Requirements for document uploads

Adyen tries to verify your users based on the information that you provide. However, in some cases, the automatic verification might fail. This could be due to incorrect data or the data cannot be verified. In these cases, Adyen may ask your user to provide additional documents, such as a passport or a bank statement.

Document types for legal entities or bank accounts

The following are the types of documents that Adyen may require from your user. When uploading documents, make sure that the document meets the specific requirements for individuals, organizations, sole proprietorships, or bank accounts.

Bank statement

The proof of bank account can be any of the following:

• Bank statements
• Deposit tickets or deposit forms
• Screenshots of their online banking environment
• Official letters issued by a bank
• Cheques

Location-specific documents:

• Relevé d'Identité Bancaire (RIB): bank document in France
• TAMIEYTHPIO: bank document in Greece
• Singaporian bank passbooks: bank document in Singapore

Requirements for all documents

The document must show:

We do not accept:

• Photos of bank-issued cards, such as credit or debit cards.
• Edited or personalized documents.
• Documents issued more than 12 months ago.
• Documents where required data points are missing.
• Documents with cut-off, blurry, or low-quality images.
• Documents issued by third party software platforms or programs.

Requirements for specific document types

Direct deposit tickets and forms:

• Must contain a bank logo or bank letterhead.
• Can only be accepted with a stamp or signature from the bank.

Cheques:

• The name of the account holder, account number, and name of the financial institution or logo need to be printed (not handwritten).
• Security features need to be visible for cheques in US and CA.
• The account number and routing number need to be fully visible.
• We can only accept electronic cheques issued by banks in CA.
• We cannot accept any cheques issued by banks in AU.

Letters from bank or bank account agreements:

• Must contain a bank logo or a bank letterhead.
• All letters must have a stamp or signature from the bank.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 15 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 15 MB

Constitutional document

Adyen tries to automatically verify the sole proprietorship. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may ask for a constitutional document. When uploading this document, set the type to constitutionalDocument in your POST /documents request.

The constitutional document must be:

• Issued within the last 12 months, or it must contain a signature and a state of affairs with a date not older than 12 months.

• The following are examples of documents accepted for sole proprietorships:

  • Doing business as (DBA) filing (also known as articles of incorporation, Fictitious- or Trading name filing)
  • Tax filing.

Below are examples of accepted constitutional documents in particular locations.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 30 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 30 MB

Photo IDs

If the automatic verification for an individual's identification number fails, Adyen may ask for a photo ID. The name in the photo ID must match the name sent to Adyen during onboarding.

If the names are different—for example, your user provided their married name to register but their passport has their maiden name—the photo ID check will fail.

The first and last name provided when creating the legal entity must match the photo ID exactly. If the individual only has one name, they must use this name for both the first and last name fields when creating the legal entity.

The following are the accepted photo ID documents, along with the type that you must set in your POST /documents request.

The photo ID must:

• Be non-expired.
• Have the machine-readable zone visible (if available).
• Be a physical photo ID document, not digital.
• If there is an available field for a signature in the document, it must be signed.

The uploaded document must:

• Have separate files for front and back of the ID document (only when providing an ID card or driver's license).
• Be a full color and straightened image. The corners and edges of the ID must be fully visible.
• Be a photo or a scan of the physical photo ID document.

We do not accept:

• Digital IDs.
• Secondary copies of IDs. These include screenshots of photos, a photo pasted onto another document, a photo of a screen, or a photo of a printout.
• Low-quality images.

Additional information for specific countries/regions

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 15 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 15 MB

Proof of address

Adyen uses the data to automatically verify your user's address. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may ask for a proof of address. When uploading this document, set the type to proofOfAddress in your POST /documents request.

The proof of address must be:

• Issued by a reliable, independent source such as the local commercial register of the country/region where the business is registered in.
• Issued within the last 12 months, or it must contain a signature and a state of affairs with a date not older than 12 months.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 15 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 15 MB

Proof of individual tax ID

If the automatic verification for an individual's tax ID fails, Adyen may ask the individual to upload a tax identification document. Set the type to proofOfIndividualTaxId in your POST /documents request.

Proof of industry

If the automatic verification of an industry fails, Adyen may ask for a proof of industry. When uploading this document, set the type to proofOfIndustry in your POST /documents request.

A proof of industry can be a VAT document, a proof of tax information, or a registration document that includes a local or a global industry code. For example, SBI in the Netherlands, NACE in the European Union, or SIC in the United Kingdom.

For the document requirements, see:

• Proof of tax information for organizations
• VAT document for organizations
• Registration document for organizations
• Proof of tax individual tax ID for individuals

Proof of national ID number

If the automatic verification of a national ID number fails, Adyen may ask for a proof of the national ID number. When uploading this document, set the type to proofOfNationalIdNumber in your POST /documents request.

