Can a non-US founder open a Mercury account with a Minnesota LLC?

Yes. Mercury explicitly supports foreign founders with a US LLC. You need the Minnesota formation document (the Articles of Organization), the IRS EIN letter, a non-US passport for identity, and a US business address. No US SSN or residency is required.

Does forming in Minnesota affect Mercury eligibility?

No. Mercury accepts LLCs from all US states and territories. The formation document name varies by state, and Minnesota issues Articles of Organization; Mercury accepts it the same as any other state's.

I do not live in Minnesota. Can I still use a Minnesota LLC on Mercury?

Mercury does not check where you live, only that the Minnesota entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match Minnesota's record. The catch is not Mercury, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of Minnesota's $155. Forming in Minnesota while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.

Do I need a Minnesota sales-tax permit before my first sale through Mercury?

Probably yes. Minnesota charges a 6.875% state rate, and payments taken through Mercury are not covered by marketplace-facilitator laws, so you collect and remit yourself. Register before your first taxable sale if you have physical presence in Minnesota, or once you cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in the previous 12-month period.

Marketplace Verification

How to pass Mercury verification with a Minnesota LLC

What Mercury asks for at signup, and which Minnesota LLC documents satisfy each requirement.

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: August 4, 2026

A Minnesota LLC is generally eligible for Mercury verification, and you will need to provide your Articles of Organization, EIN, beneficial-owner ID, and a valid US business address. Nothing about forming in Minnesota blocks approval, and nothing about it guarantees approval either: the final call is Mercury's.

Mercury is a fintech banking platform whose deposits are held at FDIC-member partner banks (currently Choice Financial Group and Column N.A., Members FDIC), making it popular with startups and small businesses including those with non-US founders. To open a Mercury account for a Minnesota LLC, you must provide the company's formation document (in Minnesota, the Articles of Organization), an IRS-issued EIN confirmation, a government ID for the beneficial owner(s), and a physical US address. Mercury supports all US-state LLC types and is commonly used by foreign founders who have formed a US LLC, since it does not require founders to be US citizens or residents.

In Minnesota the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing Articles of Organization, which costs $155. Minnesota does not publish a processing time for LLC filings, so treat state approval as the open-ended step in your timeline rather than the Mercury review. Because Minnesota names a member or manager on a routine public filing, the owner name Mercury asks you to confirm is already a matter of public record.

Not legal advice: Verification requirements change, and so do Minnesota's filing fees and forms. Confirm current platform rules with Mercury, and current filing rules with the Minnesota filing office, before you file. Mercury's requirements were last reviewed 2026-07-21, and Minnesota's figures on this page come from its own published schedule.

What Mercury requires, and how a Minnesota LLC meets each

Requirement	How your Minnesota LLC satisfies it
LLC formation documents	Upload the Articles of Organization Minnesota returned to you, stamped and approved.
IRS EIN confirmation letter	Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool), independent of Minnesota.
Government-issued ID for owner(s)	Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your Minnesota filings. Minnesota names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
US business address	Use a US street address registered to the LLC in Minnesota (your Minnesota registered-agent or virtual business address), since a PO box is usually rejected.

Minnesota-specific things to watch

Minnesota names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so Mercury's beneficial-owner check will line up with public state records, and you still upload a government ID for each owner. (Minnesota's Articles of Organization require only organizer names, but under Minnesota law the mandatory annual renewal must include the name and business address of 'the manager of a limited liability company, or chief executive officer,' so at least one governing person appears on a routine public filing.)
Budget for Minnesota's ongoing LLC costs before projecting your Mercury margins: No franchise tax, but LLCs taxed as partnerships or S corporations owe Minnesota's 'minimum fee' (tiers starting at $250) if the sum of Minnesota property, payroll, and sales/receipts is at least $1,250,000 (inflation-adjusted); single-member LLCs reporting on the owner's Form M1 are exempt.

Minnesota sales tax & nexus rules for Mercury sellers

Minnesota charges a 6.875% state sales-tax rate. Payments through Mercury are not covered by marketplace-facilitator laws, so you collect and remit yourself. Registration is required before your first taxable sale if you have physical presence in Minnesota (an in-state location, inventory, or employees), or once you cross Minnesota's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in the previous 12-month period.

Minnesota's 6.875% state rate is one of the higher statewide rates. The state also has a separate use tax return requirement for businesses that purchased taxable items without paying sales tax. Register through Minnesota e-Services.

How to verify your Minnesota LLC on Mercury

LLC formation documents. Upload the Articles of Organization Minnesota returned to you, stamped and approved.
IRS EIN confirmation letter. Provide your federal EIN (free from the IRS; non-US founders without an SSN must apply via Form SS-4 by fax or phone rather than the online tool), independent of Minnesota.
Government-issued ID for owner(s). Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your Minnesota filings. Minnesota names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
US business address. Use a US street address registered to the LLC in Minnesota (your Minnesota registered-agent or virtual business address), since a PO box is usually rejected.

Non-US founders with Minnesota LLCs

Mercury explicitly supports non-US founders who have formed a US LLC, Minnesota included. A non-US passport is accepted for identity verification. The entity must be formed and registered in the United States, and a US business address is required, which a Minnesota registered agent address satisfies. No US Social Security Number is needed from the founder.

Frequently Asked Questions

: Yes. Mercury explicitly supports foreign founders with a US LLC. You need the Minnesota formation document (the Articles of Organization), the IRS EIN letter, a non-US passport for identity, and a US business address. No US SSN or residency is required.
: No. Mercury accepts LLCs from all US states and territories. The formation document name varies by state, and Minnesota issues Articles of Organization; Mercury accepts it the same as any other state's.
: Minnesota charges $155 to file Articles of Organization, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. Minnesota does not publish a processing time for LLC filings, so treat state approval as the open-ended step in your timeline rather than the Mercury review. Mercury charges nothing for verification itself, so the $155 filing fee and Minnesota's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a Minnesota entity.
: Mercury does not check where you live, only that the Minnesota entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match Minnesota's record. The catch is not Mercury, it is the state you actually operate from: states require an out-of-state LLC to register as a foreign LLC before it transacts business there, which is a second filing and a second fee on top of Minnesota's $155. Forming in Minnesota while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.
: Probably yes. Minnesota charges a 6.875% state rate, and payments taken through Mercury are not covered by marketplace-facilitator laws, so you collect and remit yourself. Register before your first taxable sale if you have physical presence in Minnesota, or once you cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales or 200 transactions in the previous 12-month period.

Sources

Each entry below is a document recorded in our verified Minnesota sources, and each entry says what the document is. Some statutory text is read from an accurate mirror rather than from the state's own host, and those say so. Where we hold the citation but no stable public link, the citation is printed on its own rather than pointed at a guessed address.

Minnesota statute: Minn. Stat. § 322C.0201 (articles of organization contents)
Minnesota statute: Minn. Stat. § 5.34(a)(5) (annual renewal contents)

Edmond Hui · Founder, MyStateLLC

Edmond Hui is a software engineer and serial entrepreneur based in New York who has founded multiple online businesses across e-commerce, media, and information publishing. Before transitioning into tech, he spent years as a commercial real estate professional closing deals totaling over 100,000 square feet, giving him firsthand experience with business formation and entity structuring. He built MyStateLLC to provide the free, state-specific LLC guidance he wished existed when forming his own companies.