To open a bank account in the United States you need a valid, unexpired government-issued photo ID, a taxpayer identification number such as a Social Security Number, and a residential street address. A driver’s license is the most common ID, but it isn’t the only option, and workable alternatives exist if you don’t have one, don’t have an SSN, or don’t have a fixed address.
What Every Bank Has to Collect
Federal law requires every bank to run a Customer Identification Program. Before the bank opens your account, it has to collect four things from you: your name, your date of birth, a street address, and an identification number, usually a Social Security Number.1eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks The rule comes from the USA PATRIOT Act and is designed to prevent money laundering and terrorist financing.
The bank then has to verify what you told it. Most banks do this by looking at a government-issued photo document, but the regulation also allows non-documentary methods, such as checking your information against consumer reporting agency records or public databases.2eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks That flexibility matters if you’re missing a standard ID, though most banks default to documents.
Photo IDs Banks Accept
The CIP rule names a driver’s license and a passport as examples of acceptable identification.1eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks In practice, the documents banks routinely accept as a primary photo ID include:
- A state-issued driver’s license, current and unexpired.
- A state-issued non-driver identification card, from the same agency that issues driver’s licenses.
- A U.S. passport or passport card.
- A U.S. military identification card, for active duty, reserve, and retired members.
Your document has to be unexpired. Federal CIP rules require unexpired government-issued identification, and a bank will turn away a document past its expiration date.1eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks It should also be undamaged, with a legible photo and no signs of alteration.
One quick note on REAL ID: it doesn’t apply here. REAL ID compliance is about air travel and access to federal facilities, not banking.3USAGov. How to Get a REAL ID and Use It for Travel A standard, non-REAL-ID driver’s license still opens a bank account.
If You Don’t Have a Standard U.S. Photo ID
The CIP rule describes acceptable documents in broad terms: any unexpired government-issued ID showing nationality or residence and carrying a photograph. That leaves room for several alternatives.
Non-citizens and foreign nationals can generally use a foreign passport as a primary document. Many banks also accept the Matricula Consular, an ID card issued by Mexican consulates to citizens living abroad. Other documents that banks may accept include a U.S. Employment Authorization Card, a Permanent Resident Card (green card), and a Tribal ID card. Acceptance varies from bank to bank, so it’s worth calling or checking the website before you go in.
When one document isn’t enough on its own, banks often ask for a secondary document to back it up. Common ones include a Social Security card, a birth certificate, a photo student ID from an accredited college, and a recent utility bill or bank statement showing your name and address. A secondary document supplements a photo ID; it does not replace one. A birth certificate alone won’t get you an account.
Your Taxpayer Number: SSN or ITIN
Every individual account holder has to give the bank a taxpayer identification number. For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, that’s a Social Security Number, which the bank uses to report interest and other income to the IRS.4Internal Revenue Service. U.S. Taxpayer Identification Number Requirement
If you aren’t eligible for an SSN, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) works. An ITIN is a nine-digit number the IRS issues to people who have to file taxes but can’t get an SSN, including certain nonresident and resident aliens and their dependents.5Internal Revenue Service. Taxpayer Identification Numbers (TIN)
You apply for an ITIN by submitting Form W-7 to the IRS. Processing runs about seven weeks normally, and nine to eleven weeks during tax season (January 15 through April 30) or if you apply from overseas.6Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN Some banks will open an account while your ITIN application is pending; others want the number in hand first. Ask before you show up.
Showing a Street Address
Federal rules require the bank to get a residential or business street address from you.1eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks Banks usually confirm the address with a document that ties your name to a physical location, such as a utility bill, a lease, or a voter registration card. A P.O. box on its own generally won’t satisfy the requirement, because the rule calls for a street address.
Make sure the address you write on the application matches the address on your supporting documents. A mismatch, such as a utility bill showing a different address than your driver’s license, can trigger extra review and slow things down.
If You Don’t Have a Traditional Address
The CIP rule includes an exception for people without a residential or business street address. In that case, the bank can accept an Army Post Office (APO) or Fleet Post Office (FPO) box number, or the street address of a next of kin or another contact person.7GovInfo. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks The provision covers military personnel stationed overseas, people experiencing homelessness, and others without a fixed address. If you’re staying at a shelter, you may be able to use the shelter’s address or a relative’s.
Accounts for Minors
When a parent or guardian opens an account on behalf of a child, the customer being identified is the adult, not the child. The parent has to provide their own name, date of birth, address, taxpayer number, and photo ID.8Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Guidance to Encourage Financial Institutions Youth Savings Programs and Address Related Frequently Asked Questions
If a minor opens an account on their own at a bank that allows it, the bank uses risk-based procedures to verify the minor’s identity. Acceptable documents can include a school-issued ID, and some banks allow non-documentary verification, such as a teacher confirming a student’s identity in an in-school banking program.8Office of the Comptroller of the Currency. Guidance to Encourage Financial Institutions Youth Savings Programs and Address Related Frequently Asked Questions Age policies vary. Some banks open teen checking accounts to customers as young as 13 but require a parent or guardian as co-owner until 17 or 18, and minors generally have to open accounts in person rather than online.
Online Applications vs. In Person
The identification requirements are the same whether you apply at a branch or online. What changes is how you hand over the documents.
At a branch, a bank employee looks at your original documents and may photocopy them for the file. Online, you upload clear digital photos or scans, and the bank runs the information through third-party verification software. Some banks add knowledge-based authentication, a set of personal questions pulled from your credit or public records (for example, a previous street you lived on or a lender that holds a specific loan).
Online applications are usually approved within minutes, though some go to manual review that takes a day or two. If the bank can’t verify you through the online process, it may ask you to come into a branch with your original documents.
If You Have Valid ID and Are Still Denied
A denial isn’t always about your identification. Banks also check your banking history through specialty consumer reporting agencies like ChexSystems and Early Warning Services. If a prior bank reported unpaid overdrafts, account abuse, or suspected fraud in your name, the new bank may turn you down based on that record.
When a denial is based in whole or in part on a consumer report, federal law requires the bank to send you an adverse action notice. That notice has to name the reporting agency that supplied the data, tell you the agency didn’t make the decision, and explain your right to a free copy of the report and to dispute inaccuracies.9Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 U.S. Code 1681m – Requirements on Users of Consumer Reports You’re also entitled to one free ChexSystems report every 12 months, whether or not you’ve been denied.10Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Chex Systems, Inc. Pulling it before you apply can save you a surprise.
If the report is wrong, file a dispute with the reporting company (ChexSystems or Early Warning Services) and a separate dispute with the bank that reported the information. Both are required to investigate and correct inaccurate or incomplete records under the Fair Credit Reporting Act.11Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. How Do I Dispute an Error on My Checking Account Consumer Report
If your banking history is genuinely negative, some banks and credit unions offer second-chance checking accounts. They usually carry higher monthly fees or fewer features, but they get you back into the system, and many convert to a regular checking account after a period of responsible use, often a year.