Stripe wants to know who is behind your organisation. Which question you get depends on your legal form.
Legal form | What Stripe asks | Who to enter |
Sole proprietorship | Nothing extra | Only yourself, in the regular step |
Company or partnership | Beneficial owners | Anyone who owns more than 25% of the business |
Foundation or association | Directors | Only the board members registered in the business register |
Foundation or association: entering your board
Stripe calls your board members "directors". That sounds like a company, but it simply means your board. Foundations and associations don't have owners or shareholders.
Only add the people who are registered as board members in the business register. Nobody else. Stripe compares every name you enter with the register. Every extra person who isn't in there leads to extra checks and delays.
Add | Don't add |
Board members registered in the business register, such as the chair, secretary and treasurer | Members, volunteers, staff, committee members, supervisory board members, former board members, honorary members, contact persons or event organisers |
Not sure who is registered? Check the extract from your business register. Only the people listed there as board members go in.
Click Add director.
Are you a board member? Choose your own name under Select someone.
Add the other registered board members with Add someone new.
Use their full names exactly as registered.
Click Confirm and then Continue.
Does Stripe ask you to confirm your board? Choose Electronic attestation and type your name in the box above the line. Or upload an extract from the business register.
Stripe asks who owns more than 25% of my foundation or association?
A foundation or association has no owners. Still, Stripe sometimes asks for "owners" or "beneficial owners". This refers to the UBOs (ultimate beneficial owners) in the business register.
If nobody owns or controls more than 25%, your board members are registered as UBOs. So here too: only enter the people who appear in the UBO register. Nobody else. You don't need to own anything yourself.
Company or partnership: checking the owners
Stripe searches public registers and shows the names it finds.
Correct? Click Confirm. Not correct? Click Change owners.
Click Start for each owner and enter their email address, date of birth and home address.
Don't have these details? Click Send email invite. The owner fills it in themselves through a link in the email.
Are all owners marked Completed? Click Continue.
Is someone listed who isn't (or is no longer) an owner? Click Change owners and remove that name. Not sure who counts? Check the UBO register (register of beneficial owners) in your country or ask us through the chat.