Sometimes we request a PayPal Proof of Ownership to verify that you're the owner of a PayPal account that has been used for transactions with us.
The way to obtain the proof of ownership depends on your device and browser, so please check the relevant section in this article.
Below we will explain how to acquire a proof of ownership and what the document must contain.
Requirements for PayPal Proof of Ownership:
- The Email, Full name and logo must be visible. Sometimes we will request that the URL is visible in the screenshot as additional verification.
- All information must be visible from the same page. Mobile users must submit two screenshots taken from the browser or app.
- Your PayPal account must be a personal account. If your account is a business account, you must still submit the document, and then reach out to customer service. They will instruct you on what will happen next.
Here you can see what we're looking for:
Desktop:
- Open PayPal in your preferred browser, and sign in.
- Click the gear icon in the top-right corner of the page. On some account views, this may show as your name or a profile icon instead of a gear, depending on account type.
- This opens your Account settings page, showing your Profile, Addresses, Email address, and Phone numbers:
- Ensure that your account is a personal account. The option to convert to business account will be visible in the account options section in the left column if your account is personal.
- Take a screenshot where all the required information is visible.
Mobile:
- Make sure that you never open the page in desktop view or desktop mode.
- Your PayPal username alone is not enough to verify your account.
- If you access PayPal Settings from a mobile browser and already have the app installed, you will be redirected into the app automatically. This is expected.
Android:
- The app cannot complete this on its own. The Contact Info screen in the PayPal app does not allow you to take screenshots, as a security feature, and produces a blank, black image instead. Use the browser steps below.
Browser:
- Open paypal in your preferred browser, and sign in. This opens directly on the Account page, with the Account tab selected by default.
- Take a screenshot showing your name, near the top of the page.
- Scroll down to the Emails section, further down the same page.
- Take a screenshot showing your primary email address.
iOS:
App:
- Open the PayPal app and log in.
- Tap the profile icon on the main screen.
- Your name and paypal.me username are shown together on your profile page:
- Take a screenshot showing your name.
- Tap Settings.
- Scroll down to the Emails section, where your primary email address is shown:
- Take a screenshot showing your primary email address.
Browser (Safari):
- For Safari users, the full URL will not be displayed in a normal screenshot like it does on Android Chrome.
- Open paypal in Safari and log in. If a banner appears prompting you to open the app, dismiss it.
- Tap the gear icon in the top right.
- Tap the Share icon in the toolbar at the bottom of the screen.
- Tap Print.
- Tap into the page thumbnails to expand the preview. You do not need to actually print or save the file.
- Take a screenshot of the expanded page showing your name and paypal.me handle. The full URL appears in the footer of the page:
- Take a screenshot of the expanded page showing the Emails section with your primary email address. The full URL appears in the footer of the page:
Browser (Chrome):
- Open Paypal in Chrome and log in. This opens directly on the Account page, with the Account tab selected by default.
- Take a screenshot showing your name, near the top of the page:
- Scroll down to the Emails section, further down the same page.
- Take a screenshot showing your primary email address:
Account Holder Information:
- This document, generated directly by PayPal, can also be accepted as Proof of Ownership, even if the information is not found on the same page.
- It can take up to 30 days for PayPal to provide you with this document, and in some cases longer.
- This can also be used as a Proof of Ownership document for virtual PayPal cards.
To request this document on the website:
- Go to Settings.
- Click Data & Privacy.
- Click Download your data.
- Select your data options.
- Click Submit Request.
To request this document on the app:
- Tap your profile icon.
- Tap Data & Privacy.
- Tap Download your data.
- Select your data options.
- Tap Submit Request.
- To download the completed document, you must verify the request through a 2FA SMS code.
This is what the correct document looks like:
To find out more about what other payment methods we may request and why please consult our Why do I need to verify my payment methods? article and contact our Customer support for any issues uploading documents.
