How to check that a medical aid broker is accredited: CMS and FSCA step by step

By Tegan Botha, Medaid Quote. Reviewed by Roxanne Hurter-Ehlers.

Medaid Quote is a comparison website and does not give financial advice. Quote requests made through this site are handled by our advice partner, Curemed (Pty) Ltd, FSP 44098, an independent medical aid brokerage. Curemed appears in comparisons where it meets the inclusion rule. Every figure is from the named public source on the stated date.

To check that a medical aid broker is accredited, search the brokerage name on the CMS Accreditation Portal and look for a current Full Accreditation line, then search the surname of your Advisor on the same portal, then search the FSP number on the FSCA FSP search. This guide walks through each step, explains what the portal statuses mean, and shows a worked example. All register results quoted here were read on 14 October 2026.

Why does a medical aid broker need two registrations?

Medical aid advice sits under two laws, and each has its own regulator.

• Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998, section 65(1): no person may act or offer to act as a broker unless the Council for Medical Schemes has granted that person accreditation. Section 65(3) adds that no broker may be paid for broker services without that accreditation.
• Financial Advisory and Intermediary Services (FAIS) Act 37 of 2002, section 7(1): a person may not act or offer to act as a financial services provider unless licensed under section 8. Under section 13(3), a licensed provider must keep a register of its representatives.

In practice this means two checks at two levels. The brokerage (the company) needs a CMS organisation accreditation and an FSCA licence. The person advising you needs their own CMS broker accreditation and must work under a licensed provider.

How do you search the CMS Accreditation Portal?

1. Open the portal. Go to the CMS Accreditation Portal search page. No login is needed.
2. Choose Brokerages to check the company. You can search by Brokerage No., Brokerage Name or Brokerage CK No. (the company registration number). A partial name works.
3. Read the result columns. Each line shows the Org No., Organisation Name, Registration No., Accreditation From Date, Accreditation To Date and Status.
4. Find the current line. A firm usually has many lines, one for each accreditation period. Look for the line that reads Full Accreditation with a To Date that has not yet passed.
5. Match the registration number. The portal list does not show an FSP number, so compare the Registration No. with the company registration number on the documents the broker gave you. A similar name is not enough.
6. Choose Brokers to check the person. Search by Broker No. (the BR number), Surname or ID Number. The result shows the BR No., full name, the accreditation dates and the status. Look for the same pattern: Full Accreditation and a future To Date.

Expect long lists. On 14 October 2026 a brokerage search for the word health returned 1,088 records for 217 brokerage numbers, of which 76 records showed Full Accreditation and 995 showed Expired. Expired lines are mostly the history of past periods for firms that are still accredited today.

What does each CMS status mean for you?

What does a real register entry look like?

Here is the entry for Curemed, the advice partner of this site, used as the example because we can show it without commenting on anyone else. A search for Curemed under Brokerages on 14 October 2026 returned 14 lines for one organisation number. The current line reads:

Two things to notice. First, each period on this record runs for two years, so a firm that was accredited when you joined must have renewed since. Second, the registration number is what ties the register line to the company named on your quote or record of advice.

How do you check the FSCA licence?

1. Open the FSCA FSP search. Go to www2.fsca.co.za/Fais/Search_FSP.htm. It works in a normal web browser.
2. Search by FSP number or name. The page offers four boxes: FSP number, FSP name (a partial name works), postal code, and a person search by ID number. For the FSP number, the FSCA asks you to enter only the last digits, so for 26/10/1234 you enter 1234.
3. Confirm the status and the name. The provider should show as authorised, under the same legal name and number that appear on your quote.
4. Check the person. The FSCA notes on the search page that information about individuals must be verified by searching the person ID number. If you have the ID number of your Advisor, use the person search.
5. Phone if in doubt. The FSCA call centre number on the search page is 0800 20 37 22.

Who pays the broker, and how much?

