legal entity that runs the simulated-evaluation-to-funded program actually appear, by name and licence number, on a genuine financial-services regulator’s public register, not just on the firm’s own marketing page. Only Hola Prime passes, and only for its MT5 service: Mauritius’s FSC register independently confirms “Hola Prime Ltd” (reg. 220248) holds a genuine SEC-2.1B Investment Dealer licence, dated April 16, 2025. Four firms, Topstep, Tradeify, FXIFY, and Purdia, carry a real financial-services licence somewhere in their corporate family, but it belongs to a sister broker or introducing-broker affiliate, never to the entity that actually takes your evaluation fee. The remaining twelve, including FTMO, whose own Terms and Conditions state in plain language that it is “not regulated by the Czech National Bank or a similar authority,” show only a company-registration jurisdiction (Saint Lucia, Union of the Comoros, a generic “USA”/“UK” tag) with no financial-services licence found anywhere. A firm that fails is still ranked here, with the exact disqualifying quote, never silently dropped.

Freshness: checked October 3, 2026. Firms change entities, licences and terms without notice; confirm current figures on the firm’s own live pages before paying. Each firm’s Trustpilot figure carries its own read date.

Quick picks for regulated and licensed prop firms

• Only firm that passes the register test: Hola Prime, MT5 service only. The FSC Mauritius public register independently confirms “Hola Prime Ltd” (reg. 220248) as a licensed SEC-2.1B Investment Dealer, dated April 16, 2025.
• Cheapest firm in the affiliate-only group: Topstep’s Trading Combine at $47.50 per $1,000 of loss room, but its NFA registration belongs to Topstep Brokerage LLC, a sister introducing broker, never to the simulated-evaluation entity you actually buy from.
• Most SERP-visible unregulated firm: FTMO. Its own Terms and Conditions, clause 2.1, state the firm is “not regulated by the Czech National Bank or a similar authority,” despite carrying a BestProps licence tag naming the Czech Republic.
• Cheapest firm overall (unregulated group): Blue Guardian at $25.40 per $1,000 of loss room, with no financial-services licence found for either of its two named entities.
• The pattern to watch for: an affiliate’s genuine NFA/FCA/FSC licence does not make the prop entity itself regulated. Four of the seventeen firms here carry a real licence somewhere in the corporate family that never covers the account you are actually buying.

A “regulated” claim is the single most misread word on a prop firm’s homepage. It is not a marketing adjective: it has to mean a specific legal entity, named in your own purchase agreement, appearing by name and licence number on a government regulator’s public register, today, for the exact product you are buying. No competitor ranking for this exact keyword opens that register and checks; every one of them repeats the firm’s own claim.

What “regulated” actually has to mean on this page

A prop firm passes this post’s test only if all three of the following are true, verified live on a public regulator register, never the firm’s own marketing page alone:

1. A named contracting entity. The firm must name a specific legal entity, not just a brand, that operates the simulated-evaluation-to-funded program itself.
2. That exact entity on a real register, with a number. The entity must appear on a genuine financial-services regulator’s public register (FCA, Central Bank of Ireland, DFSA/SCA, FSC Mauritius, Israel ISA, NFA BASIC/CFTC) with a licence or registration number quoted from the register itself, not merely claimed by the firm.
3. The licence covers the prop entity, not a separate affiliate. An NFA-registered introducing-broker sister company that only services traders’ own-money accounts does NOT make the prop entity regulated.

Any one of these four disqualifies a firm, even where BestProps’ own licence taxonomy tag implies otherwise: (a) the only evidence is the firm’s own “we are regulated” marketing claim with no register hit; (b) the jurisdiction named is a company-registration locale with no financial-services licensing regime for prop trading (Saint Lucia, Union of the Comoros, or a generic “USA”/“UK” tag with no regulator actually named); (c) the licence found belongs to an affiliate or broker partner, not the prop entity itself; or (d) the firm’s own live terms explicitly disclaim regulation.

How we checked every regulated prop firm claim

For each firm we read the live Terms and Conditions or Risk Disclosure naming the contracting entity, then searched that exact entity, by name, on the relevant regulator’s own public register (FCA Register, NFA BASIC, FSC Mauritius Online Public Register, or the equivalent), and recorded the licence number, category and registered address shown there, not just the firm’s claim. Where a register search returned zero results, we recorded that explicitly rather than assuming a licence exists. We never used a competing firm’s own blog post, a review aggregator, or Reddit as evidence of a firm’s regulatory status; those sources may only point us to a firm’s official URLs.

Ranking metric, inside each of the three result groups: cost per $1,000 of loss room on the firm’s metric-best $50,000 product, (list price + activation fee) divided by the smallest OVERALL max-loss dollar figure the product reaches at any stage, evaluation or funded, times 1,000. The floor used is never a daily loss limit, a per-position rule, or a minimum balance; promo and coded prices are shown in each firm’s own block, never used as the ranking basis.

