KYB
The KYB checklist
Not a form to fill in - a list of what each step should actually establish, and how to tell a genuinely completed check from one that only looks finished.
- Confirm legal existence and registration. The entity is real and currently registered at an official register - not just a name provided on a form.
- Check current legal status. Active, not dissolved or in liquidation, as recorded by the register today, not at some earlier point.
- Identify who can act for the business. Officers and legal representatives with actual authority, distinct from anyone claiming to represent the company.
- Resolve ownership past the first shareholder. If the named shareholder is itself a company, the check isn't complete until that's resolved further. See ownership resolution.
- Apply the correct threshold. Know which percentage test actually applies to this customer's sector before deciding who counts as a beneficial owner. See the 25% UBO threshold.
- Record exactly where resolution stopped, if it didn't fully resolve. A named, specific reason - not a silent gap. See how Keizu determines a UBO.
- Decide whether this relationship needs ongoing monitoring, not just a one-time check. See KYB monitoring.
What this checklist deliberately leaves out
Identity verification of the individuals involved (KYC), sanctions and PEP screening, and source-of- funds checks are related but separate disciplines, not steps of KYB itself - conflating them is a common source of gaps in an actual compliance programme. See KYB vs KYC.
Related
See it work on a real company.