The USA PATRIOT Act requires member firms to use a customer’s name, address, date of birth, and Social Security number or tax identification number to independently verify the person’s identity. This verification can be done with a government issued photo ID, such as a current driver’s license, a passport, an alien registration card, a green card, or another government-issued identification (a Social Security card is not acceptable). The verification must be done within a reasonable amount of time after opening the account.
The member firm is also required to check if the person is on a known or suspected terrorist list provided by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC). These suspected terrorist lists are called the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) lists. The firm’s identification program is referred to as a Customer Identification Program (CIP).
These rules are included to detect and deter money laundering and the funding of terrorist organizations.
Records relating to identification verification must be kept at least five years.