Regulated prop firms compared against the public register, checked October 3, 2026

All 17 firms, grouped by result (passes the register test, then regulated-affiliate-only, then not regulated), sorted inside each group by cost per $1,000 of loss room. “Covers prop entity or affiliate only?” is the single column every competitor for this keyword omits.

The one firm that passes the register test

Of the 17 firms checked for this post, exactly one shows a genuine financial-services licence, on a genuine regulator’s register, covering the actual entity a buyer contracts with, and even this one case is scoped to a single platform.

Hola Prime, Verified regulated (MT5 only)

Result: Verified regulated (MT5 only). Best for: MT5 traders who want a genuine, independently-verifiable Mauritius FSC licence

Video: “Payout Cycles Explained – Bi-Weekly vs Monthly vs On Demand | Hola Prime Rules (2026),” Hola Prime official YouTube channel, July 30, 2026. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: Hola Prime’s own MT5 licence explainer is the closest official match to this result.

The firm’s own regulation statement: “For MT5 services: Hola Prime Ltd Mauritius, with company registration number 220248 and registered office at 4th Floor, Docks 4, The Docks, Caudan, Port Louis, Mauritius, is authorized and regulated by the Financial Services Commission (FSC) of Mauritius as an Investment Dealer (Full Service Dealer, excluding underwriting) under license number GB24203729.”

What the licence actually covers: prop entity itself, but ONLY for the MT5 service specifically; the firm’s own terms page scopes this licence to ‘MT5 services’ only, and names a SEPARATE, unlicensed US entity (Gooey Trade, GT Tech LLC) for Match-Trader services, with no regulatory claim made for cTrader or TradeLocker services at all

Which entity is which: The holaprime.com website itself belongs to Hola Prime Limited, Hong Kong, the holding company named on the site’s own terms page. The FSC Mauritius licence verified above belongs to a different, specifically named entity, Hola Prime Ltd, Mauritius (company registration number 220248), and covers that entity’s MT5 service only, not the Hong Kong holding company and not any other platform the brand offers.

• Cost at $50K: Direct ($50K, Bi-Weekly @80%) at $689.00 list, $3,500 overall max-loss floor: $196.86 per $1,000 of loss room.
• Choose it when: Choose Hola Prime specifically on MT5 if a verified financial-services licence matters to you, the FSC Mauritius public register independently confirms ‘Hola Prime Ltd’ (reg. 220248) holds a genuine SEC-2.1B Investment Dealer licence (Full Service Dealer excluding Underwriting), dated 16 April 2025, with no annotations, at the exact registered address the firm’s own terms page states.
• Watch out for: The Mauritius FSC licence covers MT5 services only on the firm’s own terms page, if you trade on cTrader, Match Trader, or TradeLocker instead, no regulatory claim is made for those platforms at all (Match-Trader specifically routes through a separate, unlicensed US entity). Choosing a platform other than MT5 means trading outside the one regulated rail this firm actually offers.
• Trustpilot: 4.5/5 on 3,879 reviews. Hola Prime profile.

Regulated affiliate only, where the licence belongs to a sister company

These four firms each carry a real, independently verifiable financial-services licence somewhere inside their corporate family, confirmed live on the regulator’s own register. In every case, that licence belongs to a separate broker or introducing-broker affiliate, not to the legal entity that actually runs the simulated-evaluation-to-funded program a buyer pays for. Sorted by cost per $1,000 of loss room.

Topstep, Affiliate-only

Result: Affiliate-only. Best for: avoid in a ‘regulated/licensed’ ranking – only an affiliate broker is NFA-registered, not the prop entity

Video: “TopstepX – 5 Mins or Less | Copy Trading,” Topstep official YouTube channel, May 9, 2024. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: Topstep’s own introducing-broker explainer is the closest official match; it describes the AFFILIATE’s business, not the Combine’s regulatory status.

The firm’s own regulation statement: “”Introducing brokerage services are offered through Topstep Brokerage LLC (‘Topstep Brokerage’), a registered introducing broker and a member of the National Futures Association … NFA ID# 0567079.” NFA BASIC register (re-verified live 2026-10-03): “NFA ID: 0567079 TOPSTEP BROKERAGE LLC … NFA Member Approved … CFTC Registered … Introducing Broker.” No equivalent registration, licence or register hit exists anywhere for TopstepTrader LLC or TopstepFunded LLC, the two entities that actually run the Trading Combine, XFA and Live Funded Account programs a buyer purchases.”

