Binance KYC Documents: Checklist + Photo Tips

Plenty of people only reach the upload step before realising their ID has expired, they've no idea which document counts as proof of address, or the lighting in the room is hopeless. Then it's re-upload, get rejected, re-upload again — and there goes the afternoon. Sort out what you need in advance and the whole thing goes far more smoothly. Below we walk through it in order: what to have ready first, how to handle the ID, what counts as address proof, and how the levels differ.

One thing to set straight up front: Binance's verification pages and requirements shift by region and over time, so this is about how to prepare and the general approach, not a fixed, set-in-stone list. Exactly what to upload, which document types are accepted, and how recent they must be are always whatever Binance's page spells out at the moment you verify — don't quote any guide's wording back at support to argue a point.

What to have ready before you start

Start with the big picture. Binance's identity check is, at heart, confirming three things: that you're a real person, that you're the person you say you are, and that you live where you claim. Line those up and there are really only three types of thing to prepare:

A valid photo ID — a passport, national ID or similar official document, to prove who you are. The core requirement is that it's in date and the details match what you entered.
A proof of address (not everyone, at every level, needs this) — to show where you live, usually an official bill or statement with your name and address on it. Whether and when you'll need it depends on how far up the levels you go.
A setup that can run a face scan — a phone with a working camera, even lighting and a stable connection. The face step doesn't need a "document" as such, but it's often fussier about your surroundings than the ID is.

Think those three through in advance and you've split the whole check into three small hurdles you can clear one at a time. We'll take each in turn below. If you want the end-to-end view first, start with our overview: the complete guide to Binance identity verification (KYC), which lays out the levels, documents by country and the limits you unlock — while this piece focuses on getting the documents themselves ready.

Tip

Before you begin, take two minutes to dig out your ID and check the expiry date, and find the address document you'll use. Nearly all the "uploaded it and got bounced" grief comes from the document itself not passing muster, not from clicking the wrong step in the flow.

Choosing and photographing your ID

The ID is the most basic part of the check — and the one most often bounced for a poor photo. First, which one to use.

The document types Binance accepts vary by country. The usual ones are a passport or national ID, and some regions also take a driver's licence. If you have a passport, it's often the easiest choice, because the layout is standard worldwide and tends to read reliably. For what's valid where you are, go by the options the verification page lists for you — don't try to push through one that isn't on the list. To check which documents work for a given country first, run it through the document checker.

Once you've picked one, the whole game is photographing it so it passes first time. The reasons an ID gets rejected come down to a handful, and if you nail the points below you're mostly safe:

Shoot the colour original: photograph the document itself — not a black-and-white photocopy, not a photo of it on a screen. Colour, and the original: those two are non-negotiable.
All four corners in shot and sharp: don't crop the edges off. Get the whole document, border and all, with no corner missing and nothing blurred.
No glare, nothing covering it: if the surface has a laminate or film, it'll flare white under a light and hide key details. Change the angle, keep off the direct light, and make sure every line is legible.
Details match what you entered: the name, date of birth and document number on the ID must line up exactly with what you gave Binance. A single character or digit out of place can stall the review.
The whole document, nothing hidden: every field that should show is showing — no finger over it, nothing resting on any line of text.

Careful

Whatever you do, don't reach for editing software to brighten, sharpen or — worse — touch up the ID to "make it clearer". Any sign of editing can read as suspect and make it harder to pass. The untouched original is your safest bet.

Getting your proof of address ready

Not everyone needs proof of address from the start, but the moment you want to climb to a higher verification level or unlock bigger limits, you'll usually run into this step. What it proves is simple: that you actually live at the address you entered. So a document that passes generally has to do two things at once — show your name, and show your home address.

What counts? The commonly accepted ones are official documents carrying your name and address, roughly these types:

Bank or credit-card statement: an official statement from the bank with your name and address printed on it;
Utility bill: electricity, gas or water bills, which usually carry a name and address too;
Phone or broadband bill: an official bill from your mobile or internet provider;
Official government or institutional letter: some tax or social-security letters may also be accepted.

Two requirements here are easy to overlook. First, it has to be recent enough — Binance generally wants something issued within a fairly short window (often the last few months), and anything too old gets bounced. Second, the name and address on it must match your account details; a different spelling of your name or a mismatched address description will get it rejected all the same. Which types are accepted, how recent they must be, and whether a screenshot of an e-statement is allowed vary quite a bit, so always go by what the verification page says at the time. We've written this up in more detail — including what to do if it's rejected — here: Binance proof of address: how to fill it in, what counts, and what to do if it's rejected.

Tip

A lot of bills are digital now. Downloading the official PDF original is usually cleaner and less likely to be rejected than photographing a screen — as long as it already carries your name, address and a date.

How documents differ by verification level

Binance's identity check is usually tiered: the higher the level, the bigger the deposit, trading and withdrawal limits you unlock — and the more you have to submit to get there. We'll only describe the pattern here, not pin down any numbers, because the names, thresholds and matching limits for each tier all shift by region and policy.

Roughly, the steps go like this:

The basic tier: usually centred on "ID plus face scan" to prove you're a real, genuine person. The bar is relatively low and it unlocks entry-level limits.
The advanced tier: as you move up, this often adds a proof of address, and sometimes a step for extra information, in return for higher limits and more features.

