Passport or ID Card for Binance KYC? What Testing Both Actually Shows

Mainland Chinese users doing KYC on the Binance Official Site often struggle with which document to use out of an ID card, passport, or driver's license. Direct answer: use a passport if you have one — it's fastest and has the fewest regional restrictions; if you only have an ID card, that works fine for all basic functions; a driver's license isn't recommended — OCR recognition is poor and you'll likely be asked for extra documents later. We ran each of the three document types through KYC once this round and compared pass rate, duration, and downstream feature restrictions.

If you're doing KYC on mobile, photographing your document is slightly more stable through the Official Binance App than through a browser, and you don't need a computer webcam.

Direct Comparison of the Three Documents

Document	Average Review Time	Rejection Rate	Regional Restriction	Unlocked Features
Passport	5-15 minutes	Low	Fewest	All
ID Card (Mainland)	10-30 minutes	Medium	Some	All
Driver's License	15-60 minutes	High	Medium	All, but often needs extra documents
HK/Macau/Taiwan Resident Permit	20-40 minutes	Medium	Few	All
Temporary ID Card	Not supported	-	-	-
Household Registration Booklet	Not supported	-	-	-

Passport: The Most Reliable of All Documents

Advantages

• Highest OCR accuracy: passports use the international ICAO standard format, and Binance's system is optimized for passports from every country
• Fewest regional restrictions: passport KYC gets you recognized as an "international user" afterward, unlocking all features
• Most complete data fields: a passport has name, date of birth, issuing country, and expiry date all in one place, so Binance can capture everything in one go
• Rarely rejected: passport lamination has a consistent texture, so it causes the fewest glare issues

Disadvantages

• You need to already have a passport (some mainland users don't)
• A passport with less than 6 months of remaining validity will be rejected

What to Do

• Photograph the bio page (the one with your photo)
• Don't photograph the cover (it has no information)
• No need to photograph visa or stamp pages
• Keep the image file under 5MB
• Shooting with a regular iPhone/Android camera is fine

Who Should Use This

• Passport holders with more than 1 year of remaining validity
• Users who want every feature unlocked
• Mainland users who want to avoid "regional restriction" prompts

ID Card: The Most Convenient for Mainland Users

Advantages

• Almost everyone has one
• OCR accuracy for Chinese names has improved noticeably in recent years
• No obstacles for large transactions afterward

Disadvantages

• The PVC lamination on mainland ID cards causes glare easily
• ID card formats in some provinces are harder for OCR to read
• The chip side (with the national emblem) is sometimes flagged as "dirty" near the edges

What to Do

• Photograph both sides (one side has your photo, name, and ID number; the other has the national emblem, issuing authority, and validity period)
• Must use the physical original — no scanned copies
• Don't photograph your ID card displayed on another phone's screen (re-photographing a screen fails 100% of the time)
• See our ID photo tips note for detailed shooting instructions

Who Should Use This

• Mainland users who don't have a passport
• Users who only use Binance domestically and don't travel abroad
• Users who want to fund C2C deposits via Alipay/WeChat/bank card

Driver's License: Not Recommended

Advantages

• Useful for people without a passport who also don't want to photograph their ID card

Disadvantages

• Mainland driver's licenses have gone through several format changes (2008, 2019, 2025), and OCR frequently misreads them
• A driver's license doesn't include nationality information (only the word "China"), so Binance's system will ask you to submit additional documents
• After passing, some features (especially Verified Plus advanced verification) will still require you to add your ID card or passport
• Some driver's licenses have faded ink or worn corners, making them hard to photograph clearly

What to Do

• Don't photograph the pink duplicate booklet — only photograph the original (the one inside the blue hard cover)
• Photograph the "driving record information" page
• Be careful not to confuse it with your vehicle registration document (that can't be used)

Not Recommended For

• Users unfamiliar with photo-taking techniques
• Users who want to pass KYC quickly
• Users planning to do advanced verification later

Hong Kong / Macau / Taiwan Resident Permits

Mainland Travel Permit for Hong Kong and Macau Residents (Home Return Permit)

• Supported
• Medium recognition rate
• Sometimes requires an additional Hong Kong/Macau ID card

Mainland Travel Permit for Taiwan Residents (Taiwan Compatriot Permit)

• Supported
• Medium recognition rate

Hong Kong / Macau / Taiwan Local ID Cards

• Supported
• Best to match your IP location with the document holder's nationality

Can One Document Be Used More Than Once

Each document can only be used to KYC one Binance account. Binance's database records:

• Document number
• The name read by OCR from the document
• The document's issuing region

All three are checked for duplicates. Using the same ID card for KYC a second time will always fail.

