Proof of Address in AML Compliance and Fraud Prevention (Step-by-Step Guide 2026)

Proof of Address (PoA) is a critical part of the standard Know Your Customer (KYC) checks that regulated businesses must carry out when onboarding new customers. It allows businesses to determine if the addresses that customers give are real and whether they genuinely live there. 

PoA sits alongside Proof of Identity (PoI) in the process of establishing user identity as part of regulated businesses’ Anti-Money Laundering (AML) obligations. Proper PoA verification helps to detect fraudsters, reducing the potential for money laundering and identity fraud, while protecting the integrity of onboarding processes. 

Failing to meet PoA obligations can result in direct losses from fraud, fines, and other enforcement actions from regulators, reputational damage, and other serious consequences. In one notable recent case, the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) fined digital bank Monzo £21m ($27.6m) for KYC failures that included accepting “implausible” addresses from customers such as Buckingham Palace, 10 Downing Street, and Monzo’s own London headquarters. This is exactly the sort of scenario that effective Proof of Address controls should prevent. 

In recent years, new technology and shifting consumer behavior have presented both fresh challenges and exciting opportunities for PoA verification. The shift away from paper-based documents means people often do not have access to previously trusted sources for proving their addresses, such as printed utility bills. However, the growth in digital IDs and non-doc verification offers a chance to make PoA and PoI simpler, faster, and more secure for businesses and their customers. Increasingly, AI-powered automation is becoming the most effective way to perform PoA at scale.

Let’s get into the finer details of PoA and when it’s mandatory for businesses to gather it. 

What is Proof of Address (PoA)?

Proof of Address (also known as Proof of Residence) is evidence that a user truly resides at their claimed address. The conventional approach to PoA involves collecting documents that require manual or semi-manual review, such as utility bills or bank statements. 

PoA ensures that businesses can communicate effectively with customers or clients, enabling them to send important documents, bills, statements, or legal notices to the correct address. It also allows companies to check whether a client comes from a high-risk country, which can be necessary for compliance purposes.

PoA is a requirement in most jurisdictions. This typically obligates financial services, fintechs, payment and e-money institutions, and other similar businesses to verify it. Accordingly, clients need to provide documents establishing their address when registering with such services or when performing a transaction that exceeds a certain amount (usually specified by AML laws). 

Why Proof of Address matters in KYC/AML & fraud prevention

Proof of Address (PoA) is a standard KYC and AML requirement for financial institutions and other regulated businesses. Failing to verify customer addresses is a breach of regulatory obligations and can lead to penalties, enforcement action, or even loss of licenses. The specific requirements and consequences vary by jurisdiction and regulatory regime.

Regulators require PoA to confirm that customers genuinely reside at the claimed address, to identify those in high-risk jurisdictions, and to help prevent identity fraud and money laundering. For these reasons, PoA verification should be a fundamental part of a company’s AML framework, carried out as a standard step during the KYC process using reliable documents or verification methods.

What documents are accepted as Proof of Address?

There’s no definitive list of documents that can be accepted as PoA. Yet, there are certain documents that typically get used as such. Here are some of the most common examples that are generally acceptable documents for Proof of Address in most jurisdictions:

• Bank statements
• Utility bill for gas, electricity, water, internet, etc.
• Letters from a recognized public authority or public servant/any government-issued correspondence
• Current lease agreement with signatures of the landlord and the tenant
• Credit card statements
• Employer’s certificate for proof of residence
• House purchase deed

Passports, IDs, and driving licenses can be used to establish PoA—however, in some jurisdictions, it’s forbidden to use the same document to establish both proof of identity and PoA.

What counts as Proof of Address in different countries and regions? 

Depending on the country or region, there may be jurisdiction-specific documents that can be used for Proof of Address. Examples of the types of documents that may be used for PoA in specific countries and regions include:

Country or region	Document types	Key points to note
US	State-issued ID cards, Permanent Resident Card (Green Card), vehicle registration documents	Digital documents may be accepted if they meet anti-fraud standards
EU	National identity cards (if they include an address), residence permits	Accepted PoA documents can vary between EU member states
UK	Council tax bills, NHS letters, pension statements	Council tax bills will need to be from the current tax year; other documents will generally need to be from the last three months
Australia	Australian Electoral Commission document	Must show the current registered address

Proof of Address & KYC: Regional requirements and emerging trends (2026)

In every country where obtaining a separate doc for PoA, one ID couldn't be used for both Proof of Identity and Proof of Address. Yet, there are different requirements and challenges for PoA, depending on the countries a company operates in. Additionally, emerging trends such as the shift towards paperless documents and digital ID must be taken into account. The following are some key considerations for different jurisdictions and emerging trends that companies need to be aware of. 

