Read the reject line first. Most bounces are glare, a crop, the wrong document type, or stale address proof. They are not a random system reject.
Gu Heng will not write a “pass first time” story. What you can change is the file and the shot. What you cannot change is whether your residence still accepts that document. The help page How to complete identity verification is marked updated 2 Jul 2026. Entry is Account → Identification.
The same failed photo, uploaded three times, is still glare. Window light beats a filter. Do not change network and resubmit “to pass.”
How to read the reject line
Copy the words, then decide: reshoot, change document, or stop. Do not re-upload from memory.
| The reason is closer to | Fix this first |
|---|---|
| Unclear, glare, cropped, corners missing | Reshoot. Do not sharpen in an editor |
| Document type not supported, does not match the choice | Go back to the list and pick again; see the document handbook |
| Expired, date window missed | A valid document or a newer bill |
| Name spelling, country / region mismatch | Match the passport MRZ, letter by letter |
| Region unavailable | Not a photo problem; see region limits |
KYC is customer due diligence. See Investopedia · KYC. How this exchange writes a reject reason is still the review page. Region-unavailable and a bad photo can share one “failed” label. Split them. Region is in region limits.
Photos are most of the bounces
All four corners in frame, no laminate glare, no filter. Crop the two MRZ lines and the machine cannot read them.
What we actually do: daylight by a window, flash off, document on a plain desk, phone directly above. Do not shoot through a passport sleeve. Do not photograph a scan of a photocopy off a screen. For the face, turn as the screen asks. Take off glasses that glare.
Contrast sliders, beauty filters, and auto-crop wipe microprint and holograms. Review wants a photo of the original, not a “nice” picture.
One warm lamp at night puts a bright patch on the laminate. After we moved to a window in daylight, the same passport became readable. Auto HDR on a phone can flatten security print. Turn it off and try. Before you upload, pinch-zoom: name, number, expiry, MRZ — all four readable, then send.
Do not hand the phone to someone next to you “to turn it around” during liveness. The lens has to see the account holder. A child or an older relative in frame will not match.
What a wrong document type does
A type that is not on the list still bounces, however sharp the photo. Read what the review page accepts today, then shoot.
National ID, passport, and some driving licences follow residence. Mainland China residents often walk national ID. Frequent travellers reach for a passport by habit. Read the list first. A passport bio page has to be in date, MRZ complete. Whether changing type after a wrong pick clears progress is the page. Do not assume “swap and continue.” How to pick is the KYC document quiz; the walkthrough is passport or national ID.
Driving licences are accepted in some countries and not in others. If the list has no licence, a clean photo still bounces. Whether a residence card or a permanent-resident document appears follows the residence you picked. An Ethereum account has no “document type”; keys are control, see ethereum.org · wallets. An exchange account is the opposite: without a passed document, deposits and withdrawals often stay closed.
The date window on proof of address
Validity varies by country, often 2–6 months. Do not upload an expired bill.
Whether utilities, bank statements, or government letters count is the page list. Name and address have to match what you typed on the form. A slip that shows an account number and no name is often not enough. A PDF export is usually clearer than a photo of a screen. You still have to be able to read the date. How the window is counted is the related help article on residential address verification. The one you open wins.
A shared-flat utility bill in a roommate’s name will not match. A bank statement in your name is usually faster than arguing with the roommate. An e-bill needs the issuer header. A naked table screenshot is often not enough. Whether a translation needs a notary is the page. Do not stack a machine translation on top and call it official.
Public materials do not freeze one site-wide number for “from issue date” versus “from upload date.” The common window is the last 2–6 months. If you are unsure, pick a newer bill. Do not throw last year’s annual statement at it.
After repeated fails, should you keep submitting
If the reason has not changed, stop submitting. The same glare, three times, does not become sharp.
What you can change: light, crop, document type, bill date, name spelling. What you cannot: the region is closed, or the document itself is not accepted. Keep submitting the second kind and you only burn attempts. Do not change IP and try again. That is not a file problem, and it can flag the account.
The face has to be the account holder. A stand-in, or buying “we will pass KYC for you,” hands document and face to a third person. A fail is the small cost. A leak is the large one. Bitcoin.org puts keys and identity on the holder: Secure your wallet. An exchange account opened on stolen documents is expensive to unwind.
Digital assets can lose. A passed verification is not a reason to open futures. Leverage and futures can lose 100%.
Pasting the same failed file into a ticket does not help. Change the shot or the document, then submit. Support cannot “review glare into sharp.” Wait windows are the page. There is no minute figure we can print.
Match name spelling to the passport MRZ, not to decorative type on the cover. One letter off between a romanisation and an English name, and the machine treats two people. Nationality and document number on the form have to use the same character set as the document. A dropped space, middot, or hyphen also bounces.
People bounce, then upload a “more premium” document that is not on the list. Premium does not matter. The list does. Go back to the review page and read it.
While a review is open, do not use the same files to open accounts elsewhere at a high clip. KYC files reused in a short window leave a trace on both bind-later and signup. Handle one bounced account at a time. Fix the reason, then submit.
While you wait, set the anti-phishing code. Fake mail that says “verification failed, tap here” loves this window. Re-upload lives on the logged-in identification page.
A bounce is not a voided account. If the reason can change, change it. If it cannot, stop. Re-uploading the same blur only burns patience.
Wrong light and a wrong crop are not the same bounce
Glare is a light source. Crop is framing. Sharpening fixes neither. Use a side window, a plain desk, flash off. Pinch-zoom before you send: four corners, crest, MRZ, expiry. Do not upload a chat-compressed copy.
Expired IDs and secondary files — “it still looks usable” is not a test
Expiry is the printed date. An old scan that is sharper is still expired. Secondary files are the extra items on the list — proof of address, a handheld shot — not another pretty main-ID photo. Tick the list, then submit.
One letter off, and the machine treats two people
Match the form to the passport MRZ, not decorative type on the cover. A dropped middle name, space, or hyphen counts. Photo and form are a set. Change the form, and a reshoot may still be required.
Appeals live inside the account. Do not change network and resubmit
Appeals go through Help inside a logged-in account. Do not send documents off-platform. Do not change IP and resubmit — that is not a file fix, and it can flag the account. Region-unavailable is not a network problem; see region limits. Re-upload lives on the logged-in identification page, not in a mail link.
Does a reject void the account?
Usually not. Fix the files against the reason, then submit again. If the page says the region is unavailable, that is a different problem.
Can someone else take the photo and submit for me?
No. The document and the face have to be the account holder. A stand-in often fails outright, and it hands the files to a third person.