Create a beneficial owner #

This section details how to create a new beneficial owner. To create beneficial owners, you need to collect the beneficial owner's full name, ssn, date of birth, and permanent address. Optionally, passport information must be included for non-US persons that do not have a US issued SSN. Beneficial owners require additional information that will give Dwolla the ability to confirm the identity of the individual.

For more information on how to create a beneficial owner, reference our step by step guide.

HTTP request #

POST https://api.dwolla.com/customers/{id}/beneficial-owners

Request Parameters #

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
firstName	yes	string	The legal first name of the beneficial owner.
lastName	yes	string	The legal last name of the beneficial owner.
ssn	conditional	string	Full nine digits of beneficial owner’s social security number. Required for US persons. If ssn is omitted, passport is required.
dateOfBirth	Yes	string	Beneficial owner’s date of birth in `YYYY-MM-DD` format. Must be between 18 to 125 years of age.
address	Yes	object	An address JSON object. Full address of the beneficial owner's physical address.
passport	conditional	object	An optional passport JSON object. Required for non-US persons. Includes passport identification number and country. If passport is omitted, ssn is required.

Address JSON object #

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
address1	yes	string	First line of the street address of the beneficial owner's permanent residence. Note: PO Boxes are not allowed.
address2	no	string	Second line of the street address of the beneficial owner's permanent residence. Note: PO Boxes are not allowed.
address3	no	string	Third line of the street address of the beneficial owner's permanent residence. Note: PO Boxes are not allowed.
city	yes	string	City of beneficial owner's permanent residence.
stateProvinceRegion	yes	string	US persons - Two-letter US state abbreviation code of Beneficial Owner’s physical address. For two-letter US state abbreviation reference, check out the US Postal Service guide. Non-US persons - Two-letter state, province, or region ISO abbreviation code of Beneficial Owner's physical address. For two-letter ISO abbreviation reference, check out the ISO guide.
country	yes	string	Country of beneficial owner's permanent residence. Two digit ISO code, e.g. `US`.
postalCode	conditional	string	Postal code of beneficial owner's permanent residence. Should be a five digit postal code, e.g. `50314`. Optional if beneficial owner is a non-US person.

Passport JSON object #

Parameter	Required	Type	Description
number	conditional	string	Required if beneficial owner is a non-US person and has no Social Security number.
country	conditional	string	Country of issued passport.

Request and response #

JavaScript

// Using dwolla-v2 - https://github.com/Dwolla/dwolla-v2-node
var customerUrl = 'https://api-sandbox.dwolla.com/customers/07d59716-ef22-4fe6-98e8-f3190233dfb8';
var requestBody = {
  firstName: 'John',
  lastName: 'Doe',
  dateOfBirth: '1970-01-01',
  ssn: '123-56-7890',
  address: {
    address1: '99-99 33rd St',
    city: 'Some City',
    stateProvinceRegion: 'NY',
    country: 'US'
    postalCode: '11101'
  }
};

dwolla
  .post(`${customerUrl}/beneficial-owners`, requestBody)
  .then(res => res.headers.get('location')); // => 'https://api-sandbox.dwolla.com/beneficial-owners/FC451A7A-AE30-4404-AB95-E3553FCD733F'

Overview

Retrieve a beneficial owner

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All funds transfers made using the Dwolla Platform are performed by a financial institution partner, and any funds held in a Dwolla Balance are held by a financial institution partner. Learn more about our financial institution partners.