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

Yes. Mercury explicitly supports foreign founders with a US LLC. You need the North Dakota 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 North Dakota affect Mercury eligibility?

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

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

Mercury does not check where you live, only that the North Dakota entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match North Dakota'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 North Dakota's $135. Forming in North Dakota while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.

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

Probably yes. North Dakota charges a 5% 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 North Dakota, or once you cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).

Marketplace Verification

How to pass Mercury verification with a North Dakota LLC

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

By Edmond Hui · Last updated: August 4, 2026

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.

A North Dakota LLC is generally eligible for Mercury verification — you will need to provide your Articles of Organization, EIN, beneficial-owner ID, and a valid US business address. Nothing about forming in North Dakota 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 North Dakota LLC, you must provide the company's formation document (in North Dakota, 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 North Dakota the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing Articles of Organization, which costs $135. North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota's filing fees and forms. Confirm current platform rules with Mercury, and current filing rules with the North Dakota filing office, before you file. Mercury's requirements were last reviewed 2026-07-21, and North Dakota's figures on this page come from its own published schedule.

What Mercury requires, and how a North Dakota LLC meets each

Requirement	How your North Dakota LLC satisfies it
LLC formation documents	Upload the Articles of Organization North Dakota 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 North Dakota.
Government-issued ID for owner(s)	Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your North Dakota filings. North Dakota 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 North Dakota (your North Dakota registered-agent or virtual business address), since a PO box is usually rejected.

North Dakota-specific things to watch

North Dakota names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so Mercury's beneficial-owner check will line up with public state records — you still upload a government ID for each owner. (North Dakota's annual report lists the LLC's managers or members.)

North Dakota sales tax & nexus rules for Mercury sellers

North Dakota charges a 5% state sales-tax rate. Payments through Mercury are not covered by marketplace-facilitator laws — you collect and remit yourself. Registration is required before your first taxable sale if you have physical presence in North Dakota (an in-state location, inventory, or employees), or once you cross North Dakota's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).

North Dakota is where the Streamlined Sales Tax project originated. The state is an SST full member, meaning remote sellers can register through the SST system. North Dakota does not impose sales tax on most services, but does tax digital goods and software. The state has various local sales taxes that must be reported on the state return. Note: North Dakota repealed its 200-transaction economic-nexus trigger (effective 2019); only the $100,000 sales threshold now applies.

How to verify your North Dakota LLC on Mercury

LLC formation documents. Upload the Articles of Organization North Dakota 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 North Dakota.
Government-issued ID for owner(s). Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your North Dakota filings. North Dakota 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 North Dakota (your North Dakota registered-agent or virtual business address), since a PO box is usually rejected.

Non-US founders with North Dakota LLCs

Mercury explicitly supports non-US founders who have formed a US LLC, North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota 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 North Dakota issues Articles of Organization; Mercury accepts it the same as any other state's.
: North Dakota charges $135 to file Articles of Organization, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. North Dakota 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 $135 filing fee and North Dakota's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a North Dakota entity.
: Mercury does not check where you live, only that the North Dakota entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match North Dakota'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 North Dakota's $135. Forming in North Dakota while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.
: Probably yes. North Dakota charges a 5% 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 North Dakota, or once you cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).