The proof of national ID number must:

• Have the name of the individual.
• Have the national ID number.
• Be issued by a reliable, independent source such as a government agency, public authority, or judicial authority.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 15 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 15 MB

Proof of organization tax information

The tax ID document needs to

• Be issued by a public authority, government agency or judicial authority.
• State the legal entity name and the tax ID number.
• State the country/region where the business is registered.
• Contain an issuance date within the last 12 months, or be signed and dated by a legal representative within the last 12 months.

Note the following:

• The “doing business as” / “trading as” name cannot be accepted as the legal name of your company. Please make sure to fill in the correct legal entity name.
• For some countries/regions, the VAT number is not the same as the tax ID number.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 15 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 15 MB

Proof of ownership

If the automatic verification of an ultimate beneficial owner (UBO) through ownership fails, Adyen may ask for proof of ownership. When uploading this document, set the type to proofOfOwnership in your POST /documents request.

To verify this information, Adyen requires a visual diagram of the ownership and control structure of the legal entity. The diagram must show the associated legal entities and ultimate beneficial owners (UBOs) of the legal entity.

The ownership and control chart must include:

• The full ownership and control structure of all legal entities and UBOs under review, including all intermediate companies.
• The official legal entity name, legal structure, and registered country/region for every entity on the chart.
• The ownership and control relationship between the entities, including ownership percentages.
• Indication of how the criteria for identifying UBOs are fulfilled, for example an individual owning 25% of the total shares of a company.
• A signature confirming the content of the organizational chart, the name and job title of the signing person, and the date of the signature (not older than 6 months from the current date).

If the person signing the organizational chart is one of the following, you do not need to send any additional documents:

• An internal person who is a qualified professional such as a lawyer, accountant or auditor, and whose qualification can be verified through the official website of their professional body. The professional body must be located in the registered country/region of the organization or in the same country/region as another entity in the ownership and control chart.
• An external person or a professional body, certified by a consultancy firm, notary, lawyer, auditor, or other comparable official legal service provider from the registered country/region of the legal entity or entities under review.

External official documents
If the internal person signing the ownership and control chart does not meet the above criteria, you must send official documents that support the submitted ownership and control information. Examples of official documents include:

• Securities register
• Shareholder register
• Ultimate Beneficial Owner register
• Articles of incorporation
• Annual reports
• Annual returns
• Certificate of Corporate Status
• Shareholder Agreements
• Assignment Agreements
• Partnership Agreements
• Board of directors' meeting records of decisions
• Registration document
• Certificate of incumbency

The official document must:

• State the information about the UBOs associated with the legal entity under review, including all intermediate entities involved in the ownership structure
• Not be older than 6 months from the current date
• Be an external document

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 15 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 15 MB

Proof of residential address

The following sources can be used as proof of residence documentation. These documents must not be older than the period specified below.

The proof of residency must:

• Have the name of the individual.
• Have the full residence address, residence country/region, and residence state (when applicable).
• Have a date within the last 3 or 12 months depending on the document type.

Registration document

Adyen uses the name and registration number to automatically verify your user. In case automatic verification fails, Adyen may ask for a registration document. When uploading this document, set the type to registrationDocument in your POST /documents request.

The registration document must be:

• Be issued by a public authority, government agency or judicial authority. The registration document is typically issued when a business is registered at the local commercial register.
• State the legal entity name and registration number.
• Contain an issuance date within the last 12 months, or be signed and dated by a legal representative within the last 12 months.

Note the following:

• The “doing business as” / “trading as” name cannot be accepted as the legal name of your company. Please make sure to fill in the correct legal entity name.
• For some countries/regions, the VAT number is not the same as the tax ID number. The following list of examples for registration documents is not exhaustive. Different documents may be accepted if they meet the above requirements.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 15 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 15 MB

VAT document

In case automatic verification for VAT number fails, Adyen may ask for a VAT document. When uploading this document, set the type to vatDocument in your POST /documents request.

The VAT document must:

• Be issued by a public authority, government agency or judicial authority.
• State the legal entity name and the VAT number.
• State the country of where the business is registered.
• Contain an issuance date within the last 12 months, or be signed and dated by a legal representative within the last 12 months.

Note the following:

• The “doing business as” / “trading as” name cannot be accepted as the legal name of your company. Please make sure to fill in the correct legal entity name.
• For some countries/regions, the VAT number is not the same as the tax ID number.

The uploaded document must meet the following file format and size requirements:

• Formats: JPEG, JPG, PNG, or PDF (maximum 1 file)
• Size for PDFs: minimum 1 KB, maximum 15 MB
• Size for other formats: minimum 100 KB, maximum 15 MB