How to Prepare Your US LLC Documents for a Business Bank Account
Before applying for a US business bank account, get the provider's list, collect company records and owner IDs, confirm your IRS EIN evidence, and check that the legal name, EIN, addresses and ownership agree. This avoids mismatches a reviewer might question; approval stays with the provider.
You have a formed LLC and an EIN, and you do not want the bank application to stall. Before you open the form, work through these steps in order: get the provider's own document list, collect the company records and personal IDs, confirm the IRS evidence for your EIN, check that the same legal name, EIN, addresses and ownership appear across your records, and write a business description your website supports.
This preparation does not decide the outcome. It removes gaps and mismatches that a reviewer might otherwise question, and the decision stays with the bank or provider. US LLC documents explained covers what each document is and who issues it. Opening a US business bank account from Egypt covers choosing a provider and what the application involves. This guide covers the checks between the two.
Quick summary
- Start from the list published by the provider you will apply to. Lists differ: Relay asks multi-member LLCs for a signed operating agreement, and Chase collects details of owners from 10%.
- Under FinCEN's customer due diligence rule, banks identify each person who owns 25% or more and one person who controls the company. This is the bank's own check, not a FinCEN filing.
- The IRS describes an entity transcript, a digital CP575 for eligible Business Tax Account users, and Letter 147C by phone as ways to confirm an EIN. Check which one your provider accepts.
- Consistency means the same legal name, EIN and ownership everywhere, and each address accurate for its own field. Addresses can legitimately differ.
- Ask before paying for a certified copy or a banking resolution. Some banks name them and others do not.
Step 1: Start from the provider's own list
Decide where you will apply first, because the lists differ. The US Small Business Administration names the EIN, formation documents, ownership agreements and a business license as common requests, and adds that some banks ask for more. Bank of America says a banker can confirm what applies to your business type and location.
The table shows how published lists varied as of November 2026, drawn from Relay's document list, Chase's account-opening page, PNC's guide and U.S. Bank's checklist. Each entry is what that institution says about itself. None of this is a recommendation.
| Item | Who names it |
|---|---|
| Formation document | Relay, PNC; Chase wants it registered, certified or stamped by the state |
| EIN | All four; Relay accepts a CP-575 or 147C letter as the document |
| Operating agreement | Relay, signed, for multi-member LLCs; PNC; U.S. Bank, as something its list may include; Chase, as one way to show members or managers |
| Proof of current status | Chase, for LLCs registered more than a year ago; U.S. Bank, as something its list may include |
| Business license | PNC, if applicable; U.S. Bank, as something its list may include |
| Owner details | Relay from 25%; Chase from 10% |
Read the whole page, not only the document list, because other conditions can decide whether the rest is worth doing. Chase lists the people who need to be present at account opening, which for a member-managed LLC means all members. Relay asks beneficial owners for a physical US address, with no PO boxes or virtual mailboxes. If you live outside the US, check conditions like these first.
Step 2: Collect the company records
Put these in one folder as legible PDFs:
- The filed formation document, in the version the state accepted rather than a draft. Bank of America notes that its title varies by state.
- The signed operating agreement, showing current members and their shares. The filed document may not show who owns the company, so this may be the record that does.
- Proof of current status, if asked. Chase asks LLCs registered more than a year ago for a certificate of good standing or a similar status record. Either way, confirm your LLC shows as active in the state's records.
- A trading name record, if you use one. A DBA ("doing business as" name) is a registered alternate name, and Bank of America notes that it does not create a separate legal entity. U.S. Bank asks for proof of legal name if you use one, and Chase lists an assumed name or DBA certificate "if applicable".
Ask before you pay for a certified copy or a banking resolution
Certified copy. The federal customer identification rule gives "certified articles of incorporation" as one example of a document showing that an entity exists, alongside a government-issued business license (31 CFR 1020.220). That is an example, not a rule that every LLC needs one. Chase accepts articles registered, certified or stamped by the state agency, and lists state or county website validation as another option outside Delaware and New Jersey. Ask whether your filed copy is enough before ordering a certified one.
