Field Guide to Trading Terms

Sebi registered broker

Family VIII · Regulation

Not to be confused with forex broker, broker, asic regulated broker.

SEBI registered broker is a trading intermediary authorised by the Securities and Exchange Board of India, the country's securities market regulator, to buy and sell securities on behalf of clients. Registration is granted per segment, so a firm may hold a certificate for equities, for derivatives, or for both. The registration number is public and can be verified in SEBI's register of intermediaries.

What registration covers

Registration is granted to a legal entity, not to a brand or a website, and it is segment-specific. A firm registered for the cash segment is not thereby registered for derivatives or for commodity derivatives, which fall under a separate framework. The certificate carries a registration number that begins with the letters INZ for most intermediaries.

Registered brokers must meet capital adequacy, record-keeping and client-fund segregation requirements, and are subject to periodic inspection. The exact net-worth thresholds, fees and reporting formats vary by segment and are revised from time to time, so the current figures should be checked against the applicable SEBI regulations rather than assumed.

Verifying a registration

Because registration is a matter of public record, verification does not depend on what a firm claims on its own website. The steps are the same regardless of the firm:

A registration number that cannot be matched to the register, or that belongs to a different legal entity, is the central warning sign.

Worked example: matching a number to a register entry

Checking a quoted registration number
Number quoted by firmINZ000123456Format valid
Entity name on registerExample Securities Pvt LtdMatches firm's legal name
Segments listedCash, equity derivativesCovers the products offered
Verification outcomeRegister entry matches on all three pointsRegistration confirmed

Often confused with

forex broker
A forex broker intermediates currency pairs, often under a different regulator or none at all, whereas a SEBI registered broker is authorised for Indian securities segments; the visible sign is whether the registration number appears in SEBI's register of intermediaries.
broker
A broker is any intermediary that executes orders for clients, while a SEBI registered broker is one specifically authorised by India's securities regulator; the visible sign is the presence of a SEBI registration number tied to a named legal entity.
asic regulated broker
An ASIC regulated broker holds a licence from Australia's securities regulator, while a SEBI registered broker holds one from India's; the visible sign is which regulator's register the firm's licence number can be found in.

See also

Family: VIII · Regulation · Index A–Z