An LLC alone does not clear Shopify Payments. Here is what does.
Shopify has said in writing that a registered agent address, virtual mailbox or CMRA does not satisfy its operational-presence requirement for Shopify Payments, and it is enforcing that more aggressively through 2026 KYC review. Forming a US LLC is step one, not the whole answer -- we tell you the rest before you find out the hard way.
What's included
- LLC or C-Corp formation in the state you choose, in 1-2 business days
- EIN from the IRS, no SSN needed, matched exactly to your LLC's legal name for Shopify's verification
- Registered agent and US business address, plus honest guidance on what Shopify's operational-presence check actually wants beyond that
- W-8BEN-E guidance for foreign-owned single-member LLCs, the correct form for Shopify's tax reporting
- US business bank account guidance, since Shopify requires the account name to match your LLC exactly
- Form 5472 filing support once your LLC is formed
What it costs
Plus your state's filing fee, paid directly to the Secretary of State. The same formation plan every other NameMarshal company uses.
What most formation services do not tell Shopify sellers
Shopify has explicitly said a formation address is not enough
Shopify's own position, stated in writing, is that Shopify Payments requires physical or operational presence in the US -- a registered agent, virtual mailbox or CMRA address does not qualify on its own. Enforcement tightened through 2026, at both initial application and later KYC re-review. A cheap LLC-and-EIN package that stops there is not the full picture, whatever a Fiverr listing implies.
The tax form question catches foreign-owned LLCs specifically
A foreign-owned single-member LLC is a disregarded entity, which should generally mean Form W-8BEN-E, not the W-9 many sellers default to. Submitting the wrong form can create a 1099-K reporting mismatch that surfaces as an IRS CP-2000 notice 12 to 18 months later -- long after the mistake was made and forgotten.
Your bank account name has to match your LLC exactly
Shopify's underwriting checks for consistency across four things: your legal entity name, your EIN, the account owner's identity, and your bank routing destination. A personal account, or one that does not match your LLC's name precisely as filed, is one of the most common reasons an otherwise-eligible application gets held for review.
Built to work with the platforms you already use
Especially relevant if you're in
Not a generic country list -- these are the specific markets where this service solves a real, documented problem.
Stripe's own documentation points Vietnamese founders toward forming a US LLC first -- the same entity Shopify Payments needs.
Stripe access is invite-only and Mercury is hard-blocked, so a properly-formed US LLC is the more reliable route to a working Shopify Payments setup.
A large and active Shopify seller base already routing through US entities to reach Shopify Payments and Stripe.
Everything else your US company needs
Bookkeeping
Categorised transactions, connected bank feeds, invoices out the door, reports you can hand a lender.
Business taxes
Federal and state filings handled on time, with a licensed professional on a call when you need one.
Registered agent
Required in every state. Yours is included, and your mail is scanned to you.
E-commerce analytics
Shopify and Amazon sales, orders and ad spend in one dashboard, next to your books.
EIN without an SSN
The biggest blocker for founders outside the US. We run the SS-4 process end to end.
US company for e-commerce
The entity, EIN and address Amazon, Shopify Payments and Stripe expect before they verify a seller.
Sales tax & nexus
Economic nexus and marketplace facilitator rules, tracked and filed so a threshold crossed in a state you have never visited does not turn into a notice.
US LLC for Amazon FBA
Formed the way Seller Central actually verifies, with the right tax form from day one.
US LLC for dropshipping
Wyoming-first, priced for a business with no US inventory and a real answer on nexus.
US LLC for TikTok Shop
The domestic-track entity, EIN and bank account TikTok Shop's cross-border track does not give you.
US LLC for content creators
The privacy, banking and liability separation an individual creator account does not have.
Form the company
LLC or C-Corp in any of the 50 states, with the EIN and registered agent included.
How this works. NameMarshal is not a law firm or an accountancy practice, and nothing on this page is legal or tax advice. Formation, EIN and registered agent are delivered through NameMarshal's formation network. Foreign-owned US LLCs generally have to file Form 5472 with a pro-forma Form 1120 every year, even with no income, and the penalty for missing it is steep. Ask us and we will point you at someone licensed to handle it.