Opening a Baselane Banking account is a quick 2-minute process and does not affect your credit score in any way!
To open a Baselane Banking account, first sign-up for a free landlord account. Once you have created a landlord account, click 'Add Account' from the Baselane Banking tab. You will have the option to open a Baselane Banking account as an individual (sole proprietor) or as a business entity (LLC, corporation, or partnership).
You will be asked to provide some identifying information about yourself so we can run the required identity checks. If you are applying for a business bank account you will need a U.S. company, and be able to provide its federal EIN and its official formation documents.
Frequently Asked Questions
The application asks for beneficial owners. What if another LLC owns my LLC?
It is common for real estate investors to protect their investments with parent/child LLCs or Series LLCs. However, regulatory compliance still requires Baselane to conduct KYC on any individual who, directly or indirectly (ie. via ownership in another LLC), owns >25% of the LLC.
For example, let's assume that "Parent LLC" is 50% owned by John Smith and 50% owned by Jane Smith, and you would like to open a bank account for "Child LLC" that is 100% owned by "Parent LLC". In this case, please list John Smith (50%) and Jane Smith (50%) as beneficial owners in your application for "Child LLC".
The application is asking for an EIN. What if I'm applying for a Single-Member LLC, and I use my SSN instead of an EIN?
You will not be able to apply for a Single-Member LLC account and use your SSN if you do not have an EIN. This is because all applications for a Business Entity Baselane Banking account require an EIN - this is a requirement from our partner bank's team.
The reason for this is that unlike a Sole Proprietor account, which is an unregistered business entity using for the most part the single owner's name, a Single-Member LLC registers the business entity with the state and separates the personal assets of the single owner from that of the business. Therefore, we require an EIN for a single-member LLC.
I submitted my application, and now I'm being asked to provide more documents. What documents can I provide? What document types are accepted?
After you've submitted your application, you may be asked to provide additional documents to support the information you've provided.
When uploading the requested document(s) it is important to note, that you must provide an original view of the document(s). This means that screenshots, scans, or photocopies are not accepted.
Below is a list of the approved document types for both individual and business entity applications:
Business or Individual | Verification Type | Approved Document Types | Notes |
Individual | Identity Verification |
| Must include an unexpired government-issued photo ID
*Other foreign photo IDs may be approved as needed
*A birth certificate may also be accepted if an ID is required to verify the date of birth
*Front and back images of all ID documents are required (except passports) |
Individual/Business | Address Verification |
| Any document used to verify the address must be current within the last six months to be considered valid |
Individual | SSN Verification |
| Tax return or W-2 must be current within the past two filing years |
Business | EIN Verification |
| Tax returns must be current within the past two filing years |
Business | Business Verification |
| *If a business is international, proof of organization/incorporation internationally may also be required |