FINRA-registered funding portals, and how to check yours

A Reg CF offering must be run through exactly one intermediary: a broker-dealer or a funding portal registered with the SEC and a member of FINRA (17 CFR 227.100(a)(3)). FINRA keeps the current list of member funding portals at finra.org/about/funding-portals-we-regulate. Check it before you sign with a portal and again before you launch, because portals get suspended, and a suspended portal cannot run your raise.

As of FINRA's October 20, 2026 update, the list had 73 funding portals, and nine of them were marked suspended.

Why FINRA registration matters

A funding portal is not just a website that hosts your offering page. It is a regulated gatekeeper with duties the law puts on it, not on you:

• It must vet you. The portal needs a reasonable basis to believe the issuer complies with Reg CF, must run background and regulatory checks on officers, directors, and 20% owners, and must refuse or cancel an offering that shows signs of fraud (17 CFR 227.301).
• It must protect the money. Investor funds go to a qualified third party, not the portal, and move to the company only when the rules allow (17 CFR 227.303(e)). The timing is covered in the Reg CF 21-day rule.
• It must follow FINRA's rules. The Funding Portal Rules govern its conduct, its communications, and its supervision, and FINRA examines and disciplines it. The wider map of who does what is in who actually regulates equity crowdfunding.

For an issuer, this is the reason the portal choice is not only a marketing decision. Your raise is only as sound as the intermediary running it. If the portal loses its standing mid-raise, your offering stops with it, and the investors you spent money to reach are stuck in a process you do not control.

Which funding portals have been suspended?

FINRA's list shows nine portals currently suspended:

These are expedited suspensions, and they are worth reading precisely. Rule 9552 covers a member that fails to provide information FINRA requires, such as required filings or responses. Rule 9553 covers a member that fails to pay FINRA fees. Neither is a finding that the portal defrauded anyone, and FINRA's list does not say what each portal failed to do. What they do tell you is that the portal is not keeping up with the basic obligations of being regulated, and that it cannot operate while suspended.

Note the cluster: six suspensions in four weeks in fall 2026. Small portals come and go, and a portal that cannot keep its filings and fees current is not one to trust with a months-long raise.

Which portals have been expelled or penalized?

Suspension is the lighter end. These are the cases where regulators found real problems. FINRA also keeps a separate page of former funding portal members, which flags three as statutorily disqualified: Buy The Block, DreamFunded Marketplace, and TruCrowd.

• uFundingPortal (UFP, LLC). Expelled by FINRA in FINRA's first funding portal action, reported in February 2017, for lacking a reasonable basis to believe its issuers complied with Reg CF. In plain terms, it did not vet its issuers.
• TruCrowd. The subject of the SEC's first enforcement action against a funding portal, in 2021. The SEC said the portal ignored red flags about issuers, including a principal's criminal history. TruCrowd consented to a judgment, without admitting or denying the allegations, that included a $97,500 penalty.
• Buy The Block. Expelled by FINRA in 2022, with its principal barred, over possible misuse of investor funds and failing to hold investor money with a qualified third party (FINRA, April 2022).
• DreamFunded Marketplace. Expelled by a FINRA hearing panel in 2019, with its CEO barred, for misleading statements to investors and failures as a gatekeeper. FINRA's appeals body affirmed in 2021. In August 2026 the SEC upheld the findings and the sanctions tied to the misstatements; a motion for reconsideration was filed afterward.
• Bananafina. Expelled by FINRA in 2024 after it stopped responding to FINRA's requests for documents and information.

Two of the largest portals have also been fined without being expelled. In May 2022 FINRA fined Wefunder $1.4 million, finding that 39 offerings had raised about $20 million over the Reg CF limit, along with communications and supervision failures, and fined StartEngine $350,000 for keeping issuer communications on its site that it had reason to know were false or misleading. Both continued operating. A fine at a large portal is not the same signal as an expulsion at a small one, but it is worth knowing about, and asking about.

What to watch for when choosing a portal

The pattern across these cases is consistent. Portals got in trouble for not vetting issuers, for handling investor money outside the rules, for saying misleading things, and for going silent with their regulator. Each of those is something an issuer can ask about before signing.

• Check FINRA's list yourself. Confirm the portal's exact legal name appears, and that it is not marked suspended. Do not rely on a badge on the portal's own site. FINRA's BrokerCheck covers broker-dealers, not funding portals, so for a portal the list is the place to look.
• Search FINRA's disciplinary actions and the SEC's site for the portal's name and its principals. A past fine is not disqualifying on its own, but you should hear about it from the portal first.
• Ask how they vet issuers. A portal that asks you almost nothing is not doing you a favor. Light diligence is exactly what got uFundingPortal and TruCrowd in trouble, and an offering on a careless portal sits next to the ones that should not have launched.
• Ask who holds the money. The answer should name a bank or qualified escrow agent. If the portal says it holds funds itself, walk away.
• Watch for signs of a portal that is struggling. Slow answers, staff turnover, missed filings, or a sudden change in fees can come before a suspension. A raise takes months, and the portal has to last longer than your campaign does.
• Look at its track record. How many offerings has it closed, and how recently? A portal with a handful of raises and no recent closes may not be around at your deadline.

The portal also shapes your marketing more than most founders expect: what it lets you say, how it reviews your ads, and how it handles your investors' data. Our ranking of equity crowdfunding platforms covers those differences.

This is general information, not legal advice. The regulatory status of a specific portal changes; check FINRA's list on the day you decide, and have counsel review the intermediary agreement.

FAQ

Where can I find the list of FINRA-registered funding portals?

FINRA publishes it at finra.org/about/funding-portals-we-regulate. It lists every current member funding portal and marks any that are suspended. Former members are on a separate page.

Does a Reg CF raise have to use a funding portal?

It has to use one registered intermediary, either a FINRA-member funding portal or a registered broker-dealer, and only one. The offering must be conducted online through that intermediary's platform.

What does it mean when a funding portal is suspended?

It cannot operate as a funding portal while the suspension lasts. Many suspensions on FINRA's list are expedited ones for failing to provide required information or failing to pay fees, which are not findings of fraud but are a warning sign about how the portal is run.

Can I look up a funding portal on BrokerCheck?

BrokerCheck covers brokers and broker-dealers. For a funding portal, use FINRA's funding portal list and search FINRA's and the SEC's disciplinary records by name.

What happens to my raise if my portal is suspended or expelled?

The offering cannot continue on that portal. Moving to a new intermediary typically means new agreements, a new offering page, and likely an amended Form C, which can trigger reconfirmation from investors who already committed. Ask your counsel early if your portal shows signs of trouble.