What Forms of ID Do Banks Accept: Primary, Secondary, and SSN

To open a bank account in the United States, you need one unexpired, government-issued photo ID, plus information confirming your name, date of birth, street address, and a taxpayer identification number such as a Social Security Number. That baseline comes from federal anti-money-laundering rules and applies at every bank, credit union, and savings association. Individual banks can ask for more, and many do, but the forms of ID banks accept always start with the same short list of primary documents.

Primary Photo IDs That Work at Any Bank

Your main ID has to be issued by a government, carry your photograph, and still be in date. Federal regulators name a driver’s license and a passport as the benchmark examples.¹ The documents a teller or online form will accept without hesitation:

A state driver’s license or state-issued non-driver ID card. Every state issues ID cards for residents who don’t drive, and these carry the same weight as a license for banking.
A U.S. passport or passport card. Useful if your license is from a state different from your current address.
A military ID, including a Department of Defense Common Access Card or uniformed services ID.
A tribal identification card issued by a federally recognized tribe, which fits the regulation’s language covering any government-issued document showing nationality or residence with a photograph.²

An expired ID will not work. The regulation requires documents to be unexpired, so a license that lapsed last month sends you back out the door.² REAL ID compliance, on the other hand, is not a factor. The REAL ID Act restricts which IDs federal agencies accept for things like boarding flights and entering federal buildings.³ Banks are not federal agencies in this context, so a non-compliant license still opens an account.

Secondary Documents the Bank May Ask For

Many banks request a second document to confirm the information on your photo ID or to fill in gaps the primary document doesn’t cover. Secondary documents don’t need a photograph. The common ones:

A Social Security card, which confirms your name and SSN.
A birth certificate, which verifies your legal name and date of birth.
A credit or debit card from another bank, used to confirm you already have a financial relationship elsewhere. This is supplemental, not a standalone form of verification.
A student ID from an accredited school, especially for younger customers opening a first account. Federal guidance treats student IDs as a reasonable option for verifying a student’s identity, though a student ID alone is not enough.⁴

Each bank writes its own Customer Identification Program within the federal rules, so one branch may wave you through on a license alone while another asks for a second document. Call ahead if you want to avoid a second trip.

Proving Your Address

Banks are required to collect your residential or business street address. If you don’t have one, the regulation permits a military APO or FPO address, or the street address of a next of kin or other contact person.¹ Rural customers can use a roadside mailbox number on a rural route, because it describes an approximate physical location.⁴ A plain P.O. box, without more, does not.

Collecting the address is one step. Verifying it is another, and most banks do that by asking for a recent utility bill, mortgage statement, lease agreement, or property tax notice. The familiar requirement that these be dated within 30 to 90 days is a bank-level policy, not a federal regulation. If one bank rejects a four-month-old utility bill, another may accept it.

For people experiencing homelessness or staying with relatives, some banks accept a letter from a shelter or a family member confirming where you’re staying, because the regulation lets banks describe a customer’s physical location when no standard address exists. Community banks and credit unions tend to be more flexible on this than large national banks.

You Need an SSN or ITIN

Every account needs a taxpayer identification number attached to it, because the IRS requires banks to report interest income.⁵ You usually provide the number by completing IRS Form W-9 at the bank.⁶

For U.S. citizens and permanent residents, that number is your Social Security Number. If you don’t have an SSN, you need an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number instead. The IRS assigns ITINs through Form W-7, which you can submit by mail or in person at a Taxpayer Assistance Center.⁷ Once assigned, the IRS mails you Notice CP565, and that notice is what many banks want to see as proof of the number.

Declining to provide a TIN is not a workable path. The bank is required to withhold 24 percent of any reportable interest under the federal backup withholding rules.⁸ In practice most banks just decline to open the account.

ID Options for Non-U.S. Citizens

If you aren’t a U.S. citizen, the regulation gives banks a broader list of acceptable identification numbers: a taxpayer identification number, a passport number together with the country of issuance, an alien identification card number, or the number from any other government-issued document that shows nationality or residence and includes a photograph.² A valid foreign passport is usually the cleanest option, since it covers both the photo requirement and the ID number in one document.

The Matricula Consular, issued by Mexican consulates, sits in a gray zone. Federal regulators have neither prohibited banks from accepting it nor required them to. Each bank decides in its own CIP, and many large banks don’t. If it’s your main form of identification, confirm the bank’s policy before visiting.

If You Don’t Have Standard ID

The regulations don’t limit banks to documents. Banks are allowed to verify your identity through non-documentary methods, including checking the information you provide against consumer reporting agency records, contacting other financial institutions for references, or calling you to confirm details.²

A few practical moves help. Try a credit union or community bank first, since their CIP procedures tend to be more flexible than those at large national banks. Bring everything you do have: an expired ID, a birth certificate, a Social Security card, and any mail showing your address. The bank may be able to verify you from a combination of these plus a database check. If you need to replace a state ID card, fees generally run between $10 and $30 depending on the state, and many states waive the fee for people experiencing homelessness or receiving public assistance.

Opening an Account for a Child

Children under 18 generally can’t open a bank account on their own. A parent or legal guardian opens a custodial or joint account, bringing their own valid photo ID, SSN, and address verification. The bank also needs the child’s full legal name, date of birth, and Social Security Number. Some banks require the adult to already hold an account at that institution before opening one for a child.

If the child has a state ID or passport, bring it. If not, a birth certificate combined with the parent’s identification is the standard path, with the bank verifying the child through the parent’s existing verified relationship.²

What a Business Account Requires

Opening a business account means identifying both the entity and the people behind it. Plan on bringing your Employer Identification Number (sole proprietors can use their SSN instead), the business’s formation documents such as articles of incorporation or an operating agreement, any ownership agreements, and a business license if your jurisdiction requires one.⁹

Federal rules also require banks to identify the real people who own or control the business. Under the beneficial ownership rule, anyone who directly or indirectly owns 25 percent or more of the company’s equity must provide personal identification, meaning the same photo ID, date of birth, address, and SSN or TIN that an individual customer would provide.¹⁰ The bank must also identify at least one individual with significant control over the entity, such as a CEO or managing member, even if that person’s ownership stake is below 25 percent.

Opening an Account Online

When you open an account without visiting a branch, the bank still has to verify your identity. The regulation specifically requires CIP procedures to address situations where the customer doesn’t appear in person.¹ You’ll usually photograph or scan your ID and upload it through the bank’s app or website. The bank then cross-checks what you entered against consumer reporting agencies, public databases, or other third-party sources.²

Some banks add a selfie step that compares a live photo of your face to the picture on the ID you uploaded. Others pull a soft credit inquiry or ask you knowledge-based authentication questions drawn from your credit file. The specific mix depends on the bank, but the underlying obligation is the same whether you’re at a counter or on a phone.

1
FDIC. Customer Identification Program FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual
2
eCFR. 31 CFR 1020.220 – Customer Identification Program Requirements for Banks
3
Department of Homeland Security. REAL ID Act Text
4
Financial Crimes Enforcement Network. Interagency Interpretive Guidance on Customer Identification Program Requirements Under Section 326 of the USA PATRIOT Act
5
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Forms 1099-INT and 1099-OID
6
Internal Revenue Service. Form W-9 – Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification
7
Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN
8
Internal Revenue Service. Backup Withholding
9
U.S. Small Business Administration. Open a Business Bank Account
10
eCFR. 31 CFR 1010.230 – Beneficial Ownership Requirements for Legal Entity Customers