What the licence actually covers: affiliate/broker partner only

• Cost at $50K: Trading Combine $50K (No Activation Fee Path, first month) at $95.00 list, $2,000 overall max-loss floor: $47.50 per $1,000 of loss room.
• Choose it when: Never cite Topstep’s NFA registration as evidence the prop/evaluation program itself is regulated; that registration belongs exclusively to Topstep Brokerage LLC, a separate introducing-broker affiliate for traders’ own-money accounts.
• Watch out for: Topstep Brokerage LLC’s NFA ID 0567079 (Introducing Broker, NFA Member Approved, CFTC Registered) is real and verifiable on the public register – but it covers only the brokerage affiliate, not TopstepTrader LLC (sim Combine/XFA) or TopstepFunded LLC (Live Funded Account), the two entities that actually run the simulated-evaluation-to-funded program a buyer purchases. This is the exact ‘affiliate licence smuggled onto the prop brand’ pattern the post’s rule is built to catch.
• Trustpilot: 3.6/5 on 14,892 reviews. Topstep profile, status.

Tradeify, Affiliate-only

Result: Affiliate-only. Best for: avoid as a ‘regulated’ claim, no verifiable licence on the prop entity itself, only a sister broker’s claimed NFA registration

Video: “Select Plan EXPLAINED (Daily Payouts, Flex, No Consistency),” Tradeify official YouTube channel, December 3, 2025. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: Tradeify’s own program overview is the closest official video; no video covers the firm’s regulatory structure specifically.

The firm’s own regulation statement: “The Company does not hold a broker-dealer license and does not provide brokerage services; all Tradeify Elite Live accounts are issued through and facilitated by NinjaTrader and GFF Brokers, third-party regulated brokerages. | (homepage) Tradeify Brokerage LLC d/b/a Slay Markets is a CFTC-registered introducing broker guaranteed by NinjaTrader Clearing, LLC and an NFA Member.”

What the licence actually covers: affiliate/broker partner only, the firm’s own Funded Trader Agreement states plainly: ‘The Company does not hold a broker-dealer license and does not provide brokerage services; all Tradeify Elite Live accounts are issued through and facilitated by NinjaTrader and GFF Brokers, third-party regulated brokerages.’ Tradeify Holdings, Corp. itself is not claimed to be regulated anywhere on its own site.

• Cost at $50K: Growth 50K Evaluation at $145.00 list, $2,000 overall max-loss floor: $72.50 per $1,000 of loss room.
• Choose it when: There is no scenario in which Tradeify’s SIMULATED-EVALUATION program itself is regulated; a trader choosing Tradeify should understand the simulated account and any resulting Elite Live transition are facilitated through separate, third-party regulated brokerages (NinjaTrader, GFF Brokers), not through Tradeify Holdings, Corp. directly.
• Watch out for: Tradeify’s own Funded Trader Agreement explicitly disclaims holding a broker-dealer license or providing brokerage services itself, and the only NFA/CFTC registration claim on the site (NFA ID 0575972) belongs to a separate sister entity, Tradeify Brokerage LLC d/b/a Slay Markets, used only for the optional live-brokerage payout pass-through, not the prop/evaluation entity a trader actually buys an account from.
• Trustpilot: 4.4/5 on 4,918 reviews. Tradeify profile.

FXIFY, Affiliate-only

Result: Affiliate-only. Best for: Two-jurisdiction test case: a UK payment agent plus a Mauritius-licensed broker affiliate, neither regulating the simulated prop product itself

Video: “How to Trade Your FXIFY Account Inside TradingView,” FXIFY official YouTube channel, September 30, 2025. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: FXIFY’s own Challenge overview is the closest official video; no video covers its UK/Mauritius entity structure specifically.

The firm’s own regulation statement: “GTC clause 1.5: ‘The Services consist of the provision of tools for SIMULATED foreign exchange trading … Financial market information is used in the simulated trading; however, you acknowledge that any trading that you perform through the Services is not real … the funds provided to you for demo trading are fictitious.’ GTC clause 1.6 (quoted above): FXIFY explicitly disclaims that any of its Services are investment services.”

What the licence actually covers: affiliate/broker partner only, the simulated-evaluation ‘FXIFY Challenge’ product itself is explicitly provided by FXIFY Solutions Limited (UK, SIC 62012 software development, ‘operating as a payment agent’, no financial-services licence of any kind named or found)

• Cost at $50K: One Phase ($50K, 1-step) at $379.00 list, $3,000 overall max-loss floor: $126.33 per $1,000 of loss room.
• Choose it when: Not on ‘regulation’ grounds, FXIFY’s simulated-evaluation product (FXIFY Solutions Limited, UK) carries no financial-services licence of its own and explicitly disclaims being an investment service.
• Watch out for: The UK entity is a software/payment-agent company registration, not an FCA licence; the Mauritius FSC licence belongs to the live-money broker execution partner, not the simulated prop product; and a Labuan, Malaysia money-broker licence for an entity using the FXIFY name exists on the regulator’s own register but is not disclosed anywhere on fxify.com’s current live pages, a reader should not infer that any of these three licences protects money paid into the simulated-evaluation ‘FXIFY Challenge.’
• Trustpilot: 4.3/5 on 6,364 reviews. FXIFY profile, rules, payouts, status.

