KYC basics: what verified account documentation usually covers

Know-your-customer (KYC) documentation exists so a regulated platform can tie an account to a real, identifiable person or legal entity. The specific list varies by jurisdiction and product, but the categories are remarkably consistent across exchanges, banks and payment gateways.

The first category is a government-issued identity document — a passport, national ID card or driving licence. Platforms check the machine-readable zone, expiry date and the consistency of the name against the profile that was registered.

The second category is a liveness or selfie check. This links the document to the person holding it and defends against reused document images. Most providers now run this automatically and escalate only edge cases to a human reviewer.

The third category is proof of address: a utility bill, bank statement or government letter dated within the last three months. Address evidence drives geographic eligibility, which is why platforms treat mismatches seriously.

Business profiles add a fourth category — incorporation documents, a register extract, and beneficial-ownership disclosure for anyone holding a material stake. This is often called KYB, and it typically takes longer than personal onboarding.

None of this documentation is transferable. That is the core reason account transfers are restricted by nearly every platform's terms of service: identity is the asset being verified, and it cannot be reassigned to someone else.