How to pass Shopify Payments verification with a Connecticut LLC

Shopify Payments (powered by Stripe) requires identity and business verification before activating payouts for your store. For a Connecticut LLC, Shopify collects the IRS-registered business name, the EIN, a physical US address, and personal information for the account representative and any 25%+ beneficial owners. Single-member and multi-member Connecticut LLCs follow the same base checklist, with multi-member LLCs needing details on all qualifying owners.

In Connecticut the entity behind that check is an LLC created by filing a Certificate of Organization, which costs $120. Connecticut publishes a turnaround of most online filings auto-accepted. Because Connecticut names a member or manager on a routine public filing, the owner name Shopify Payments asks you to confirm is already a matter of public record.

What Shopify Payments requires, and how a Connecticut LLC meets each

Connecticut-specific things to watch

• Connecticut names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so Shopify Payments's beneficial-owner check will line up with public state records, and you still upload a government ID for each owner. (Connecticut's annual report discloses the LLC's members or managers, a public filing.)
• Connecticut issues a Certificate of Organization rather than "Articles of Organization." When Shopify Payments asks for "formation documents," upload your Certificate of Organization.

Connecticut sales tax & nexus rules for Shopify Payments sellers

Connecticut charges a 6.35% state sales-tax rate. Payments through Shopify Payments 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 Connecticut (an in-state location, inventory, or employees), or once you cross Connecticut's remote-seller economic-nexus threshold of $100,000 in sales AND 200 transactions (both thresholds must be met).

Connecticut is one of the few states that requires BOTH the dollar and transaction thresholds to be met. Exceeding only one is not enough to create nexus. Connecticut does not allow local sales taxes, so the 6.35% state rate is the only rate you'll charge.

Register for Connecticut sales tax directly with the state: portal.ct.gov/DRS.

How to verify your Connecticut LLC on Shopify Payments

1. IRS-registered business name. Use the exact LLC name as Connecticut recorded it on your Certificate of Organization; it must match your bank account holder name.
2. Employer Identification Number (EIN). 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 Connecticut.
3. Physical US business address. Use a US street address registered to the LLC in Connecticut (your Connecticut registered-agent or virtual business address), since a PO box is usually rejected.
4. Owner / representative identity. Provide a government ID for each beneficial owner named in your Connecticut filings. Connecticut names a member or manager on a routine public filing, so at least one name already matches state records.
5. ACH-eligible checking account. Link a US business bank account opened with your EIN and your Connecticut Certificate of Organization.
6. Active business phone number. Provide a reachable phone number for the verification code. Connecticut does not put a phone number on the LLC filing, so this one is a platform check with no state record behind it.

Non-US founders with Connecticut LLCs

Shopify Payments requires personal identity information for the account representative, whichever state the LLC was formed in. For non-US representatives, Shopify's documentation indicates a passport photograph may be accepted in lieu of an SSN or ITIN for LLC entity types, so confirm that option during onboarding. If a government photo ID is not accepted, the alternatives are designating a US-resident representative who can provide a US SSN, or applying for an ITIN via Form W-7 if the founder has US tax-filing obligations. The entity itself must be US-registered, and a Connecticut LLC qualifies on that count.