How to Find and Download Northern Trust Forms for Your Account

Northern Trust forms live in three places depending on what you need: the Northern Trust Asset Management forms page hosts publicly downloadable PDFs (purchase applications, IRA forms, asset transfer and redemption forms, beneficiary designations, trading authorizations, and the beneficial ownership certification); the Private Passport portal handles account-specific documents and electronic submissions for existing clients; and specialized trust administration paperwork comes through your assigned Relationship Manager or Wealth Advisor.¹²

Where to Download or Request Forms

The NTAM forms page is open to anyone and requires no login. It organizes documents into general forms and IRA-specific forms, which covers most routine account activity.¹

If you already hold an account, Private Passport is the secure hub for statements and account-specific paperwork. Not enrolled yet? Your relationship team can set you up. For portal problems, call 888-635-5350 (Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. CT; weekends, 7:00 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. CT). For general banking and investment questions, client services is 866-876-9944.³

Trust administration documents are often not available for public download. Your Relationship Manager pulls those directly and makes sure the version you fill out reflects current policy. You can also walk into any of Northern Trust’s 56 U.S. offices.⁴ Whichever channel you use, check the revision date at the bottom of the form before filling it out. Submitting an outdated version will send the paperwork back.

What to Have Ready Before You Fill Anything Out

Federal anti-money-laundering rules require Northern Trust to run a Customer Identification Program before opening any account. At minimum, that means your name, date of birth (for individuals), a street address, and a taxpayer identification number: a Social Security number for U.S. individuals, or an IRS-issued EIN for entities. Non-U.S. persons can provide a passport, alien identification card, or other government-issued document number together with the issuing country.⁵ Have a current, unexpired government-issued photo ID handy as well.

Trust accounts carry a longer checklist. Northern Trust’s trust acceptance checklist asks for:

A complete copy of the trust instrument and any amendments.
A family tree describing the relationships between the grantor and all beneficiaries.
Account statements identifying each asset by CUSIP, ticker, or other identifier, with market values and tax cost basis.
Name, date of birth, SSN or TIN/EIN, phone, email, and mailing address for the grantor, beneficiaries, co-fiduciaries, direction advisors, and trust protectors.
A W-9 for beneficiaries receiving distributions and for the grantor of grantor or revocable trusts. Non-resident aliens and non-U.S. taxpayers submit a W-8BEN instead, with a recent utility bill and either a bank reference letter or three months of personal bank statements for grantors.

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Specialty assets add their own layer. Real estate requires title documents, proof of insurance, loan information, environmental reports, and any lease agreements. Oil and gas interests need conveyance documents, a year of revenue checks, and operating agreements. Closely held business interests require organizational documents, three years of financial statements or tax returns, and proof the interest was properly assigned to the trust.⁶

For an account tied to a deceased person, you’ll typically need court-issued Letters Testamentary (for an executor named in a will) or Letters of Administration (for a court-appointed administrator) to establish fiduciary authority. Northern Trust will verify the scope of your powers before processing any transactions.

Filling Out the Form Correctly

Most Northern Trust forms open with an Entity Information or Account Type section where you define the legal structure: individual, joint, trust, corporate, partnership, or other. Enter the exact legal name as it appears on your government-issued ID or formation documents. A name mismatch between the form and supporting documents is one of the fastest ways to get paperwork bounced.

The Authorized Signers section lists every individual who can execute transactions, with titles and roles. Whoever you list carries responsibility for activity on the account. For trust accounts, Northern Trust’s application materials direct you to attach the title, trustee, and signature pages from the trust instrument.⁷

Where a form includes Distribution Instructions, give clear percentages or fixed dollar amounts for each beneficiary. Vague wording like “distribute equally as needed” invites delays because the bank needs unambiguous direction before releasing money. If the trust agreement controls distributions, cite the specific article or section so the bank can cross-check.

Routine account maintenance forms generally accept electronic signatures through verified platforms. Documents that grant power of attorney or change beneficial ownership of trust assets often still require wet-ink signatures and notary acknowledgment. Check the form’s own instructions, or ask your Relationship Manager, before signing.