Decision Flow

Answer these questions to decide quickly:

Do you have a valid passport (more than 6 months remaining)?
  ├─ Yes → Use your passport ✓
  └─ No
       ↓
   Do you only use Binance within mainland China?
       ├─ Yes → Use your ID card ✓
       └─ No (you often switch nodes to use overseas features)
            ↓
         Get a passport before doing KYC (don't use a driver's license)

Feature Differences Between the Three Documents Afterward

Once KYC passes, in theory every document unlocks the same features. In practice there are subtle differences:

Feature	Passport Pass	ID Card Pass	Driver's License Pass
Spot trading	Yes	Yes	Yes
Futures trading	Yes	Yes	Yes (some restrictions)
C2C trading	Yes	Yes	Yes
On-chain withdrawal	Yes	Yes	Yes
Fiat withdrawal	Yes	Yes (some regions)	Partially restricted
Launchpad subscription	Yes	Yes	Partially restricted
Verified Plus advanced	Easy to upgrade	Easy to upgrade	Often asked for extra documents
Large withdrawals (>100,000 USDT)	Smooth	Smooth	Occasionally triggers extra review

Can I Change Document Type After Submitting

No, you can't change it. Once KYC is submitted, the document type is permanently tied to the document number.

What you can do:

• Switch documents on a second submission if your first KYC was rejected
• Upload a second document type in addition to (not replacing) your first for Verified Plus advanced verification

What you can't do:

• Switch to a different document type after already passing KYC
• Reopen an account with the same document after closing it (30-day cooldown + system flag)

Common Errors by Document Type

Specific errors we hit during testing:

Error	Document	Cause
"Unable to recognize document type"	Driver's license	Photographed the duplicate instead of the original
"Document information incomplete"	ID card	Only photographed one side
"Document has expired"	Passport	Less than 3 months of validity remaining
"Image quality insufficient"	ID card	Heavy glare
"Name recognition failed"	Driver's license	Faded ink
"Issuing country doesn't match nationality"	Passport	Wrong nationality entered (e.g. entered "China" for a Hong Kong passport)

FAQ

Q: My ID card photo keeps failing — can I just switch to a passport and resubmit? A: Yes. After a KYC rejection, you can switch document types on your second submission for the same account. But if your name and ID number were already submitted the first time, keep the name consistent.

Q: Should Hong Kong/Macau compatriots use the Home Return Permit or their local ID card? A: We recommend using your local Hong Kong/Macau ID card or a passport, which have higher recognition rates. The Home Return Permit works but isn't the top choice.

Q: My ID number is 18 digits but ends in X — what do I do? A: Just enter it exactly as printed, with a capital X. Binance's system supports this.

Q: Can I use a student ID, work badge, or military ID? A: No. Binance only accepts ID cards, passports, and driver's licenses issued by a government, and all must be within their validity period.

Q: Can I use a passport with only 5 months of validity left? A: No. Binance requires more than 6 months of remaining validity on a passport. Either renew your passport first, or use your ID card instead.

Q: Can I do KYC with a digital ID card (the one on my phone)? A: No. Binance requires the physical original document — a digital ID card (an electronic credential or NFC-read virtual version) isn't accepted.

Q: Can I use the ID number printed on my household registration booklet? A: The household registration booklet itself can't be used as a KYC document. But the ID number printed on it is real and valid — take that number and get a physical ID card issued, and then you can use that.

Q: Will it cause a problem if my ID card address doesn't match where I currently live? A: No. The address on your ID card is your registered household address, while the "residential address" field in the KYC form is where you currently live. These can differ — Binance goes by your residential address.