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

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

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

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

Mercury does not check where you live, only that the Tennessee entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match Tennessee'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 Tennessee's $300. Forming in Tennessee while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.

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

Probably yes. Tennessee charges a 7% 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 Tennessee, or once you cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous 12-month period.

Marketplace Verification

How to pass Mercury verification with a Tennessee LLC

What Mercury asks for at signup, and which Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee LLC, you must provide the company's formation document (in Tennessee, 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 Tennessee the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing Articles of Organization, which costs $300. Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee's filing fees and forms. Confirm current platform rules with Mercury, and current filing rules with the Tennessee filing office, before you file. Mercury's requirements were last reviewed 2026-07-21, and Tennessee's figures on this page come from its own published schedule.

What Mercury requires, and how a Tennessee LLC meets each

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

Tennessee-specific things to watch

Tennessee 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. (Tennessee's annual report (a per-member filing) discloses the LLC's members/managers.)
Budget for Tennessee's ongoing LLC costs before projecting your Mercury margins: Tennessee imposes a franchise & excise tax on LLCs: $100 minimum franchise tax plus 6.5% excise tax on net earnings.
Mercury payouts flow through to your personal return, and Tennessee won't tax them under a personal income tax: No personal income tax on wages; note the franchise & excise tax below.

Tennessee sales tax & nexus rules for Mercury sellers

Tennessee charges a 7% 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 Tennessee (an in-state location, inventory, or employees), or once you cross Tennessee's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous 12-month period.

Tennessee has no transaction count threshold. Tennessee's 7% state rate is one of the highest in the nation, and combined with local rates can reach 9.75% in some areas (Nashville-area rate is 9.25%). Tennessee does not impose a state income tax on wages, making it a popular business state. Digital goods and SaaS are taxable in Tennessee. Register through Tennessee Taxpayer Access Point (TNTAP).

How to verify your Tennessee LLC on Mercury

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

Non-US founders with Tennessee LLCs

Mercury explicitly supports non-US founders who have formed a US LLC, Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee 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 Tennessee issues Articles of Organization; Mercury accepts it the same as any other state's.
: Tennessee charges $300 to file Articles of Organization, and that is the state's fee to create the LLC. Tennessee 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 $300 filing fee and Tennessee's ongoing obligations are the real cost of getting verified as a Tennessee entity.
: Mercury does not check where you live, only that the Tennessee entity is validly registered and that the details you enter match Tennessee'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 Tennessee's $300. Forming in Tennessee while working somewhere else usually means paying both states, not one.
: Probably yes. Tennessee charges a 7% 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 Tennessee, or once you cross its remote-seller threshold of $100,000 in sales in the previous 12-month period.