EU 

Most EU member states have national ID cards, but not all contain the holder’s address. For example, French and Spanish national ID cards do include the holder's address, but the Austrian version does not. The take-up of national ID cards also varies across the EU - they are compulsory in 15 member states, including Belgium, Estonia, and Greece, but optional in others, such as Austria, France, and Italy.

UK 

In the UK, you cannot use the same document for Proof of Identity and Proof of Address. Therefore, if a customer chooses to use their driving license to verify their address, they would need to use another document, such as their passport, to confirm their ID. The UK has announced plans to introduce a mandatory digital ID, which could be significant for KYC checks in the country in the near future.

US 

In the US, both state and national documents can potentially be used for Proof of Identity and Proof of Address. Social Security cards have historically been used in the US as a way for people to confirm their identity, but these do not meet the security requirements of modern ID and address verification, so they should not generally be accepted as a primary document for KYC purposes.

APAC

Proof of Address standards and options vary across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. Many APAC nations have mandatory national ID requirements for citizens, with most of these documents containing the holder's address. Some APAC countries have introduced digital ID, such as Singapore’s Singpass National Digital Identity (NDI) scheme, which allows citizens to easily verify their identity and address online.

LATAM

National ID cards are also common across the Latin American region (LATAM), but they are only compulsory in some countries, and the information they contain varies. For example, in Argentina, it is obligatory for all citizens to have an ID card, and they contain the holder’s address, so they can be used for Proof of Address checks. By comparison, in Brazil, ID cards are optional and do not include the holder’s address, while in Colombia, ID cards are mandatory but, again, do not show the holder’s address.

Emerging trends in PoA verification (2026 and beyond)

One of the most significant trends in address verification is the increasing shift towards digital documents. Most banks, utility companies, and other businesses offer the option for customers to ‘go paperless’, meaning they often do not receive physical copies of their bills and other communications. Companies carrying out KYC checks need to adapt, with processes for verifying digital Proof of Address (such as accepting plain or certified copies, where needed), as well as adopting options such as non-doc verification. 

Digital ID documents may also be an important factor in the future of address verification. The UK is currently looking at introducing a mandatory digital ID for British citizens and permanent residents, to be required for right-to-work checks by 2029. This could potentially be a game-changer for Proof of Address in the UK, and more widely if other countries follow suit.

What is not an acceptable document for Proof of Address?

Wondering which documents are not accepted as proof of address? It can be easy to assume that just because something shows your current address, it will be accepted, but this is not always the case. Invalid proof of address documents may include those that are:

• Past their validity period
• Payslips
• Invoices for purchases
• Library cards

In general, the document used as a PoA has to be issued by an independent or official source.

Issues with Proof of Address 

Proof of Address is often not readily available, as people change their residences frequently. Therefore, it may take some time and effort for businesses to obtain it. 

In addition, some Proof of Address documents have no security markings or photos, and therefore can easily be forged. Besides, many of these documents are non-standardized and may require additional checks, which leads to longer onboarding times and, consequently, lower pass rates.

Proof of Address best practices for business: onboarding & ongoing monitoring

Below you’ll find the typical steps to PoA verification, which should form part of a company’s Proof of Address best practices:

1. Confirm the document is genuine. Accurately inspect the document for common patterns of graphic editing and other types of fraud. This can be achieved most effectively with AI tools, as they can check the genuineness of a document much faster and more accurately than manual checks.
2. Check that the document is valid. For example, whether the document is within the relevant validity period, which may vary depending on the jurisdiction.
3. Make sure the document matches the customer. This should include checking that the document has the person’s full name on it.
4. Check that the document is issued by an independent or official source.
5. Check if the document contains the user’s claimed address. The more specific the address is, the better. For instance, if the applicant resides in an apartment building but does not provide a unit number, the compliance officer must request that they specify it.
6. Confirm the address’s existence. This can be done manually through search engines, but it is increasingly common for this process to be automated with PoA verification software.

Verifying Proof of Address: Manual vs automated

The traditional approach to verifying PoA requires manual intervention, leading to issues such as lengthy verification and human error. That’s why the best way to speed up PoA, increase pass rates, and keep both regulators and customers happy is to employ an automated PoA verification system that can analyze a variety of documents from all parts of the world. Such systems will be able to quickly verify users, detect altered images, and work around the clock.

