Can Bank Account Be Opened Without Proof Of Identity and Address?

The first thing that a banker asks when you want to open a bank account, is a list of documents. These documents are largely to meet the "Know your customer" requirements, which is a mandatory requirement.

This is not only for opening a bank account, but, could also be for many accounts, like a demat account or a mutual fund account.

What is KYC?

Know your customer or KYC is basically for two purposes. One is to know the identity of the person and second to know where he resides. So, whether you open a bank account or a demat account, you need to establish a proof of your identity and address.

This has to be updated very often, since the address of a person could undergo a change from time to time.

Can I open bank account with identity proof and address proof?

Yes, you can open a bank account without address and identity proof. But, as always there going to be restrictions. For starters, the account will be called small accounts. The following are the conditions that are stipulated for such accounts:

a) The balance in this small account cannot be beyond Rs 50,000 at any point of time.

b) The total credits in the account cannot go beyond Rs 1 lakh.

c) No foreign remittances are allowed.

d) Withdrawal and deposits should not exceed Rs 10,000 a month.

As can be seen there are heavy restrictions on the account. Opening such small accounts will not serve any purpose, given that it really remains a small account.

One important thing to note, is that while you can still open a bank account without identity and address proof, it can be maintained only for 12 months. It can be extended for another 12 months, provided you prove to the authorities that you have applied for a document that shows address and identity proof.

List of documents required to meet KYC requirements?

As per the present regulations, there are only six six documents that are accepted as either residence proof or address proof or both. These include the Driving Licence, your passport, a voters Identity Card, PAN Card, Aadhaar Card and NREGA Job Card.

If you do not have any of these documents, you should make sure that you apply for the same. It should not be difficult to get these documents done and some of these should take just a few weeks.

You can still open a bank account without the 6 identity documents mentioned above, if you have the identity card that is issued by Central or the State Government Departments, or banks or some government undertaking.

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