Why is Shopify asking for business documents for a sole proprietor store?

Shopify Discussion

Topic summary

Shopify is deactivating newly created stores and requesting business documentation from sole proprietors, despite them providing SSNs instead of business registration. The platform’s legal team is asking for:

  • Proof of address (utility bills)
  • Business registration documents or licenses
  • Proof of inventory
  • Social media links

Multiple users report this issue affects approximately 80% of new stores. Response times from Shopify’s legal team range from 10-11 days, with some users still waiting without replies.

Key challenges:

  • Sole proprietors don’t have business registration documents by nature
  • Drop shippers cannot provide inventory proof
  • Even after initial approval, Shopify Payments may be placed on hold, restarting the verification cycle
  • Creating duplicate stores with the same details results in immediate shutdown

Recommended approach:

  • Contact support daily to escalate issues
  • Wait for legal team response (can take over a week)
  • Avoid creating new stores with identical information

One user warns about a potentially fraudulent email from “shopifylegalteamboard@gmail.com” claiming canonical tag issues—this domain appears suspicious and may not be legitimate Shopify communication.

Summarized with AI on November 2. AI used: claude-sonnet-4-5-20250929.
6

Yes it was solved after about 11 days. But now my Shopify payments are on hold as soon as i logged in. Now i am not getting a response from the verifications team again. So i am in the same loop again :joy: .