Automation enables faster onboarding, higher verification pass rates, and stronger compliance with KYC and AML regulations. Beyond speed and accuracy, automated Proof of Address verification helps businesses meet regulatory expectations (by providing records for audits or inspections), detect forged or tampered documents, thus preventing identity fraud, and scale onboarding globally without increasing operational costs. Modern solutions can integrate seamlessly into existing workflows and leverage emerging trends, such as digital IDs and non-document verification methods, to further strengthen fraud prevention and KYC compliance.

Suggested read: Documentary vs Non-Documentary Verification

Bullwaves scales efficiently while cutting onboarding costs with Sumsub

Regulated multi-asset brokerage firm Bullwaves provides advanced trading technology to clients in more than 100 countries. When they were preparing to scale, the team needed a solution for customer verification that supported rapid growth. 

Key concerns were being able to swiftly onboard a growing customer base efficiently and cost-effectively while maintaining regulatory compliance across the various jurisdictions in which they operate. The company was also rejecting a high number of customer documents during onboarding, which was causing friction for new users, and their existing solutions did not allow sufficient customization to adapt their verification process for different user segments.

With the help of Sumsub, Bullwaves implemented a new onboarding process that achieved a 94% pass rate with a median verification time of just 39 seconds. This facilitated the smooth onboarding of around 15,000 new users per month while reducing onboarding costs by 30%.

Bullwaves’ new onboarding process starts with an Appropriateness Test and Economic Profile assessment, then transitions to Sumsub’s KYC checks, including ID Verification, Address Verification, and AML Screening. Our highly adaptable, AI-powered tools allow the company to achieve its onboarding goals while meeting all regulatory requirements across different jurisdictions.

How Sumsub supports Proof of Address verification

Sumsub’s Address Verification Software can confirm a customer’s address details in under a minute using the power of AI. Users can choose from:

• Document-based verification
• Non-Doc Verification (which relies on trusted sources such as government databases)
• Geolocation-based verification (using geolocation checks on customers’ devices)

Our PoA verification solution can process any document type in any language and offers support for companies in more than 220 countries and territories, meeting all relevant regulatory requirements. It provides a fast, efficient way to automate PoA verification, helping to better prevent fraud, money laundering, and terrorist financing.

FAQ

• What is Proof of Address?

  Proof of Address (also known as Proof of Residence) is evidence that a user truly resides at their claimed address. The conventional approach to Proof of Address verification is collecting documents requiring manual or semi-manual review, such as utility bills or bank statements. This ensures that businesses can communicate effectively with customers or clients, enabling them to send important documents, bills, statements, or legal notices to the correct address.

• Why is Proof of Address required for KYC?

  Proof of Address is required for KYC because it helps to prove that the address details a customer has given are genuine, that they are not using someone else’s identity or a false identity, and that they do not reside in a high-risk jurisdiction. It is also a regulatory requirement for KYC in most jurisdictions.

• What is the easiest Proof of Address method?

  The easiest Proof of Address method would involve utilizing universally held documents, such as passports and IDs. Yet, these documents can be accepted only if they contain an address. In some jurisdictions, it’s forbidden to use the same document to establish both proof of identity and PoA.

• What documents count as Proof of Address?

  Some of the most common examples that count as valid proof of address are:

  • Bank statements
  • Utility bills for gas, electricity, water, internet, etc
  • Letters from a recognized public authority or public servant/any government-issued correspondence
  • Current lease agreement with the signatures of the landlord and the tenant
  • Credit card statements

• Is a bank statement Proof of Address?

  Yes, it is. However, digital bank statements may need to be certified with the account holder’s address in order to be accepted for KYC checks.

• How old can a Proof of Address be?

  This will depend on the type of document and the jurisdiction. Documents such as driving licenses will generally need to be current and valid, while documents such as utility bills and bank statements will usually need to have been issued recently (e.g. within the last three months in the UK).

• How can you verify Proof of Address automatically?

  AI-powered Proof of Address verification tools (such as Sumsub’s) can quickly check the authenticity, image integrity, and data validity of PoA documents. These checks will include confirming the documents are current and valid, and that the address shown is real. Good PoA verification tools also offer options such as non-doc verification (where address details are checked against trusted sources without the need for PoA documents) and geo-based address validation (using geolocation checks on the customer’s device).

• What if a document is rejected?

  If a document is rejected, the customer’s options will depend on the circumstances, including the reason for rejection. If the rejection is due to a genuine error, such as a utility bill being older than is acceptable, then the customer may be able to simply provide an alternative document. However, if fraud is suspected, this will need to be investigated by the company and reported to the relevant authorities.

• Proof of Address vs Proof of Residence

  Proof of Address and Proof of Residence are interchangeable terms.