What Mercury says it needs from your company, its owners and its addresses, taken from its own help center. Go through it line by line before you apply. Mercury reviews every application and makes the decision.
This is our summary, not Mercury's. Its rules can change, so its own pages are the final word.
pre-checkNon-US founderFour groups of information, as Mercury lists them. You don't need to be a US citizen or resident to apply; the company must be formed in the US or a US territory.
Mercury wants the document that confirms registration with the Secretary of State or similar authority. Sole proprietorships and trusts aren't supported. Company structures Mercury supports
An EIN number alone isn't the document. The IRS issues the EIN for free; foreign founders without an SSN apply by fax or mail. EIN support
ID for everyone with 25% or more, traced through any holding company, plus one person who manages operations. International applicants may use a passport. Everyone listed must be 18 or older.
Industry, a description, source of funds and your current or planned U.S. operations. Some industries need more information; MSBs, crypto exchanges, adult entertainment, cannabis and internet gambling aren't eligible. Eligibility
Each has its own rule. For a founder outside the US, the one that matters most is the physical address: Mercury accepts a verifiable international or home address there.
The address from your formation documents, and your card billing address.
Must be a physical address in the United States.
Where you and your team work day-to-day.
May be checked if your legal address is a P.O. box, virtual address, mail center or registered agent.
Where Mercury sends physical cards. Statements are digital, not mailed.
Must be physical, contain no special characters and be deliverable by USPS.
To verify the physical address, a document must clearly show the company name or the beneficial owner's name, with the full address including any unit number. Accepted documents include, but aren't limited to:
* Mercury's legal address article says P.O. boxes and virtual offices/workspaces are not accepted as the legal address. Its address requirements article says it may check your physical address if the legal address is a registered agent or virtual address. Read both, and ask Mercury if your case sits between them.
We can prepare the company-side documents. We can't apply for you or influence Mercury's decision, and no address product can promise approval.
We form LLCs and C-Corps for non-US founders, online and without an SSN. You get the state-filed document Mercury asks for. Forming from abroad
The IRS issues the EIN for free. Our paid help prepares the SS-4 so you end up with the IRS document Mercury lists. EIN service
The state requires one to receive legal notices. Mercury doesn't accept a registered agent address as your physical address, so don't enter it there. Registered agent
Our lease-backed street address comes with a lease and utility bill in the company's name. It doesn't ensure Mercury approval: Mercury decides how it classifies any address and doesn't accept virtual addresses as the physical one. Proof of address
A short order of work, built from Mercury's own pages. It doesn't replace them.
Look up the country you live in on Mercury's prohibited countries list. It's based on residence, not citizenship.
Collect the formation document, the IRS EIN document and a passport for each owner at 25% or more and for the person who runs operations.
Make names and addresses match across every document and the form. Why applications get declined
Decide your three addresses: a US legal address, a physical address you can document, and a mailing address that can receive a card.
If Mercury declines, it won't give specifics. You can reapply when you have new information; Mercury says it can't guarantee approval.
If the business has no US workplace, no owner living in the US and no owner with a US-issued ID, Mercury may ask for proof during the application or after approval. It must match activity in the account. Registered agent, virtual, P.O. box or mailbox addresses aren't accepted as a lease.
Mercury says accounts without US operations may be locked or closed. Verifying your U.S. business operations
Eligibility, addresses, the EIN document and what Registate can and can't do for your application.
Mercury says it supports U.S. companies with founders from around the world, and you don't need to be a U.S. citizen or resident to apply. The company must be formed in the US or a US territory, have existing or planned US operations, and the founders must not live in a country on Mercury's prohibited list. Mercury reviews each application and decides.
The legal address must be a physical address in the United States, such as the one on your formation documents. The physical address, where you work day-to-day, can be a verifiable international or residential address. Mercury doesn't accept a P.O. box, virtual address, mail center, commercial mail receiving agency or registered agent address as the physical address.
Not as your physical address. Mercury lists registered agent addresses among those it doesn't accept there, and says it may ask you to verify a physical address if your legal address is a registered agent. A registered agent is for receiving legal notices for the state.
No. Our lease-backed address gives you address documents in the company's name, but it doesn't ensure approval. Mercury decides how it classifies any address and whether to open an account. For the physical address, Mercury accepts a verifiable home address abroad.
Form CP575, Form 147c, or an SS-4 as returned by the IRS, not only the application you sent. The IRS doesn't charge for an EIN.
In its own words: Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC insured bank. Banking services are provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.
Sources, checked September 2026: Mercury Help Center. Company address requirements · Updating your company's legal address · Eligibility and requirements · Gathering your documents · Company structures · Prohibited countries · Verifying U.S. business operations · Reapplying after a denial
In Mercury's words: “Mercury is a fintech company, not an FDIC insured bank. Banking services provided through Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC.” Registate isn't a bank and doesn't make account decisions. Compare other options on Banking or read the Stripe requirements.
Registate's address product doesn't ensure Mercury approval.