So what you prepare really comes down to how far up you plan to go. If you're just trying it out with small amounts, the basic-tier documents are enough; if you mean to use it properly and want higher limits, get your proof of address ready in advance too. For what each tier unlocks and how to move from a lower level to a higher one, this piece makes it clearer: Binance verification tiers and unlocking limits; to look up the limits for a given tier quickly, there's also the limits look-up. The tier names and thresholds follow Binance's official pages, change over time, and shouldn't be copied verbatim.

Photo and scan checklist

Nine times out of ten, an ID or address proof gets bounced because the photo or scan wasn't up to scratch. Treat the list below as your last self-check before you upload — run through it line by line first:

Even lighting: find a white wall or pale background, with light coming evenly from the front or from above and to the side. Avoid backlighting, and don't let a single overhead light throw a shadow across the document.
Kill the glare: for laminated documents or filmed cards, tilt the angle slightly to dodge the light, and check every line is legible before you shoot.
Flat and square: lay the document flat on a desk and shoot from roughly straight overhead — not at an angle, not handheld and wobbling; all four corners in frame.
Sharp focus: after the shot, zoom in and look — the document number, name and expiry date all have to be readable. If it's blurred, take it again.
Fill the frame, but don't crop: get the document to fill as much of the frame as you can so the text is large enough, but don't clip a single corner.
Upload the original, unedited: no filters, no beautify, no re-compression — send the original straight through.
Don't let the file get too small: an over-shrunk image goes fuzzy. Use a clear original, and match the page's format and size requirements if it asks.
Address proof needs all three: name, address and date all have to be in frame, and a PDF original beats a photo of a screen.

The face scan doesn't count as a "document", but it belongs in the same "won't pass if the setup isn't right" bucket. It runs on the same logic as photographing an ID — lighting, steadiness, clarity. Most people who get stuck on the face step are backlit or moving; work through this piece point by point: Face and liveness check keeps failing? Every cause and how to fix each one.

Build your list with the checklist generator

If you'd rather not track all of that by hand, we built a small tool: the KYC document checklist generator. Pick your situation and it turns out a list of the documents you're likely to need for this run, plus the photo points that go with each — just tick them off. It's basically this article boiled down to a checklist you can act on.

It gives you the general direction so you don't miss anything; which documents are actually accepted and how recent they must be still come down to whatever Binance's verification page shows at the time. Pair it with the document checker to confirm which IDs work where you are first, and your prep will be far more on-target.

Tip

Screenshot the generated list and keep it on your phone, then tick items off as you prepare. Once you actually reach the upload step, you just work down the list item by item and hardly ever have to flip back to a guide.

The time goes on getting documents up to standard, not on uploading

Don't fire off a lazy ID snap — a desk lamp shining straight down onto the laminate throws a streak of white glare across the number line, and the system can't read it. Let the light fall evenly from above and to the side, get all four corners in, and most of the problem disappears. There's a shortcut for address proof too: download the bank or bill PDF original directly, which is usually far cleaner than photographing a screen. This step isn't about being quick with your hands — it's about running every document past "clear, complete, details match" before you start. Get that solid and the rest tends to go through in one pass.

A few questions we get a lot

What's the minimum I need to have ready for Binance KYC?

Usually three things: a valid, in-date document (passport or national ID), plus a working phone camera and decent lighting for the face scan. When you move to a higher level, you may also need a recent proof of address. Exactly what's required, and how many items, depends on what Binance's page shows you at the time.

Does the document photo have to be in colour? Photo or scan?

Generally you need a colour image of the original, with all four corners sharp, every detail readable and no glare. In most cases a straight phone photo is fine; scans are sometimes held to a higher sharpness standard. Don't use a black-and-white photocopy, and don't crop the edges off, or it tends to get sent back.

What documents count as address proof, and how recent?

Common ones are a bank statement, a utility bill, or a phone/broadband bill — any official document showing your name and home address. They usually need to be fairly recent. Which types are accepted, and how recent they must be, depend on what Binance's verification page lists at the time.

Once my documents are photographed, can I have someone else upload or verify for me?

We'd advise against it. Verification is checking that you're you, so handing your account or details to someone else to do it may break the rules and puts your account and funds at risk. The ID and face steps should be done by you, and documents should only ever be uploaded on Binance's own official page.

Sources

From Binance's published rules: that the usable documents are listed per country (most people can pick a passport, national ID or driver's licence, and a national ID needs both sides photographed), and that the liveness check wants no hats or glasses and enough light — see How to Complete Identity Verification for a Personal Account. Which files count as proof of address (utility bills, bank statements, government-issued documents), how recent they must be, and the accepted PDF / JPG / PNG formats come from How to Verify My Residential Address on Binance.

From our own walk-through: the desk-lamp glare washing out the number line, and downloading the bill PDF beating a photo of the screen, are both things the editorial team hit while preparing our own documents.

From reader reports: plenty of people write in after a rejection asking whether their account is broken; what they actually match is almost always the photography or the details-matching category, and this checklist is ordered accordingly.

Accepted document types, the recency window and each tier's threshold change by region and policy. Go by what Binance lists for you at the time.

KYC Lane Editorial — an independent guide focused on the Binance sign-up and KYC verification stretch. "KYC Lane" is the editorial team's pen name; we're not Binance, and we don't give investment advice. Content is put together from the official public rules and our own walk-throughs. Spot an error? Email [email protected] and we'll correct it and log it on the corrections page.