To enable investing on your Public account, like any other brokerage account, you must meet certain requirements:
Be 18 years of age
Have a valid Social Security Number
Have a legal U.S. residential address
Be a U.S. citizen, U.S. permanent resident, or have a valid visa
We understand that your current immigration or citizenship status may put you in a unique situation, where you may not meet the criteria listed above. As much as we would love to have you as a part of our community, unfortunately, our clearing firm has certain limitations and requirements when it comes to opening an investing account that we must adhere to.
While we don't have any updates on when our clearing firm will be able to accept citizenship statuses other than US Citizen, Permanent, or Visa (E1, E2, E3, F1, H1B, TN1, and O1), we would love to personally reach out and let you know when this becomes available! You can reach out via the app’s Chat or email us at support@public.com.
Why do you need my Social Security number?
In short, we are required to gather this information by federal law. The SEC, via the 2001 USA PATRIOT Act, requires all financial institutions to verify and record your Social Security number in order to verify your identity. This helps identify and prevent potential terrorists and money launderers from gaining access to the stock markets.
Additionally, we need your SSN in order to issue you a tax reporting form each year. You can learn more about these requirements from the SEC here.
Rest assured all your personal information is always encrypted and never accessible or visible to anyone within Public that is not licensed by FINRA to do so.
If you ever have questions, the team is always here for you, so feel free to give us a shout on the app’s Chat or via email at support@public.com.