Proof of address
Also known as: Proof of residence · Address verification · Proof of residency
A document that shows where a person lives — typically a recent utility bill or bank statement in their name — collected at onboarding to satisfy the duty to know the customer.
Legal basis
31 CFR 1020.220 (Customer Identification Program)
Address is part of the identity that due diligence has to verify, not just the name and the ID number. For US banks, the Customer Identification Program rule lists a residential or business street address among the minimum data an institution must obtain before opening an account. In practice the supporting document is an electricity, water or phone bill, or a recent bank statement, in the person's name and within a validity window. Internationally, FATF Recommendation 10 describes the same duty: verify the customer's identification data using reliable, independent source documents.
It is also one of the easiest things to forge: an edited PDF, a bill in someone else's name, an address that does not exist. That is why the trend is to cross-check the declared address against independent sources — delivery databases, geolocation, prior-record history — rather than trust a single document, which only proves that someone produced a file.
Frequently asked questions
Why is proof of address required at onboarding?
Because the address is part of the identification that anti-money-laundering rules require institutions to collect and verify. It helps confirm the customer is real, assess risk by region, and locate the person for collections or an investigation.