Source: ITIN Services documentation. Last synced from GitBook content.
Passport, visa, foreign residential address, U.S. travel history, and tax material standards needed before applying for an ITIN.
When applying for an ITIN, the most important first step is to prepare identity documents and basic information clearly. The clearer and more complete the materials are, the faster review and submission can move. Blurry materials, missing pages, or inconsistent information often lead to resubmission requests and may affect Form W-7 submission.
This page explains the common materials together: passport, visa, foreign residential address, U.S. travel history, and tax or application-reason documents.
If you have a valid passport, provide it first. A passport is usually the strongest document because it can prove both identity and foreign status.
Valid, unexpired, complete, and readable passport information page.
Full non-U.S. residential address with street, city, postal code, and country.
U.S. tax return, income documents, LLC/platform records, treaty documents, or other W-7 exception support if available.
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1. Passport: required
If you have a passport, you must first provide a valid and unexpired passport when applying for an ITIN. A passport is the most common and most important identity document because it can usually prove:
your identity;
your foreign status;
your name, date of birth, nationality, and document number.
If you do not have a valid passport, contact support first to confirm whether another document combination is possible. In practice, most ITIN applications prioritize the passport.
Before uploading, zoom in on the image and make sure small letters and numbers are readable.
2. Passport photo or scan standards
Please provide the passport information page, meaning the page that includes your photo, name, passport number, date of birth, issue date, expiration date, and machine-readable zone.
The image above is an example of the original information page. If your passport information is split into upper and lower sections, try to include both sections in one clear image. Do not photograph only the photo area, and do not omit the machine-readable zone at the bottom.
The passport image must meet the following standards:
Use a color scan or clear color photo.
The passport information page must be complete, with all four corners visible.
Do not crop the edges or photograph only the middle area.
Do not cover the page with fingers, shadows, glare, flash spots, or other obstruction.
Do not submit an image that is blurry, severely tilted, heavily compressed, or distorted into a trapezoid.
Recommended method:
Use a scanner to make a color scan and save it as a PDF or high-resolution JPG.
If using a phone, place the passport flat on a table and shoot from directly above.
Turn off flash and use natural light to avoid glare.
After taking the photo, zoom in to check whether every letter and number is clear.
Common problems:
Passport corners are cropped.
The MRZ machine-readable zone is incomplete.
Fingers cover the name, passport number, or photo.
Glare blocks the date of birth or expiration date.
The image is too blurry to read when enlarged.
The passport has expired.
The passport name does not match the name on other tax documents.
3. If you have a U.S. visa, provide it as well
If you hold a U.S. visa, please provide a photo or scan of the visa page as well. Not everyone has a U.S. visa. If you do not have one, you usually do not need to provide anything extra.
The original visa-related article did not provide a sample visa page, so this section explains the review standard. Visa photos follow standards similar to passport photos: complete, clear, color, unobstructed, and without glare.
The visa image should meet these standards:
The full visa page should be visible, with all four corners preserved as much as possible.
Name, date of birth, visa type, visa number, issue date, and expiration date should be readable.
If the visa is attached to the passport, photograph the full visa page and do not crop only the middle text.
Do not cover the visa number, photo, name, or machine-readable area.
Avoid glare, blur, cropping, and excessive compression.
If the visa has expired, you do not need to provide it.
4. Foreign residential address: include street, city, and postal code
When applying for an ITIN, you need to provide your residential address outside the United States. This should not be only the country name; it should be as complete as possible.
Please provide:
country or region;
province, state, or administrative area;
city;
street address, house number, building, unit, or room number;
postal code;
an English version of the address if needed.
Example format:
Room 1203, Building 5 No. 88 Example Road Pudong New Area Shanghai 200120 China
5. U.S. mailing address: used to receive IRS letters
The IRS sends ITIN approval notices or request letters by mail. We recommend providing a reliable U.S. mailing address because IRS letters are usually received more reliably at a U.S. address.
You may use:
your own U.S. address;
the address of a trusted friend or relative in the United States;
a U.S. mailbox or forwarding address that can receive government letters;
if you do not have an available address, contact ITINSERVICES about using the mailing address we provide.
Please confirm that the address can receive IRS or government letters and that you can receive scans or notifications promptly.
6. If you have U.S. entry and exit records, provide them as well
If you have been to the United States, you also need to organize your U.S. travel history. For the query method and template, see: How to Check and Fill in U.S. Days of Presence
7. Tax or application-reason documents
In addition to identity documents, an ITIN application needs a valid U.S. tax reason. Different reasons require different documents.
The following materials are optional if you have them. If you do not have them, that is also acceptable for reference purposes; you can still apply for an ITIN without them.
Common materials include:
U.S. tax return materials, such as Form 1040-NR;
income documents, such as Form 1042-S, 1099, W-2, or platform payout records;
LLC, platform, investment, property, or bank-related documents;
scholarship, grant, or school-issued income and withholding documents;
spouse or dependent-related filing documents;
tax treaty, withholding, refund, or other Form W-7 exception support materials.
If you are unsure about your application reason, send us your existing documents first for review. Do not randomly choose a Form W-7 reason code on your own, because an incorrect reason or missing support is a common reason for ITIN rejection.