What You Need to Open a U.S. Business Bank Account: Documents by Entity Type

To open a U.S. business bank account, prepare personal identification, the appropriate tax identification number, verifiable business contact details and documents that establish the business or registered trade name. The exact package depends on the legal structure, state and institution: Bank of America’s document overview separates personal ID and tax information from formation records that vary by entity type.

You should also identify everyone involved in the application: the applicant, authorized signers, qualifying beneficial owners and one person who controls the entity. These roles can overlap, but they are not interchangeable. Participation rules are bank-specific; for example, Chase’s account-opening guidance says all authorized signers must attend an in-person opening and lists additional participants by ownership structure.

1. Build the common business-information file

Start with a single file of facts that can be copied accurately into the application. Use the legal name and address shown on the business’s official records, and keep a separate note of every registered DBA or trade name.

• Full legal business name and any registered trade name.
• Physical and mailing addresses, phone number and email address.
• Entity type, formation state and establishment date.
• Nature of the business and the products or services offered.
• Operating locations, employee count and annual sales when requested.
• Markets served and locations of suppliers or vendors.
• Expected transaction types and volumes.
• Opening-deposit amount and funding source if the selected account requires a deposit.

These details describe the intended banking relationship; they do not replace formation or identity documents. The Chase business-information checklist includes address, business activity, locations, employees, annual sales, markets and expected transactions, while Bank of America’s preparation list calls for a valid, verifiable company address and phone number.

Compare the spelling and formatting across the formation document, tax record and application before submitting anything. If the business recently changed its name, address or structure, retain the amendment or other record connecting the old information to the current information.

2. Prepare identification for applicants and signers

Expect the bank to verify each applicant and authorized signer. For every person the bank requires, have the full legal name, date of birth, residential address, tax identification number and an unexpired government-issued photo ID available. Ask which forms of ID are accepted before an appointment, because the documentary standard belongs to the institution rather than the entity type.

One bank’s list should not be treated as a nationwide rule. Chase’s identification requirements call for two forms of ID, including one primary government-issued document, but another bank may use a different combination or supplement documentary checks with electronic verification.

An authorized signer does not have to be an owner. If an employee, bookkeeper or outside manager will transact on the account, ask what identification and written authorization that person needs. When an agent applies under a power of attorney, confirm in advance whether the bank will accept the document and what identification it requires for the agent and owner.

3. Match the tax ID to the business

Corporations and partnerships generally need an Employer Identification Number for federal tax administration. LLC requirements depend on the LLC’s tax treatment and circumstances, while a sole proprietor may sometimes use an SSN instead of an EIN if both tax rules and bank policy permit it. Bank of America’s account guidance distinguishes a business EIN from the SSN that may be used by a sole proprietor.

If you are forming an LLC, partnership or corporation, complete the state formation process before requesting the EIN. The IRS EIN instructions direct legal entities to form through the state first and say an EIN is generally needed to operate a partnership or corporation.

Apply directly through the IRS rather than paying a website merely to obtain the number: the official EIN service states that the application is free. Save the confirmation letter or another acceptable IRS record showing both the legal name and EIN, because a number copied into a note may not resolve a name mismatch.

4. Sole proprietorship checklist

A sole proprietor usually relies on personal identification, a tax ID and evidence of any business name used. Because a sole proprietorship does not use corporate or LLC formation papers, local registrations and licenses may become the relevant business records.

• Accepted personal identification for the proprietor.
• SSN, ITIN or EIN, as permitted by the bank and applicable tax rules.
• Residential and business contact information.
• DBA, assumed-name or fictitious-name registration when the business uses a name other than the proprietor’s legal name.
• Business or professional license if applicable to the activity or locality.
• Identification and authorization for each additional signer.

A DBA proves the connection between a trade name and its underlying owner; it does not create a separate entity or change ownership. Bank of America’s formation-document table lists DBA, trade-name and fictitious-name registrations for sole proprietors and other structures while noting that document titles vary by state.

Do not assume that a domain name, invoice or social profile can replace a required filing. Check the state, county or city rules governing the place where the business operates, then ask the bank which resulting record it will accept.

5. LLC checklist

An LLC should be ready to prove its legal existence and the applicant’s authority. Begin with the state-filed formation record, then separate internal governance documents from items the bank may request only when it cannot verify the entity or authority through other means.

• Articles of Organization, Certificate of Formation or the state’s equivalent document.
• EIN confirmation or another tax record accepted by the bank.
• Operating agreement and amendments, if requested to establish members, managers or authority.
• DBA registration if the account will operate under a trade name.
• Certificate of status or good standing if the bank requests one.
• Foreign registration or Certificate of Authority when relevant to an out-of-state LLC’s operations and the bank’s requirements.
• Information and identification for required members, managers, beneficial owners and signers.