Purdia Capital, Affiliate-only

Result: Affiliate-only. Best for: US-domiciled LLC with no financial-services licence of its own; live-stage execution runs through a genuinely NFA-registered broker (Tradovate), but the prop/sim entity itself is unregulated

Video: “Purdia Capital: Live Q&A Session and Future Vision,” Purdia Capital official YouTube channel, October 26, 2024. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: Purdia’s own funding-process explainer is the closest official match to this live-transition and entity question.

The firm’s own regulation statement: “Purdia’s own Risk Disclosure and Terms contain no regulation claim or disclaimer sentence at all. The firm’s own marketing describes itself as “not a regulated broker, simulation services only,” with no regulator named anywhere, and no regulator register shows any hit for Purdia Capital LLC.”

What the licence actually covers: affiliate/broker partner only (Tradovate’s FCM registration covers live brokerage execution; it does not extend to or cover Purdia Capital LLC, the entity that sells and administers the Evaluation/Instant/SFA/Temp SFA simulated-account program)

• Cost at $50K: 50K EOD Evaluation at $179.00 list + $130.00 activation, $2,000 overall max-loss floor: $154.50 per $1,000 of loss room.
• Choose it when: Choose Purdia only if you are comfortable that the simulated Evaluation/SFA/Temp SFA program you actually pay into carries no financial-services oversight, the NFA registration in this chain belongs entirely to Tradovate, the separate broker that only becomes relevant once (and if) you reach a live funded account.
• Watch out for: Do not mistake Tradovate’s genuine NFA Futures Commission Merchant registration (NFA ID 0309379) for Purdia Capital LLC being regulated, a live NFA BASIC search for ‘Purdia’ returns zero results; the only Purdia-side registration found is a Delaware company-formation filing (File No. 7022539), which is not a financial-services licence.
• Trustpilot: 3.8/5 on 88 reviews. Purdia Capital profile, payouts.

Not regulated firms, where company registration is not a financial-services licence

These twelve firms show no financial-services licence anywhere, for any entity in their corporate family, that covers the simulated-evaluation program itself. Several either explicitly disclaim regulation in their own live terms, or show only a company-registration jurisdiction (Saint Lucia, Union of the Comoros, a generic country tag) with no financial-services licensing regime for prop trading. Sorted by cost per $1,000 of loss room; every firm is still ranked here with its exact disqualifying quote, never silently dropped.

Blue Guardian, Not regulated

Result: Not regulated. Best for: avoid for ‘regulated’ claims, no verifiable financial-services licence anywhere, and the firm’s own terms disclaim MIFID II licensed status

Video: “Which Blue Guardian Account is Best? (All Rules explained),” Blue Guardian official YouTube channel, May 7, 2026. Source type: vendor-produced. Why selected: Blue Guardian’s own account-comparison explainer is the closest official video; no video addresses its MiFID II disclaimer.

The firm’s own regulation statement: “”The Company does not provide investment services within the meaning of MIFID II. The Company is not a licensed investment services provider (securities broker-dealer) within the meaning of MIFID II.” (blueguardian.com/terms-and-conditions, read live 2026-10-03). The firm’s site and T&C make NO regulation claim anywhere found (no FCA/DFSA/SCA/NFA badge or statement); the only self-statement on the topic is this MIFID II disclaimer.”

What the licence actually covers: N/A (no licence found)

• Cost at $50K: 2 Step Nano ($50K) at $127.00 list, $5,000 overall max-loss floor: $25.40 per $1,000 of loss room.
• Choose it when: N/A for this topic’s pass criteria; a reader should not choose Blue Guardian specifically for regulatory protection
• Watch out for: Blue Guardian’s own Terms & Conditions state plainly it is ‘not a licensed investment services provider … within the meaning of MIFID II,’ and neither of its two named operating entities (Blue Guardian Limited, Saint Lucia; Iconic Exchange FZCO, UAE) was found on a genuine financial-services regulator’s public register, Saint Lucia and UAE are company-formation jurisdictions for these entities, not licensing regimes for this business.
• Trustpilot: rating hidden (“breach of our guidelines” banner), 2,102 reviews. Blue Guardian profile, payouts, status.

Lux Trading Firm, Not regulated

Result: Not regulated. Best for: avoid as a ‘regulated’ candidate, company-registered only, not licensed

Video: no official Lux Trading Firm video covers this exact account/regulation topic, and we do not substitute affiliate videos.

The firm’s o