what are the Required Documents for Opening a business Bank Account in the United States

 

When opening a bank account in the US a company representative appearing in person in the bank would need to bring specific company and personal documents. Below you can see the list of all possible documents a representative would be required to have in his/her possession:

Articles of Incorporation/Organization

To open a business account in the U.S., a company must be registered in one of the US states or D.C. and a representative would submit proof of this entity formation to the bank. The type of documentation required depends on the type of entity formed: a corporation must submit Articles of Incorporation and an LLC must submit Articles of Organization. Some banks would accept filing receipts instead, but the majority require a certified copy of the Articles.

EIN Confirmation Letter

EIN (also known as federal employer identification number) Confirmation Letter (form SS4) is required by all banks to open a business account. The basic reason is that the bank (and yourself) have tax reporting requirements to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) based on your account information, and the EIN is required as the reporting identification number.

Photo Identification

Typically a bank would require 2 pieces of identification for the company representative opening the account, at least one of these must have a picture. A passport would work just fine, but make sure it's not expired. 

Proof of Address (Applicant) 

Banks require the company representative opening the account to submit a personal proof of address. Examples of eligible documents are utility bills, or foreign bank account statements (preferred). Keep in mind - the document MUST be in English. If it's in a language other than English must be officially translated and notarized. Keep in mind, some banks have multilingual bankers, authorized to accept documents in the language they are certified for, but you shouldn't count on that.

US Business Address

Most U.S. banks will not open a business account without a U.S. physical address. Sometimes the bank will accept the street address of a Registered Agent, otherwise known as a Registered Office. Banks are usually accommodating on this requirement, especially if your type of business is one in which having a physical branch is impractical, for example, a company that does business mainly over the Internet.

Some banks also require that the U.S. physical location be within a certain distance (e.g. 10 miles) of the bank branch at which you open the business account. For example, you cannot open a business account in New York if your U.S. physical address is in California.

Minimum Deposit

Minimum deposits vary from bank to bank, with most brick-and-mortar banks requiring as little as $100 (some banks might even have $0 deposit requirements). Check with your bank what would be their minimum deposit requirement for foreign clients.

Letter from a CPA or Company Attorney

This document might be required in some banks if the bank is located in a state other than the state of registration. For example, if you register a Wyoming LLC and want to open an account in a New York bank, the bank would want to see a statement, written by a company accountant or an attorney, stating that this company does not do business in their respective state (in our example, New York). This should not be a complicated letter, something along the lines of, e.g., "I am such and such, confirming that company ABC, formed under the laws of Wyoming, does not and has no immediate plans to conduct business in the state of New York...". The letter must be dated and signed.

Certificates of Good Standing

Many banks require that companies submit Certificates of Good Standing (also called Certificate of Existence) to show that they are currently doing business and in good standing in the state in which they formed their business. Please contact the bank to see if they have this requirement. 

Certificate of Incumbency

Certificate of Incumbency (also called "Incumbency Certificate") is an official document that lists the names of incumbent directors and officers within an organization, and their corporate position within it. An Incumbency Certificate is used as confirmation of the identity of the signing authorities of a company and to prove that they are authorized to enter into legally binding transactions on the company's behalf. This certificate can be drafted on demand (there are plenty of samples online) and must be signed by the company secretary and sealed by a company seal.

Banking Resolution 

Banking Resolution is a company document issued by the Board of Directors (for corporations) or by Members (for LLCs), giving certain individuals the authority to open a bank account on behalf of the company. Some banks have specific language that they require to include in the resolution (and would often supply a sample), other bank accept resolutions issued by the company, as long as it clearly presents and identity of the individual(s), and the extent of the authorization.

Operating Agreement / Bylaws & Minutes 

An operating agreement is an agreement among LLC Members governing the LLC's business, and Member's financial and managerial rights and duties. Corporate bylaws are generally concerned with the operation of the corporation, setting out the form, manner, or procedure in which a corporation should be run. Bylaws come with minutes of meetings (in the beginning they would include the initial meeting, where bylaws are adopted by the board of directors).

Some banks would require a company representative to present the bank with a copy of those documents (operating agreement for LLC, and bylaws with minutes to corporations) when opening a bank account (albeit it's quite rare).

Apostille/Embassy Certification

If you plan to open a bank account in your country or in one of the offshore locations you should be aware of the local regulations and inquire at the bank which documents would be needed to open an account. Typically, at least the Articles of Organization/Incorporation would be required, and this document then needs to be certified for international use.

If you plan to open a bank account in any jurisdiction that is a signatory of a Hague Convention (also called "Apostille Convention") then you would need to have an Apostille attached to a certified copy of your company's Articles (this is done on a state level only). 

If you plan to open the bank account in any other country or jurisdiction that is not a signatory of the Hague convention then the process is a bit more complicated and involves certification of the document at the US State Department and then at the Embassy of the country/jurisdiction in question.