Sign-Up Troubleshooting
If you’re having trouble signing up for Square or activating your account, the following sections provide some helpful information.
Not Approved to Accept Credit Cards
Based on the information you provided during the sign-up process, we could not approve your request to accept card payments. Even if you have linked a bank account to your Square account successfully, you will not be able to process credit card transactions.
We don’t have access to any of the information you entered for privacy and security reasons. Some common reasons why we’re unable to approve customers to accept credit cards include:
Typos or incorrect information entered.
Providing a business name, or a recently changed name. A legal first and legal last name are required to verify your identity. If you recently changed your name, try your previous name. (like if you were recently married, try entering your maiden name.)
Providing a business address instead of your current home address. You must provide your current home address. If you’ve moved within the last six months, try using your previous home address.
Providing a document or photo that was unable to be used to verify identity. This could be due to a submission of an expired document or a document that is blurry or otherwise indecipherable.
Providing an incorrect Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. This information must be valid, even if you’re signing up as a business or organization. Learn more about the information required to create a Square account.
If you’ve been declined once, head to the online Dashboard and choose Sign In or locate the "we couldn't verify your identity" email sent, read the instructions and click Verify Identity. If identity verification is unsuccessful, you will be unable to process payments with Square at this time.
If there was an issue verifying your submitted selfie and photo of your physical ID, you may be able to try again. Some possible reasons that could cause verification issues include:
Presenting a copy of your physical ID
ID is not in frame or all the information is not clearly visible
Unsupported document types
Expired, annulled, or damaged ID
Name on your ID does not match what you previously entered in the personal information fields
Full face is not clearly visible
You only have four attempts to successfully verify this information.
Delayed or Pending Activation
If you receive one of the following error notifications, we may need one to two additional business days to process your activation request:
Your Request is Pending
There was a problem activating your account
You can accept cash payments in the meantime. Check your online Square Dashboard in one to two business days to review the status of your account activation.
Need More Information
Square may request that you submit additional information, including a selfie and your physical government-issued photo identification document (copies won’t work), for verification purposes before your account is activated. You’ll receive an email notification if we need more information.
If you received the notification, log in to your online Square Dashboard and select Verify Identity. Follow the prompts to complete and send the images to us for further review.
If your account is locked, or if you are having trouble accessing the email used to activate your account, we offer an alternative way to log in. In this case, Square will ask for a phone number and send you an SMS message with a link. You will still need a valid government-issued ID and a selfie for verification.
Age Requirement for Sign-Up
Current credit card processing regulations require our account holders to be at least 18 years of age. Once you turn 18, we’ll be happy to have you as a Square customer.
Time Limit Expired
For security reasons, there’s a 10-minute time limit when filling out your activation request. If that limit is surpassed, the form will automatically be locked for three days.