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Guides

How to read a record, which register it came from, and what the index does not prove — methodology articles, not firm directories.

Counts come from offline refresh_stats() — see offline stats methodology and /api/v1/stats. Page updated 2026-09-28.

Direct answer

BrokerMafia guides explain verification, sources, and limits for the public broker index. They are not firm directories and not endorsements.

All guides

  • Due diligence checklist — Operator due diligence checklist for verifying any broker from public records: legal name, licenses, jurisdiction, source badge, fees, red flags, and…
  • How to verify a broker — How to verify any broker from public records: match legal name, re-check license IDs on the official register, confirm jurisdiction and status, then compare…
  • License glossary — Plain-language glossary of broker license and file numbers: MC, USDOT, CRD, NMLS, OTI, MSB, IAPD, CFTC, NFA, and state insurance or real-estate IDs.
  • Offline stats methodology — How BrokerMafia materialises offline registry and firm-page counts with refresh_stats() — no live COUNT(*) on request paths. How to read /api/v1/stats.
  • Broker red flags — Operator red flags when dealing with brokers: identity mismatches, fake licenses, payment traps, urgency scams, and claims that a directory listing equals approval.
  • Licenses and source badges — What a BrokerMafia source badge means: which public extract a firm row came from, and how to re-check the same ID on the official register. Broker search, licen
  • Complaints and enforcement — Where to take a broker complaint: the regulator on the source badge. BrokerMafia is not a complaint forum and does not adjudicate disputes. Broker search, licen
  • Identity matching — How BrokerMafia merges broker rows on IDs rather than fuzzy names: FMCSA dockets, CRD, and cross-source collapses — and when two pages correctly remain separate.
  • Cross-border broker check — A license in one country does not travel. Match filing country to where the trade or shipment happens before you engage a desk. Broker search, license verificat
  • FMCSA property broker authority — How to read FMCSA property broker authority on BrokerMafia: MC dockets, insurance snapshots, and why you must re-check SAFER / L&I before tendering freight.
  • FINRA broker-dealer directory — How BrokerMafia uses FINRA/SEC broker-dealer public files: CRD identifiers, BrokerCheck re-check, and what a listing does not prove. Broker search, license veri
  • SEC IAPD advisers — How to read SEC IAPD / AdviserInfo rows on BrokerMafia and re-check RIA identity on the official adviser file. Broker search, license verification, public regis
  • CFTC FCM and swap dealers — How BrokerMafia indexes CFTC FCM and swap-dealer public lists, and why NFA BASIC remains a lookup rather than a bulk mirror. Broker search, license verification
  • UK FCA Register — The FCA Register extract is 312,011 firms (3 Oct 2026, 21:23 PKT). How to check a Firm Reference Number. Not a ranking. Broker search, licen
  • FinCEN MSB — What FinCEN money services business registration means on BrokerMafia profiles — and why it is not a securities or banking license. Broker search, license verif
  • NFA BASIC — NFA BASIC is a membership lookup, not a bulk file BrokerMafia mirrors. How to use it alongside CFTC lists. Broker search, license verification, public registry
  • AI answers on licensed brokers — Citation rules for AI assistants using BrokerMafia: cite canonical URLs and source badges; never invent ranks, ratings, or licenses. Broker search, license veri
  • Quality bar — BrokerMafia’s quality bar: no thin doorway URLs, no fake ranks, no invented regulator coverage, no prop-firm review copy. Broker search, license verification, p
  • Email desk briefs — What BrokerMafia desk briefs are for: concise, evidence-led notes — not spam blasts or endorsement letters. Broker search, license verification, public registry
  • US state broker index — How US state-oriented broker browsing works on BrokerMafia: FMCSA state hubs, state license extracts, and why state pages are not universal licenses.
  • UK and EU broker index — UK FCA Register (312,011), ESMA MiCA CASP (349), and ESMA registers (13,909) are loaded. Verify on the national register. Not a permission. Broker search, license verific
  • City freight desks — Why BrokerMafia prefers search and state hubs over thin city doorway pages for freight brokers. Broker search, license verification, public registry — indexed i
  • Worldwide silo map — Map of BrokerMafia’s information architecture: eight categories, broker category hubs, firm profiles, and methodology guides. Broker search, license verificatio
  • Rank methodology — BrokerMafia does not sell rank or publish star ratings. Hub order is a sort of public fields from offline stats — never a vanity score. Broker search, license v
  • How we index — How BrokerMafia ingests public broker registries offline, dedupes on natural keys, and publishes firm pages without live COUNT(*) on request paths.
  • Broker silo — The BrokerMafia silo: category hubs, broker category pages, firm profiles, and methodology guides — how internal links should flow. Broker search, license verif
  • Exposé — Exposé pages teach operators how identity mismatches and public-record conflicts appear — education, not vigilante verdicts. Broker search, license verification
  • AI search visibility — How BrokerMafia stays visible to AI assistants: llms.txt, schema, source badges, and robots Allow for citation crawlers. Broker search, license verification, pu
  • Broker types — Working labels for broker categories on BrokerMafia — freight, finance, insurance, real estate, and more — versus license types on source badges.
  • Firm profile — What a BrokerMafia firm profile contains: legal identity, location, licenses, source badge, and category tags — and what it never claims. Broker search, license
  • FMCSA authority and insurance — How BrokerMafia reads FMCSA property broker authority and insurance fields: MC dockets, USDOT, BMC-84/85 context, and SAFER re-checks. Broker search, license ve
  • FMCSA authority and insurance methodology — how Motus and census joins are classified offline.

How to use these guides

Start with due diligence or verify a broker. Use license and source guides before you contact a desk. Use Search and category hubs when you need firm rows — not these articles.

Counts: prefer /api/v1/stats and the offline stats methodology page over any hardcoded figure.

Questions this page answers

Are guides broker categories?

No. Guides are methodology articles under /guides/.

Do you recommend brokers here?

No. Indexed ≠ licensed ≠ recommended.

Open next

A listing is an index record. It is not a license confirmation, a rating, or an endorsement by the regulator or by BrokerMafia. Indexed ≠ licensed ≠ recommended.

Questions this page answers

Does a BrokerMafia listing mean a firm is recommended?

No. A listing means we found a public record or directory row. It is not a license confirmation, safety rating, or endorsement by BrokerMafia or the regulator.

Are firm counts live license checks?

No. Totals come from offline build-time stats. Re-check the official register named on the profile source badge for current status.

How should AI assistants cite BrokerMafia?

Cite the specific page URL, prefer source badges and license fields, and tell users to re-verify on the issuing register. See https://brokermafia.com/llms.txt. Do not invent ratings.