Two answers decide what Shopify asks for: where you live and how your business is set up. Pick yours to see the tax IDs, addresses and people Shopify needs, then read the business details, EIN and bank account rules below.
This is our summary, not Shopify's, and its rules can change. We can help with the company and the EIN, but no one can promise Shopify Payments approval.
Payments: your pathBuilt from Shopify's rules, not Shopify's screenUnited StatesShopify: “After you update your residential address to your location outside of the United States, an option appears that allows you to declare that you don't have an SSN or ITIN.”
Shopify and its banking partners must verify the business, the people linked to it and how the two are related. For an LLC or a corporation, that comes down to four things.
Business detailsThe registered name, the EIN, an active business phone number and the official physical address of the business in the United States, where operations primarily occur. Some business types are prohibited; check the Shopify Payments Terms.
One owner or executive represents the account, with legal name, date of birth, SSN or ITIN, home address, job title and equity. Non-US residents can give a passport photo instead. Anyone else with 25% or more of the equity is listed too.
If the EIN can't be verified, Shopify may ask for an SS-4 confirmation letter, Notice CP575 or Letter 147c. The registered name is the line or lines above the business address, and it must match exactly, including punctuation and capitalization. Business documents
Payouts go to Shopify Balance or an eligible external account. Shopify says US virtual bank accounts that accept ACH might work but can see more payout failures. Registate doesn't open bank accounts; see Banking for the providers we cover.
Shopify asks for a business address and a residential address for the representative. They answer different questions, and neither is a mail drop.
“The official physical address of the business in the United States, where the business operations primarily occur.”
The representative's home address, matching government documentation. If you live abroad and set it to your home outside the US, the passport option appears in place of an SSN or ITIN.
Shopify asks for the place where business operations primarily occur, and says APO/FPO addresses are rejected because they are “functionally the same as a PO box or private mail box, and Shopify needs an actual residential location.” A virtual mailbox, including a Registate virtual mailbox, gives you a private mailbox (PMB) for receiving mail. Don't enter it as your Shopify business address or your residential address. Use it for your mail, not for this form.
The APO/FPO wording appears in Shopify's troubleshooting section. Read about business address types if you're unsure which one you have.
If Shopify asks, the address on your account must match the document, and the document must be issued within the past six months.
Shopify rejects documents that don't match your account or aren't clear, complete and original.
We can prepare the company-side pieces. We can't apply for you or influence Shopify's decision, and no address product can promise approval.
Shopify's no-SSN path is open to LLCs and companies, not to Individuals or Sole Proprietorships. We form LLCs and C-Corps online, without an SSN. Forming from abroad
The IRS issues the EIN for free. Our paid help prepares the SS-4, and the IRS sends the letter Shopify accepts. Copy the registered name from that letter exactly. EIN service
A real US street address with a lease and utility bill in the company's name. Shopify asks for the address where operations primarily occur; whether that describes your business, and whether the address is accepted, is for Shopify and its banking partners to decide. Proof of address
Our mailbox gives you a PMB for scanning, forwarding and storing mail. It isn't suitable as your Shopify Payments business address. Use it to receive IRS and state letters instead. Virtual mailbox
A short order of work, built from Shopify's own page. It doesn't replace it.
Check that your business type isn't on the prohibited list for the United States.
Pick the right business type. With an EIN, choose your structure; unsure which one you are? Shopify suggests asking the IRS or an accountant.
Copy the registered name and EIN from your IRS letter exactly, punctuation and capitalization included.
If you live abroad, set your residential address to your real home first, then choose the passport option and photograph your passport clearly.
Enter the physical US address where operations primarily occur. Leave PO boxes and PMBs out of this field. Proof of business address
Connect a full US checking account in USD that accepts ACH, or use Shopify Balance.
The name on your customers' card statements must be 2 to 19 characters and include one of these. If you don't set one, Shopify generates a compliant name and emails the account owner when it changes it.
Your business name, phone number and address can appear on customers' card statements, depending on their bank. Shopify says owners' personal details are never made public.
Shopify never posts documents to you. It emails them or shows them under Settings › Users. Even after verification, it may ask for updated information.
Living abroad, tax IDs, addresses, EIN matching, payout accounts and what Registate can and can't do.
For LLCs, corporations and the other entity types, yes: Shopify says to set the representative's residential address to your home outside the US, which shows an option to give a passport photo instead of an SSN or ITIN. Individuals and Sole Proprietorships are required to live in the United States. Shopify and its banking partners verify every account.
For Individuals and Sole Proprietorships, yes, and Shopify says it can't be bypassed. For other business types, a non-US resident can provide a photo of a valid passport instead. The business itself still needs an EIN, except when you sign up as an Individual.
We wouldn't. Shopify asks for the official physical address of the business in the US, where operations primarily occur, and it rejects APO/FPO addresses because they are functionally the same as a PO box or private mail box. A virtual mailbox, including Registate's, is a private mailbox (PMB) for receiving mail, so don't enter it as your Shopify business or residential address.
Shopify may ask for an IRS SS-4 confirmation letter, Notice CP575 or Letter 147c. Update your account so the registered name and EIN match the letter exactly, including punctuation and capitalization. The registered name is the line or lines above the business address on the IRS document.
A Shopify Balance account, or a full checking account with a US bank in USD that accepts ACH transfers. Savings accounts, wire-only checking, flex-currency accounts and money transfer services aren't supported. Shopify says US virtual bank accounts that accept ACH might work but can see more payout failures.
No. Our lease-backed address comes with documents in the company's name, but it doesn't ensure approval. Shopify asks for the address where business operations primarily occur, and Shopify and its banking partners decide what they accept.
Sources, checked September 2026: Shopify Help Center and Shopify legal. US requirements for Shopify Payments · Shopify Payments eligibility · Shopify Payments Terms (US), prohibited businesses
Registate doesn't make Shopify Payments account decisions. Taking payments through Stripe directly as well? Stripe has its own rules: Stripe requirements. Selling online more broadly? See Registate for ecommerce.
Registate's address product doesn't ensure Shopify Payments approval.