Beneficial Ownership Certification for Entity Accounts

Opening an account for a corporation, LLC, partnership, or similar entity means completing a Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers. The form satisfies federal customer due diligence rules and identifies two categories of people:

Each individual who directly or indirectly owns 25 percent or more of the entity’s equity interests. Depending on the ownership structure, this is anywhere from zero to four people.
One control person with significant management responsibility, such as a CEO, CFO, COO, managing member, general partner, president, or treasurer. At least one person must be identified in this category.

For each person listed, the form collects name, residential address, date of birth, and Social Security number (or passport number for non-U.S. persons). Northern Trust requires a passport or other government-issued photo ID copy for non-U.S. beneficial owners and may ask for a driver’s license or similar document for U.S. beneficial owners. The person opening the account also provides their own name and title and the entity’s street address; P.O. boxes are not accepted.⁸

The same individual can appear in both categories. If the company president holds a 30 percent equity stake, list that person under both ownership and control. A completed form contains identifying information for at least one and up to five individuals.⁸

Tax Certification: W-9 or W-8BEN

Northern Trust needs a tax certification on file for every account holder. U.S. persons (citizens, resident aliens, and domestic entities) submit IRS Form W-9, which provides your taxpayer identification number and certifies your tax status so the bank can report interest, dividends, and transaction proceeds correctly.⁹

Non-U.S. persons file from the W-8 series instead, most often the W-8BEN for individuals or W-8BEN-E for entities. These certify foreign status and claim any reduced withholding rate available under a tax treaty. Northern Trust’s trust acceptance checklist specifically requires a W-8BEN from any non-resident alien grantor or beneficiary receiving distributions.⁶ W-8 forms expire and need periodic renewal, so a form you filed years ago may not still be active.

Submitting Completed Forms

Private Passport includes a Documents & Forms section where clients can access and submit electronic transfer instructions and other paperwork.¹⁰ Uploading through the portal provides an encrypted channel for sensitive financial data and leaves you with a digital record. If the upload fails, call 888-635-5350.³

For physical delivery, send forms by certified mail to Northern Trust’s corporate headquarters at 50 South LaSalle Street, Chicago, Illinois 60603.¹¹ Certified mail gives you a delivery receipt, which is worth having for trust documents or ownership changes. You can also hand-deliver at any Northern Trust office, where a Relationship Manager can run a quick completeness check before the paperwork enters the review queue.

Incomplete submissions are the most common cause of delay. A missing signature page, a blank beneficial ownership form, or a forgotten W-9 will send the whole package back. Gather every supporting document listed in the form’s instructions, and check that every required field is filled in before you submit.

Wire Transfer Authorization

Wires initiated through Private Passport have a $500 minimum and process same-day if submitted before the 2:00 p.m. CT cutoff. The portal supports wires up to $1 million; above that amount, call the Banking Service Center at 888-289-6542 or coordinate directly with your Relationship Manager.¹⁰

Before your first external transfer, complete an Electronic Transfer Instructions form (available in the portal’s Documents & Forms section) to authorize transfers to and from accounts at other institutions. For large-value wires, expect a callback verification step: a staff member calls a phone number already on file to confirm the wire details with the account owner or an authorized representative before the funds release.¹⁰

One Boundary Worth Knowing

Northern Trust’s forms don’t cover foreign account reporting. If you’re a U.S. person with a financial interest in or signature authority over foreign accounts whose combined value exceeds $10,000 at any point in the calendar year, you file the Report of Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts (FBAR) directly with FinCEN through the BSA E-Filing System, not with Northern Trust or the IRS.¹²

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Northern Trust Asset Management. Forms
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Northern Trust. Private Passport – Go Paperless
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Northern Trust. Contact Us – Wealth Management
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Northern Trust. United States Locations
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eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program
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Northern Trust. Trust Acceptance Checklist
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Northern Trust. New Account Application
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Northern Trust. Certification Regarding Beneficial Owners of Legal Entity Customers
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IRS. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
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Northern Trust. Private Passport Transfer Funds Printable Guide
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Northern Trust. Chicago, Illinois
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FinCEN.gov. Report Foreign Bank and Financial Accounts