Interactive Brokers licence numbers

Interactive Brokers' UK licence number is FCA 208159, held by Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited and authorised since 6 February 2002. It is a real, clean, long-held authorisation. It is also not where your account sits. IBKR's own UK disclaimers page says your account is "cleared and carried by Interactive Brokers LLC", the US broker-dealer, and that products "are only covered by the UK FSCS in limited circumstances".

The numbers, by market

Five entities verified at the regulator's own source.

Where you sign up	Company	Licence	If it fails
United Kingdom	Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited	FCA 208159, Authorised 06/02/2002	SIPC, not FSCS, in most cases
European Union	Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited	Central Bank of Ireland C423427	Irish ICS, 90% to €20,000
United States, and the carrying broker for UK clients	Interactive Brokers LLC	SEC 8-47257, FINRA CRD 36418	SIPC $500,000, $250,000 cash sublimit
Singapore	Interactive Brokers Singapore Pte. Ltd.	MAS CMS100917	None
Australia	Interactive Brokers Australia Pty. Ltd.	AFSL 453554	Declared by IBKR, not verified by us

Why the FCA number does not mean what you think

Most UK-authorised brokers hold your money themselves. The FCA register records that permission, and it is what puts you inside the Financial Services Compensation Scheme at £85,000.

IBKR's UK entity does hold that permission. But the group routes UK client accounts to the US broker-dealer, and IBKR says so in its own words:

"Your account is cleared and carried by Interactive Brokers LLC and for certain limited products by Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited. Interactive Brokers LLC is regulated by the US SEC and CFTC and is a member of the SIPC compensation scheme. Products are only covered by the UK FSCS in limited circumstances."

"Limited circumstances" is never defined. What applies instead is SIPC, and its terms differ in ways that matter on this site:

	FSCS (UK)	SIPC (US)
Limit	£85,000	$500,000
Cash sublimit	None separate	$250,000
Covers forex?	Yes, where the activity is regulated	No
Covers futures?	Yes, where the activity is regulated	No

SIPC's own wording excludes "commodity futures contracts (unless held in a special portfolio margining account), or foreign exchange trades". IBKR repeats it: "Futures and options on futures are not covered."

So a spot forex position at Interactive Brokers has no compensation scheme behind it in any jurisdiction we checked. That is not a criticism unique to IBKR, because SIPC excludes forex for everybody. It is a problem because the FCA number on the page leads a UK reader to assume otherwise.

The excess policy, and the number in its footnote

IBKR buys additional cover from underwriters at Lloyd's of London: an extra $30 million per account, with a $900,000 cash sublimit. The qualifier sits in the same sentence and gets quoted far less often: "subject to an aggregate limit of $150 million". That is the total across every client, against $903.3 billion of client equity and 5.185 million accounts.

The Irish number is worth knowing separately

EU clients are with Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, and we verified it on the Central Bank of Ireland's register: reference C423427, authorised as a MiFID investment firm, and separately listed on the Register of Crypto-Asset Service Providers under Article 63 of MiCAR. That second authorisation is rare. IBKR is the only broker on this site we have found holding one.

Check it yourself

Search 208159 on register.fca.org.uk for the UK entity, C423427 on registers.centralbank.ie for the Irish one, and firm 36418 on FINRA BrokerCheck for the US broker-dealer. Then read IBKR's own disclaimers page, which is where the carrying arrangement is disclosed. Our guide on compensation schemes explains why the entity that holds your money matters more than the number on the homepage.

Frequently asked questions

What is Interactive Brokers' FCA number?

208159, held by Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited, authorised since 6 February 2002, registered at 20 Fenchurch Street, Floor 12, London EC3M 3BY, Companies House number 03958476. The register shows no requirements or restrictions and one previous name, a cosmetic change in January 2023.

Does the FSCS cover Interactive Brokers UK clients?

Only in limited circumstances, which is IBKR's own phrase and is not defined on its site. Because UK accounts are cleared and carried by Interactive Brokers LLC, the scheme that applies in most cases is SIPC at $500,000 with a $250,000 cash sublimit, plus an excess policy at Lloyd's giving a further $30 million per account subject to a $150 million aggregate across all clients. Neither covers spot forex or futures.

Why does the FCA register show clone firms for Interactive Brokers?

Because six separate operations have used IBKR's details to look authorised: IBL Markets (2016), Interactive Brokers (2021), Interactive Brokers / Polar Capital (2023), Immediate Matrix (2024), Broker (2024) and xtradecons.com (2024). A clone warning is a statement about impersonators rather than about the firm, and the genuine register entry carries the warnings on the same page as the genuine number.

Sources

Financial Conduct Authority register, Interactive Brokers (U.K.) Limited, FRN 208159: Authorised since 06/02/2002, can hold and can control client money, Companies House number 03958476, one previous name, and six clone firm entries. Checked 20 September 2026.

interactivebrokers.co.uk disclaimers page for the quoted entity block, including "Your account is cleared and carried by Interactive Brokers LLC" and "Products are only covered by the UK FSCS in limited circumstances". Checked 20 September 2026.

Central Bank of Ireland registers, Interactive Brokers Ireland Limited, reference C423427, MiFID investment firm and Register of Crypto-Asset Service Providers under Article 63 of Regulation (EU) 2023/1114. Monetary Authority of Singapore Financial Institutions Directory for CMS100917. FINRA BrokerCheck for Interactive Brokers LLC, CRD 36418, SEC 8-47257. Checked 20 September 2026.

Securities Investor Protection Corporation, "What SIPC Protects", for the $500,000 limit, the $250,000 cash sublimit and the exclusion of commodity futures and foreign exchange trades; Interactive Brokers client protection page for the Lloyd's excess policy, the $30 million per account extension, the $900,000 cash sublimit, the $150 million aggregate limit and "Futures and options on futures are not covered".