Stripe Atlas application process

Information you’ll be asked to provide

We will ask you to provide the following in your Stripe Atlas application:

1. Information about the company you’re starting
   • Proposed company name (You can check if a name is available on Delaware’s website)
   • A physical business address (does not need to be a U.S. address, but it cannot be a P.O. box, virtual mailbox, or mail forwarding address)
   • A contact phone number
   • The number of shares of stock, or the number of units of ownership, to be authorized (read more about ownership considerations)
   • If you are creating the new company as a subsidiary of an existing company, you’ll need to provide the following information about the existing company:
     • Legal name
     • Entity type (e.g., corporation)
     • Tax ID number
     • A copy of the company’s government-issued registration document (as a PDF, PNG, or JPG)
2. Your business and its products or services
   • We typically need to review the products or services you’re selling (or planning to sell), how much you charge, and your terms of service, among other things
   • If your website is still a work in progress, not a problem! We may ask for screenshots, wireframes, or a detailed description that clearly outlines your business
3. About you and your team
   • We need to know a bit about you, anyone who will own more than 25% of the company, and anyone fulfilling primary company roles
   • You’ll need to provide the following for each person listed above:
     • Legal name (i.e. your name on a government ID)
     • Email address
     • Personal address
     • Date of birth
     • Percent of company ownership
     • You may need to provide a picture of a government-issued identification document (in PNG or JPEG format)
4. Additional information for an expedited EIN
   • If you are eligible based on IRS requirements, Stripe Atlas can request an expedited Employer Identification Number (EIN) on your behalf. Requesting an EIN online typically produces an EIN much faster than mail or fax. A U.S. Social Security Number (SSN), U.S. address, and U.S. phone number are required to be eligible to apply for an EIN online, as well as answers to some additional questions that the IRS asks on the form (listed below).
   • We can request an expedited EIN on your behalf quickly if your company meets the following criteria. You must:
     • Not own a highway motor vehicle with a taxable gross weight of 55,000 pounds or more
     • Not need to file Form 720 (Quarterly Federal Excise Tax Return)
     • Not have or expect to have any employees who will receive a Form W-2 in the next 12 months
     • Not involve gambling or wagering
     • Not sell or manufacture alcohol, tobacco, or firearms
     • Not be married to another member of your company if your company is a Limited Liability Company (LLC) with two members
5. Credit card details for the Stripe Atlas one-time fee of $500
   • You will not be charged until after you receive your U.S. Employer Identification Number (EIN)
   • You will not be charged the Stripe Atlas one-time fee if you cancel your application, if we cannot support your business, if you do not sign your company formation documents, or if you do not receive your EIN

How your information is used

The information we request in the Stripe Atlas application is used to:

• Generate the necessary documents to form your company and to obtain a U.S. Employer Identification Number (EIN)
• Confirm that we can support your business

The Stripe Atlas Agreement and the Stripe Privacy Policy give more detail about the information we collect and how we use that information.

Process after application submission

Once you submit your Stripe Atlas application, we will review to ensure we have all the information we need to form your company and to check that we can support your business. Before sending over your legal documents, we may reach out to you to ask clarifying questions or to request additional details regarding the information provided in your application.

If we can support your business, we will email you legal documents to sign in order to form your Delaware company and to request your U.S. Employer Identification Number (EIN).

We’ll send you emails as these steps are completed, and you can also track the progress in your Stripe Dashboard.

Company documents

You should expect to receive the legal documents to form your Delaware company within a few business days of submitting your application.

The documents must be electronically signed by every company representative listed on your Stripe Atlas application - your company will not be formed until after this process is complete.

We recommend working with a lawyer and tax advisor to review these documents. There is no rush in returning them to us, so review them carefully!

Once your company is formed, your company documents will always be accessible to you in the Company section of your Stripe Dashboard. From time to time you may need to reference or provide these documents to other parties, such as when you apply for a bank account or file your taxes.

The documents included will depend on whether you are forming a C Corporation or a Limited Liability Company (LLC):

Process after signing your legal documents

Company formation

After you and all of your company’s representatives sign your legal documents, the process of forming your Delaware company begins. Formation proceeds differently for a C Corporation versus an LLC.

Tax ID

When your new company’s formation is complete, your company can be registered with the IRS to create a U.S. Federal Employer Identification Number (EIN). As part of forming your company using Stripe Atlas, you’ll complete form SS-4, which will be sent to the IRS to request an EIN for your new company.

If you have a Social Security Number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), Stripe Atlas can request an EIN on your behalf through an online, expedited process that will take three to five days. If you do not have a SSN, historically it has taken around two weeks to receive your EIN in your Stripe Atlas dashboard and six to eight weeks (or longer!) to receive it by physical mail. When you have the EIN, you can apply for a Stripe payments account and file U.S. federal taxes.

Next steps

Now that you’ve learned about the Stripe Atlas application, you might want to read:

• Issuing stock to your founders
• Next steps after forming your company
• Payments Overview
• Guides to starting an internet business