Acceptable Proof of Ownership

Requirements (some have several

Document Type options which may be acceptable) Notes/Explanation
Secretary of State or You may have to click an
1. Guarantor as owner/senior officer
Entity Docs (Found on additional link to get the
(member/manager for LLCs)
Government Website details of ownership
2. Guarantor listed as current
Incorporator Please refer to the SoS
state file
3. Senior officer is defined as President,
CEO, CFO or other as noted in "Titles" Copy or upload results to
below UMS

Articles of 1. Guarantor as owner/senior officer Note ­ If Articles are not

Incorporation or Other (member/manager for LLCs) pulled directly from the
Entity Organization SoS, UW has the
Documents 2. If obtained from the merchant, the discretion to require
document must be notarized, additional proof of
witnessed or stamped by the SoS ownership docs (See
attached matrix)

State or Local 1. PG by name and the exact name of CAUTION​ : In some

Government Business the business states, the licence will list
License the guarantor but may not
provide a title, or may not
State or Local 1. PG by name and the exact name of have the business name
Government Tax Permit the business listed.

State or Local 1. PG by name and the exact name of Many States/counties will
Government Food the business issue a license with
Permit someone other than the
owner (ex. General
State or Local 1. PG by name and the exact name of
Manager)
Government Liquor the business
License
These circumstances
may need further review

Recent IRS Form 1120 1. Must have at least the first page of For Corporations only:
(Form 1120 is the US the return along with the K­1 for
Corporation Income S­corps and an 1125E for C­corps.
Tax Return) (K­1 must

2. Must be signed by the preparer or

contain preparer’s information

(Note a K­1 or 1125E alone does not

constitute valid proof of ownership)
Recent IRS Form 1040 1. Must have at least the first page of For Sole Proprietorships:
(Form 1040, U.S. the return along with the schedule C
Individual Income Tax
Return sets forth the 2. Must be signed by the preparer or
annual income filed by contain preparer’s information
citizens or residents of
the United States) (Note a Schedule C alone does not
constitute valid proof of ownership)

Purchase Agreement, 1. Must be a complete copy and be Agreement may not be

witnessed and signed (This alone is only form of proof of
Acquisition Agreement not proof of ownership) ownership provided, must
or perform as TLO and SoS
search to verify the
Buy & Sell Agreement previous owner; note
date if do not see current
owner sale, etc.

TLO Business Report 1. Must list guarantor as owner/officer Legal names of

(or other approved third Guarantor and business
party vendor) must match, not just be
similar

Letter from IRS 1. Guarantor name and title such as EIN number can be
assigning Employer “sole member” or “CEO” must be confirmed in multiple
Identification Number listed on document ways please see senior if
(EIN) you have questions.
Additional Documents: Note Any Document from List Below, Standing
Alone, Will NOT Constitute Valid Proof of Ownership (may work in
combination with other documents)

Applications Alone: Note, Again an application alone does not

● FEIN Application prove ownership as it does not mean that it
● Liquor License Application was actually sent to the issuing authorities or
that it was approved.

Lease Agreements Leases alone may not prove ownership.

Caution​ : Manager within the business might
sign a lease without ownership of the business
itself.

Stock Certificates Stock certificates, including a Schedule G, do

not show authority. Caution: Owning stock
does not give the authority to sign legal
documents.

Government Documents List the Caution​ : Sometimes these titles can be used
Guarantor as an “agent” or by people that simply have authority to accept
“incorporator”, or “organizer” and file items on behalf of the entity. They do
not necessarily have ownership in the
business or the authority to bind.

Third Party Non­Vendor Approved Many of these sites are similar to Wikipedia in
Websites ​(Including KnowX, Manta, that anyone may submit information to be
Cityscape, Google, and Dun & Brad Street) added to the profile with very little proof.

Credit Reports ­ Alone Credit reports are not valid sole

documentation as proof of ownership because
the credit bureaus obtain their information
from a variety of different sources that may not
be up to date.
 Titles

Entity Type Acceptable Titles Titles That May Not Be POO

Corporation ‫ ڹ‬President, Vice 1. Statutory Agent or Initial

President, Treasurer, Agent
CEO, CFO, Secretary a. This person is setup
(any Senior Officer to be served any
Title) legal documents
‫ ڹ‬Director regarding the
‫ ڹ‬Registered Agent* business and is not
‫ ڹ‬Owner necessarily an
‫ ڹ‬Principal** owner.

Limited Liability (LLC) ‫ ڹ‬Managing Member of 2. Incorporator

or Partnership LLC a. This is an authorized
‫ ڹ‬Member representative
‫ ڹ‬Partner (for (attorney, etc)
Partnership) appointed to file
‫ ڹ‬Manager (only corporate documents
acceptable when on behalf of the
referring to a manager owner and/or entity.
of an LLC)
‫ ڹ‬Registered Agent* 3. Manager or even Office
‫ ڹ‬Principal** General Manager

Sole Proprietor ‫ ڹ‬Owner, proprietor 4. Attorney or Attorney in

‫ ڹ‬Registered Agent* Fact
‫ ڹ‬Principal**

*Registered Agent is only acceptable at UW’s written discretion/exception and should be

accompanied by other information to prove ownership, to the entity involved.

**Principal is only acceptable at the UW’s written discretion/exception and should be accompanied
by other information to prove ownership, to the entity involved.