Guide · Money, Taxes & Banking
How to Open a Bank Account Without an SSN
A Social Security number is not a legal requirement to open a US bank account — an ITIN and the right ID can get you there instead.
A lot of people assume a Social Security number is mandatory to open a checking account in the US. It isn't. Federal identification rules require banks to verify who you are — not specifically that you hold an SSN. In practice, an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) plus valid photo ID is enough at most banks and credit unions, including several of the largest in the country. Here's how it works and what to bring.
🪪 Use an ITIN in place of an SSN
Wherever a bank's application asks for a taxpayer ID number, your ITIN goes in that field. If you don't have one yet, that's the first step — an ITIN takes roughly seven weeks to process through the IRS, so apply for it before you start shopping for accounts if you can.
🏦 Which banks accept it
Chase, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, and Citibank are among the major national banks that will open an account with an ITIN and a valid passport or other approved ID. Community banks and credit unions are often the most flexible option: many accept a consular identification card or a national ID card, including the Dominican cédula, which several credit unions now list explicitly among accepted forms of ID. Requirements differ bank to bank and branch to branch, so it's worth calling first.
📋 The ID the Patriot Act actually requires
Under Section 326 of the USA Patriot Act, banks must verify new customers using an unexpired, government-issued form of photo identification — the law doesn't say it has to be issued by the US government. A foreign passport, a consular ID, or a national ID card like the cédula can all satisfy this in principle. What the law permits and what an individual bank chooses to accept are two different things, since each institution sets its own identification policy, so confirm directly with the branch before you go.
Do this first: call the bank branch directly and ask exactly which ID combination they'll accept — ITIN letter plus passport, or cédula plus proof of address — before making the trip, since policy varies by bank and even by branch.
Official source: IRS.gov (ITIN overview) and each bank's own account-opening requirements page.
Sources
1. Internal Revenue Service, ITIN overview, irs.gov, accessed August 2026. 2. Consumer Action, "Consular ID Cards," and individual bank account-opening ID policy pages, accessed August 2026.
Criollo News guides are practical explainers, not tax or legal advice — every case is different, and rules change. Confirm your situation with the IRS, a certified tax preparer (like NYC Free Tax Prep), or an accountant.