State terminology differs. Bank of America’s entity table identifies Articles of Organization and Certificates of Formation as LLC evidence and expressly notes that document titles can vary by state.

Review whether the LLC is member-managed or manager-managed and whether the applicant has explicit banking authority. An operating agreement, member consent or banking resolution can help establish that authority, but you should label each as conditional until the chosen bank confirms it is required.

6. Partnership checklist

The records for a partnership depend on whether it is a general partnership, limited partnership or limited liability partnership. The preparation goal is to establish the business name, the partners and the people authorized to bind the partnership.

• EIN confirmation or another bank-accepted federal tax record.
• Signed partnership agreement and current amendments.
• Certificate of Limited Partnership, LLP registration or equivalent state record when the structure requires a filing.
• DBA or assumed-name registration when applicable.
• Required business or professional licenses.
• Written authorization for the partners or delegates who will operate the account if requested.
• Identification and personal information for required partners, beneficial owners, the control person and authorized signers.

The IRS EIN guidance says an EIN is generally needed to operate a partnership. For limited partnerships, Bank of America’s document table identifies the Certificate of Limited Partnership as formation evidence and says a limited partnership agreement may be requested to verify authority.

A general partnership may not have the same state formation record as a limited partnership. That makes it especially important to ask which combination of partnership agreement, trade-name registration, license and authorization the bank will accept.

7. Corporation checklist

A corporation needs records showing legal existence and records supporting the authority of the applicant or officers. Share ownership alone should not be treated as proof that a person may open and control the account.

• Articles or Certificate of Incorporation and relevant amendments.
• EIN confirmation or another tax record accepted by the bank.
• Corporate bylaws, if requested.
• Board or banking resolution when required to establish account-opening and signing authority.
• Certificate of status or good standing if requested.
• Foreign registration documents when relevant.
• DBA or trade-name registration when applicable.
• Identification and personal details for required officers, beneficial owners, the control person and authorized signers.

The public formation document’s title depends on the jurisdiction. Bank of America’s corporate-document list includes Articles of Incorporation, Certificates of Incorporation and Certificates of Formation among the records used to establish corporate existence.

Confirm which officer may apply and whether other people must participate. As one institution-specific example, Chase’s participant rules name the president, secretary, assistant secretary or acting secretary for a corporation and separately require authorized signers to attend an in-person opening.

8. Separate beneficial owners, the control person and signers

For a legal-entity customer covered by the federal Customer Due Diligence Rule, the bank collects information about qualifying human owners and one person with significant management responsibility. FinCEN’s updated CDD FAQs define the ownership group as each individual, if any, who directly or indirectly owns at least 25% of the equity, plus one individual under the control prong.

Prepare each required person’s name, date of birth, address and SSN or other government identification number. Those are the data categories listed in FinCEN’s beneficial-owner guidance. The person submitting the application may supply this information without being a beneficial owner, and a beneficial owner who is not present may be verified through methods allowed by the institution’s risk-based procedures.

The federal threshold is not necessarily the end of the bank’s inquiry. FinCEN’s CDD framework permits stricter internal policies, including collection below the 25% ownership threshold when the institution considers that appropriate for risk management.

A 2026 federal relief order also changed the repeated-account-opening rule for existing legal-entity customers. According to FinCEN’s May 2026 explanation, a covered institution may avoid collecting and verifying the same beneficial-owner identities at every later account opening when specified conditions are met, but using that relief is optional. Applicants should therefore remain prepared to provide the information again.

9. Turn the baseline into the bank’s actual checklist

Keep conditional records separate from the core package. State-dependent items may include a DBA filing, business license, foreign registration or certificate of status. Bank-dependent items may include a proprietary ownership form, resolution, proof of address, additional ID, recent certified records or an opening deposit.

1. Select the bank and account before finalizing the document package.
2. Request the current checklist for the exact entity type and formation state.
3. Collect the common business-information and tax records.
4. Add the relevant sole-proprietor, LLC, partnership or corporation documents.
5. Identify the applicant, control person, qualifying owners and every intended signer.
6. Confirm who must participate and whether verification can be completed remotely.
7. Check that names, addresses, ownership details and authority language agree across the records.
8. Ask whether originals, certified copies or electronic uploads are required.

Give the bank your precise legal structure, formation state, operating state, ownership arrangement and proposed signers when requesting confirmation. That converts a general preparation list into the institution’s submission package and exposes missing authority documents or local filings before you apply.