Stripe asks about four things when you open a US account: your company, the person representing it, your website and your bank. Here is what each section asks for, in Stripe's own words, before you apply from abroad.
Stripe reviews every application and makes its own decision. We can help with the company and the EIN, but no one can promise Stripe's approval.
onboarding readinessSample walkthrough, not Stripe's screenStripe: "Registered businesses must be registered in the US, even if you operate in another country."
Stripe's help page on US accounts is short: three requirements, and five details it says it will verify.
Stripe: "Registered businesses must be registered in the US, even if you operate in another country." That's the company formation step. Unregistered businesses need an owner or representative physically located in the US.
Stripe asks for "the address of the physical location where the majority of your business activity is carried out". It doesn't accept PO Boxes, and its address help page adds private mailboxes to that list.
Stripe says it will verify your legal entity name, entity type, EIN, SSN (or ITIN) and business address, and "may ask you to provide official documentation". No EIN yet? See EIN support.
If Stripe can't verify your address automatically, it lists documents it can accept. Each must show your business name or the account owner's name.
Sources: Stripe, Requirements for having a US Stripe account, Update your business address and Verifying your business address, checked September 2026. Stripe can change these at any time; its pages are the ones that count.
Stripe collects details on the person opening the account. What it asks for depends on whether that person is a US individual, and on the account type.
Sources: Stripe, Business rep/owner tax ID requirements for US companies, the Sole Proprietorship version, Signing up without a tax ID or EIN, Acceptable verification documents and Phone number requirements, checked September 2026.
Stripe: "If you use a website, social media profile or mobile app to promote your business or sell products, Stripe needs to review it to understand your business and verify what you are selling." It keeps checking after activation, too.
Your business name and a description of what you sell, matching what you told Stripe. Stripe and its partners also want contact details and your refund, return and cancellation terms "by the time you start selling your goods or services".
Stripe may also ask you to confirm you own the website, by email and in your Dashboard.
Sources: Stripe, Business website for account activation FAQ and Do I have to have a business website?, checked September 2026. Some industries face these requirements sooner, Stripe says.
Address is where founders abroad get stuck most. Stripe's rule is about where your business really operates, and an address product doesn't change that or make approval certain.
The physical location where most of your business activity happens. It must be a valid US address; PO Boxes and private mailboxes aren't accepted.
For Issuing, Treasury and Opal, Stripe screens business and representative addresses and rejects registered agent, mailbox and virtual address services. Stripe says those accounts can still use it for payment processing.
Stripe notes that even its own Atlas registered agent address "doesn't serve as the company's operating address or physical address".
Stripe lists a signed rental or lease agreement and utility bills among the documents it can accept. Our lease and utility bill give you those documents; Stripe still decides whether your address qualifies.
A mailbox address is a private mailbox (PMB). Use it for your mail, not as your Stripe business address.
Included with our formation plans for state and legal mail. It isn't your operating address.
Sources: Stripe, Physical presence requirement FAQ, Update your business address and Verifying your business address, checked September 2026.
Each Stripe section depends on something you set up first. Doing them in this order means fewer blanks on the form.
Stripe needs a US-registered business. Compare an LLC and a C-Corp on company formation.
Stripe verifies your EIN. The IRS issues it for free; our EIN support prepares the application if you want help.
A checking account in your payout currency, with the holder name exactly as on your bank statement. See Mercury's requirements and the banking guide.
Name, what you sell, contact details and policies, live and without a password, before you submit.
Apply on Stripe with details that match your filings. If Stripe asks for documents, send what it lists. Processing times vary; Stripe sets them.
Also getting paid through Payoneer? Registate is a Payoneer Affiliate Partner; see Payoneer for US companies.
Tax IDs, addresses, websites and Atlas, answered from Stripe's own help pages.
Stripe's US page says registered businesses "must be registered in the US, even if you operate in another country". It also asks for the physical address where most of your business activity happens, and it verifies your company and representative details. Stripe reviews each application and decides; its current requirements page is the one to check before you apply.
It depends on the person and the account type. Stripe's tax ID guidelines say a US individual lists an SSN, or an ITIN without one. For a representative who is not a US individual, Stripe says: "Without a SSN or ITIN, we expect you to provide your local non-US tax ID and respective documentation to confirm you aren't a US taxpayer." Individual and Sole Prop accounts need a US individual as representative. Another Stripe page says an SSN is still required for the individuals on every US account, so follow what your Stripe Dashboard asks for.
Stripe says the business address must be a valid US address and doesn't accept PO Boxes or private mailboxes. For Issuing, Treasury and Opal it also rejects registered agent, mailbox and virtual address services. A virtual mailbox address is a private mailbox, and a registered agent address is for legal notices, so neither is meant for this field.
If you use a website, social profile or app to promote your business or sell, Stripe reviews it. It must load without a password and show your business name and what you sell, matching what you told Stripe. Contact details and refund, return and cancellation terms are needed by the time you start selling.
Atlas is Stripe's own company formation service. Stripe says Atlas companies incorporated on or after September 3, 2025 can activate US card payments before the IRS assigns their EIN, and that an Atlas company's business phone can be in any country. Other Stripe accounts need a verifiable EIN (or SSN or ITIN) and a US business phone.
No one can promise that. We form US companies, help with the EIN and provide proof-of-address documents, but Stripe runs its own checks and makes its own decision. An address product does not ensure approval.
Stripe runs its own review and decides every application.