Banking resolution. This is a written authorization recording who may open and operate accounts for the company. As of November 2026, Nodaway Valley Bank's LLC checklist asks for a completed LLC Authorization Resolution on a form the bank provides. Chase and PNC mention corporate resolutions only in their corporation sections, and U.S. Bank's checklist does not mention one. So ask first, and if a bank wants one, ask whether it has its own form before you buy a template.
Step 3: Prepare personal identification
Under FinCEN's customer due diligence rule, a covered financial institution, which includes a bank, must identify and verify the beneficial owners of a legal entity customer. That term includes an LLC (31 CFR 1010.230). There are two tests:
- Ownership: each individual who directly or indirectly owns 25% or more.
- Control: one individual with significant responsibility to control, manage or direct the company, such as a managing member.
The rule says the same person can meet both tests, so a sole owner who runs the LLC may be the only name. Ownership held through another company counts: FinCEN's FAQs describe identifying individuals who qualify indirectly through multiple corporate structures.
For each person, the FAQs list a name, date of birth, address and identification number, which for a foreign person can be a passport number or similar. Where a bank verifies with documents, the customer identification rule refers to unexpired government-issued identification (31 CFR 1020.220). Check that each passport is in date, that your image shows every number, and that it meets your provider's rule. Relay, for example, does not accept scanned copies.
These are minimums. The FAQs say institutions may adopt stricter policies, including collecting details on smaller owners, and Chase's 10% line is one example. Relay and Mercury ask for similar information. Relay requires non-US resident owners to add the source of the income that started the business, whether the business is new or established, annual personal income and countries of operation, and it accepts a business owned by non-US citizens or residents only if the business has an operating presence in the US. Mercury's terms name ownership among the business details it collects, and a corporate registration certificate, proof of address and personal identification among the documents used to verify them.
All of this is separate from FinCEN's beneficial ownership reports. An LLC formed in a US state files no such report, as BOI reporting in 2026 explains, and that does not change what a bank asks. FinCEN's February 2026 order lets institutions skip repeating this step for each new account, but it still applies when a company first opens an account with that institution.
Step 4: Confirm your EIN evidence
Have an IRS document ready, not only the number. Relay, for one, lists EIN confirmation letters (CP-575 or 147C) among its accepted documents. The IRS describes the options on its EIN page and its CP575 page:
| Evidence | What the IRS says | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Original CP575A-J notice | The notice of a new EIN; the IRS will not issue a copy | Keep it safe and make your own copies. If someone applied for you, ask them for it |
| Digital CP575 | Only through Business Tax Account; accepted by banks and other institutions as written confirmation; can replace the original and Letter 147C | Needs an IRS sign-in, which requires an SSN or ITIN |
| Letter 147C | "EIN Previously Assigned"; requested from the business and specialty tax line | Have an authorized person call |
| Entity transcript | One of the ways to confirm an EIN | Check that your provider accepts it |
Do not assume the digital route is open to you. The Business Tax Account page says the account is not yet available for LLCs that file as sole proprietors, its single-member LLC entry covers those filing Form 1120-S or Form 1065, and it does not mention foreign owners. IRS sign-in requires an SSN or ITIN, so an owner with neither cannot use this route, and an owner with one should still confirm the LLC qualifies. Otherwise, plan around the original notice or Letter 147C. The IRS EIN page lists its current phone numbers and hours, and for a lost EIN it says it verifies the caller and gives the number only to someone authorized to receive it.
Step 5: Check that the same facts appear everywhere
Lay the records side by side. Federal rules require a bank to record how it resolved any substantive discrepancy it finds when verifying identifying information (31 CFR 1020.220; 31 CFR 1010.230). Mercury's terms say it relies on the accuracy of customer information and may deny an application or close an account if that information is out of date, incomplete or inaccurate. A mismatch you fix first is one less thing to question during the review.
Legal name and EIN
Use the name exactly as the state accepted it, with its suffix, on the operating agreement, the application and any provider profile. Copy the EIN from the IRS document, not from memory.
One difference has an explanation. The IRS says its systems allow only letters, numbers, hyphens and ampersands in business names, so a comma, period or apostrophe in your state-filed name cannot appear on the IRS record. A misspelling, or a different word that is not a spelled-out symbol, has no such explanation.