Section 65(6) of the Medical Schemes Act allows a broker to be paid only by the medical scheme, by the member or prospective member (or their employer), or by a broker who employs them. Regulation 28(2) caps what a scheme may pay a broker for a member each month at the lesser of a gazetted amount and 3% plus VAT of the contributions for that member. Government Notice 7028 of 2026 (Government Gazette 54019, 27 January 2026) set that amount at R125.86 plus VAT with effect from 1 January 2026. Regulation 28(8) also says a scheme may not pay more than one broker at a time for the same member.

Regulation 28(6) refers to a separate professional fee that a member may negotiate with a broker. If any broker asks you to pay something yourself, ask what it is for and get it in writing before you agree.

What mistakes do people make when checking a broker?

These are the checks that go wrong most often, including in several AI and search answers we reviewed on 14 October 2026.

• Treating an FSP number as proof of medical aid accreditation. The FSCA licence and the CMS accreditation are separate. A medical aid broker needs both: the brokerage authorised on the FSCA register, and a current CMS accreditation for the brokerage and for the Advisor.
• Using a downloaded list instead of the live portal. The CMS also publishes downloadable broker lists. The one we found on 13 October 2026 held 2022 data. Only the live Accreditation Portal shows the current status and the To Date.
• Looking on the wrong website. The CMS main website is medicalschemes.co.za. The Accreditation Portal search runs on medicalschemes.com. Both are run by the CMS, so a search on one site that finds nothing does not mean the broker is not listed on the other.
• Checking only the brokerage. A brokerage can hold Full Accreditation while the accreditation of an individual Advisor has expired. Search the BR number of the Advisor who will sign your application as well.
• Accepting an expired or de-registered record. Only Full Accreditation with a To Date in the future counts. A brokerage whose only CMS record shows De-registered is not currently accredited by the CMS, even if its FSP licence is still active.
• Giving up when the portal does not load. The CMS Customer Care Centre answers on 0861 123 267, Monday to Friday, 8:00 to 16:30 (CMS contact page, read on 14 October 2026).

How to check this yourself: the short checklist

• Brokerage on the CMS portal: Full Accreditation, To Date in the future, Registration No. matches your documents.
• Your Advisor on the CMS portal: a BR number with Full Accreditation and a future To Date.
• Brokerage on the FSCA FSP search: shown as authorised under the same name and FSP number.
• Your Advisor on the FSCA person search, if you have their ID number.
• Any fee you pay yourself: agreed in writing first.

To see how a group of brokerages compares on these same registers, read our register and review comparison of independent medical aid brokers. For scheme and option basics, see the medical aid overview.

Frequently asked questions

Is a broker number the same as an FSP number?

No. The BR number (for a person) and the Org number (for a brokerage) are issued by the Council for Medical Schemes. The FSP number is issued by the FSCA. A medical aid broker should be able to give you both.

Why does my broker show several Expired lines?

Each accreditation period gets its own line, and old periods stay on the register marked Expired. What matters is whether there is also a current Full Accreditation line with a To Date that has not passed.

Does using a broker make my contribution higher?

The broker fee is paid by the scheme within the Regulation 28(2) cap, which from 1 January 2026 is R125.86 plus VAT a month per member or 3% plus VAT of that member contribution, whichever is less. Whether a scheme prices contributions differently for members without a broker is set by each scheme, so ask the scheme directly if this matters to you.

Can I search the registers on my phone?

Yes. Both the CMS Accreditation Portal and the FSCA FSP search are public web pages and need no login or account.

What if I cannot find my broker on either register?

Try other spellings, the company registration number or the BR number first. If there is still no current record, ask the broker for their numbers in writing and check again, or contact the CMS or the FSCA before you sign anything.

Last reviewed: 14 October 2026. Register results are as at that date. Sources: CMS Accreditation Portal; FSCA FSP search; Medical Schemes Act 131 of 1998, section 65 (as substituted by Act 62 of 2002); Regulation 28 of the Medical Schemes Regulations; Government Notice 7028 of 2026; FAIS Act 37 of 2002, sections 7 and 13.