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

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

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

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

Mercury does not check where you live, only that the South Dakota entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match South 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 South Dakota's $150. Forming in South Dakota while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.

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

Probably yes. South Dakota charges a 4.2% 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 South 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 South Dakota LLC

What Mercury asks for at signup, and which South 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 South 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 South 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 South Dakota LLC, you must provide the company's formation document (in South 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 South Dakota the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing Articles of Organization, which costs $150. South 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 South 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 South Dakota's filing fees and forms. Confirm current platform rules with Mercury, and current filing rules with the South Dakota filing office, before you file. Mercury's requirements were last reviewed 2026-07-21, and South Dakota's figures on this page come from its own published schedule.

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

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

South Dakota-specific things to watch

South 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. (South Dakota's annual report confirms the LLC's ownership/management each year on the public record.)
Mercury payouts flow through to your personal return, and South Dakota won't tax them under a personal income tax: No personal income tax.

South Dakota sales tax & nexus rules for Mercury sellers

South Dakota charges a 4.2% 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 South Dakota (an in-state location, inventory, or employees), or once you cross South Dakota's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous or current calendar year (no transaction-count threshold).

South Dakota is the state that brought us economic nexus — its law was the subject of South Dakota v. Wayfair (2018), the Supreme Court case that allowed states to tax remote sellers. South Dakota broadly taxes services, digital goods, and SaaS. The state is an SST full member. South Dakota's 4.2% base rate is among the lower rates nationally. Note: South Dakota repealed its 200-transaction economic-nexus trigger (effective 2023); only the $100,000 sales threshold now applies.

How to verify your South Dakota LLC on Mercury

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

Non-US founders with South Dakota LLCs

Mercury explicitly supports non-US founders who have formed a US LLC, South 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 South 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 South 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 South Dakota issues Articles of Organization; Mercury accepts it the same as any other state's.
: South Dakota charges $150 to file Articles of Organization, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. South 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 $150 filing fee and South Dakota's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a South Dakota entity.
: Mercury does not check where you live, only that the South Dakota entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match South 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 South Dakota's $150. Forming in South Dakota while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.
: Probably yes. South Dakota charges a 4.2% 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 South 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).