If the IRS record is wrong or the company changed its name, the IRS business name change page gives the route for sole proprietors, corporations and partnerships. It has no separate LLC entry, so ask the IRS or a tax professional which one applies to yours. Changing the name on the state record is a separate filing with the state. Finish either correction before you apply.
Addresses
Consistency does not mean one address everywhere. It means each field holds an answer that is accurate and eligible for that field. Registered agent vs virtual address vs business address explains the roles. Then check what each party is asking for:
- A bank's minimum. For a company, a principal place of business, local office or other physical location. For an individual, a residential or business street address (31 CFR 1020.220).
- Provider rules. Relay says that if your legal address is a registered agent address, you also give an operational address that is not another registered agent address. Bank of America says the company's address and phone number must be valid and verifiable. What Mercury requires covers Mercury's two address fields.
- The IRS record. The IRS allows only 35 characters for street addresses and tells applicants to use USPS standard abbreviations, so a shortened address there is not in itself an error. If your mailing or location address has changed, update it on Form 8822-B.
Ownership and control
The owners and percentages in the operating agreement should match the owner details you enter in the application. If someone has joined or left, update the records first. Enter each person's name as it appears on their passport.
Check the responsible party too, meaning the individual on file with the IRS for the EIN. Changes must be reported within 60 days on Form 8822-B. Applying for an EIN without an SSN explains who that person should be.
Step 6: Write the business description and check the website
FinCEN's rule includes understanding customer relationships and building a customer risk profile (FinCEN), so bank applications ask about the business as well as the paperwork, and other providers ask too. Providers ask in different ways, as of November 2026:
- Relay collects industry, description, source of funds, countries of operation and monthly transaction volume.
- Wise asks for details of your products or services and a link to your website or storefront if you have one.
- nsave lists a website or landing page, a sample invoice or client contract, and product screenshots if you are pre-launch as proof of activity.
Write one short paragraph you can reuse across forms. Cover what the company sells and to whom, where customers are and how they pay, where the starting money comes from, and expected monthly volume, labelled as an estimate. Describe what exists now and what is genuinely planned, and say which is which.
Then read your website as a reviewer would. It should describe the same activity as your paragraph. If it shows a trading name, have the DBA record ready. Check that links and contact details work. If you have no website yet, prepare whatever other evidence your provider accepts rather than publishing a page that overstates the business.
A final checklist
- The current document list from the provider you will apply to, including its address and attendance conditions.
- The filed formation document, as accepted by the state.
- A signed operating agreement showing current members and shares.
- Active status confirmed in the state's records, plus any certificate your provider asks for.
- An IRS document confirming the EIN, in a form your provider accepts.
- Unexpired ID for each owner at your provider's threshold and for the control person, captured as your provider specifies.
- The same legal name and EIN across your records, with any punctuation difference understood.
- Each address accurate and eligible for its field, and the IRS record current.
- The same owners and percentages in the operating agreement and the application, and a current responsible party at the IRS.
- A written business description, with your website or other evidence matching it.
- An answer from the provider on whether it wants a certified copy or a resolution.
Next steps
- Choose where to apply. Opening a US business bank account from Egypt sets out provider rules and the application, and Mercury alternatives for a non-resident-owned US LLC goes through other providers.
- If you are applying to Mercury, read what Mercury requires from an LLC owned from Egypt against your description and addresses.
- If a term on the form is unfamiliar, see US business banking terms.
- If you are unsure what a document is, see US LLC documents explained.
A complete file does not oblige a provider to accept the company, and a provider can ask for more during its review. Upload documents through its own channel rather than open email or chat, and keep the facts the same if you apply elsewhere.
Foundlie's US formation service includes the state filing, a registered agent for year 1, the EIN application and follow-up with the IRS, an Operating Agreement, your formation documents through a private portal, and business bank guidance for Mercury and Relay. It does not include guaranteed approval from either. The pricing page lists the current options, and you can contact us if you are unsure which document a provider is asking for.
This article provides general educational information and is not legal, tax or banking advice. IRS procedures, FinCEN rules and provider requirements change; check the current source or consult a qualified professional for your situation.