Stripe Connect KYB requirements, explained: what to prepare

Last verified: 30 September 2026. This guide summarizes Stripe's public Connect documentation as it read on that date. Stripe's requirements change, and they differ by country, entity type, capability and risk level. Check the linked pages before relying on any line here.

Sweat AI is not affiliated with or endorsed by Stripe. Preparing the items below does not guarantee that a connected account will be verified or keep its capabilities. Stripe makes its own verification decisions and can request more at any time.

Stripe Connect is how marketplaces and software platforms route payments to sellers and other recipients. The platform collects information about each connected account and passes it to Stripe; Stripe then attempts verification, sometimes by confirming the keyed-in data and sometimes by asking for documents such as a government-issued ID or proof of address. This guide covers the business side of that process for a company account: what Stripe's docs ask for, what satisfies it, and where the evidence runs out.

Why there is no single list

Stripe's docs say verification requirements vary by:

• Country
• Capabilities requested (for example, card payments or transfers)
• Business type (individual, company, non-profit, government entity)
• Business structure (for example, private corporation or multi-member LLC)
• The service agreement type
• The risk level

Stripe also collects in stages. Its docs describe "up-front" onboarding, which collects everything eventually due, and "incremental" onboarding, which collects only what is currently due and asks for more later. At variable thresholds, usually after a period of time or a volume of charges, more information may be required, and Stripe temporarily pauses charges or payouts if it is not provided or verified.

Business structure changes the list. Stripe says that if a company does not provide a structure, Stripe classifies it as private and requires owner information; public companies do not need to provide owners in the same way.

An example setup: a US multi-member LLC

Stripe's Required verification information page includes a public lookup. On 30 September 2026 we queried it for a US platform onboarding a US company structured as a multi-member LLC, with the full service agreement, no Stripe dashboard access, and the card payments and transfers capabilities. It returned these fields:

Treat this as one example. A sole proprietorship, a non-US company or a different capability returns a different list. Run the lookup for your own setup.

What each requirement means

Company name and tax ID

Stripe verifies the company name and tax ID together. For US businesses its error codes include cases where the IRS could not verify the information provided, with the resolution to correct the name or tax ID or upload a document that verifies them.

Stripe's acceptable-documents page for the US explains how that works:

• Businesses that use an EIN (multi-member LLCs, partnerships, corporations, unincorporated associations, non-profits, government entities) can provide IRS Letter 147C, an IRS SS-4 confirmation letter, an IRS Fax Transmission Letter, or an EIN Assistance Letter.
• Businesses that use the owner's SSN (individuals, sole proprietorships, single-member LLCs) are checked against the individual listed as owner, not the DBA or business name.
• The business name on the document must exactly match the legal business name registered with the IRS.
• An SS-4 application is not the same as the SS-4 confirmation letter the IRS sends afterwards.

The most common cause of a mismatch is simple: the name typed into onboarding is the brand, while the IRS record holds the legal name. Stripe suggests checking the most recent Form W-9 or tax return to see which tax ID the business uses.

Evidential limit. An EIN letter shows the IRS assigned a number to a named entity. It does not show the entity is in good standing with its state, who owns it, or what it does.

Company address and phone

For this setup the company address must be a US address, and PO boxes are not allowed. Stripe's person-verification errors also reject private mailboxes and highway contract boxes for a person's address. A registered-agent address may pass format validation while still telling you nothing about where the business operates, so record the real operating location as a separate fact.

Representative

The representative is the person opening the account on the company's behalf. Stripe asks for name, date of birth, address, phone, email, job title and, in this US example, the last four digits of their SSN. Stripe may ask for a government-issued photo ID when the keyed-in data does not verify.

Stripe also verifies authority. Its error table includes cases where it could not verify the representative's authority, with the resolution to add an authorizer and provide a letter of authorization signed by that authorizer, and cases where the authorizer is not registered as an authorized representative.

Evidential limit. A job title typed into a form is a claim. Registry filings, board minutes or a signed letter of authority are what support it.

Owners

For company accounts Stripe may require information about beneficial owners, and its error codes cover missing owners, missing directors, directors listed in documents but absent from the account, and holding companies with significant ownership that were not identified. Stripe's docs link a separate help article for its beneficial owner and director definitions; confirm the threshold that applies in your country there rather than assuming one.

Evidential limit. Listing owners is not the same as proving the list is complete. If a holding company owns a large stake, the people behind it need to be identified too. See ultimate beneficial owner.

Website or product description

Stripe says its terms require e-commerce businesses requesting card payments to provide a working business URL. A business counts as e-commerce if it promotes or sells through a website, social media profile or mobile app. Businesses with no online presence provide a product description instead, describing what they sell and how they charge customers.

Stripe verifies the site. Its published errors include a site that is unreachable, empty, geoblocked, password-protected, under construction, missing a business name or clear description of goods and services, or missing a refund policy, return policy, cancellation policy, terms and conditions, customer service details, or required legal disclosures. It also flags a mismatch between the website and the account information, and detected web presence where no URL was given.

Statement descriptor and MCC

The statement descriptor must be at least 5 characters, similar to the business name, legal name or URL, and not a generic or well-known name. The MCC classifies the business. An MCC that does not match what the website sells is the kind of inconsistency a reviewer notices; the payments industry page covers MCC and business-model checks.

Document rules that cause rejections

Stripe's docs list upload problems that fail verification: greyscale images, copies, incomplete documents, unreadable files, missing front or back, unsigned documents, and files that are too large. Its stated file requirements include color images up to 8,000 by 8,000 pixels, 10 MB or less, JPG or PNG for identity documents, JPG, PNG or PDF for address and legal entity documents, all pages included for legal entity documents, and no password protection. Address documents must be issued within the last six months, and identity documents must not be expired. Stripe also says one document cannot satisfy two requirements at once, screenshots of identity documents are not acceptable, and if a person resides outside the account's country, a passport is required. Duplicate uploads of a failed file fail automatically.

Preparation checklist

1. Confirm the business type and structure, using formation or tax documents if unsure.
2. Use the legal name exactly as the IRS or local tax authority holds it.
3. Have the EIN confirmation document on hand (147C, SS-4 confirmation, Fax Transmission Letter or EIN Assistance Letter).
4. Record a physical company address; no PO boxes or mailboxes.
5. Identify the representative and gather evidence of their authority to act.
6. List every owner and director Stripe's definitions capture, traced through holding companies.
7. Check the website for a business name, clear offer, refund, return and cancellation policies, terms, and customer service contact; remove geoblocks and passwords.
8. Choose an MCC and statement descriptor that match what the business sells.
9. Prepare color, complete, unexpired document files in the accepted formats.
10. Run Stripe's requirements lookup for your exact country, structure and capabilities.

The KYB review checklist covers the same file from the reviewer's side.

Where Sweat AI fits

Sweat AI is an AI-native BPO for banks and fintechs, starting with back-office workflows like KYB, onboarding and fraud reviews. Our Check service can read a business's evidence against Stripe Connect's own requirement fields and mark each one as supported by evidence, supported only by the applicant's word, missing or discrepant, with one consolidated request list for what remains. That is an evidence assessment computed from the file; nothing is submitted to Stripe, and it is not Stripe's verification decision. For platforms, the same review works the connected-account exceptions your team would otherwise clear by hand. See how an analyst verifies a business for KYB or our KYB review service.