What a proof of address document actually shows, its limits for marketplace seller checks, and how to use it alongside stronger signals.
"Please upload a utility bill or bank statement dated within the last three months." Almost every onboarding flow has asked for something like this at some point. It feels thorough. Sellers find it annoying, reviewers spend time squinting at scans, and the result is filed away as proof.
But proof of what, exactly? This post looks at what a proof of address document really shows, where it falls short, and how to use it sensibly on a marketplace.
A typical proof of address document is a utility bill, bank or card statement, council tax bill or similar letter. At best, it shows that:
That is useful. It is also much less than most teams assume.
That the person in front of you lives there. It shows that someone with that name received post there, or that a document claiming so exists.
That the document is genuine. Bills and statements are easy to edit. A PDF statement can be altered in minutes, and a scan or photo hides most signs of tampering.
That the address is current. "Dated within three months" is a convention. People move, and a bill can arrive after they have gone.
That the person is who they say they are. Address evidence is not identity evidence. It needs an identity check alongside it.
There are good reasons to collect address evidence in some cases:
The mistake is treating the document as strong proof rather than one piece of evidence.
Address evidence becomes useful when you check it against other things:
The identity document. Does the address on the bill match the one on the driving licence, if there is one? Is the name identical?
The company record. For company sellers, does the trading address make sense against the registered office on Companies House? A registered office is often an accountant's address, so a mismatch is not suspicious in itself, but it is worth understanding. See our post on how to verify a UK company seller. [Planned URL, live on publication.]
Payment and bank details. Does the billing address on the seller's payment method fit?
Device and network signals. Is the seller signing up from somewhere consistent with their stated location? Our post on device fingerprinting and bot signals covers how these work.
Contact details. Do the phone number and email look consistent with a genuine person at a genuine address? Our post on email and phone risk signals explains what those checks can tell you.
No one of these is proof. Together they give a far more reliable picture than one scanned bill.
If you do collect documents, review them with a short checklist:
Write down what a reviewer should do when a document fails one of these: ask for another document, ask a question, or escalate.
Where business document upload is enabled, TrustVerify checks whether a document actually is the type its slot expects, for example that a file uploaded as proof of address looks like a bill or statement, not an unrelated report. A clear mismatch is refused at upload with a document-type error, so the person uploading sees it straight away. Text-based PDFs are checked against keyword rules. Image files cannot be read that way, so they are accepted but flagged for manual review rather than wrongly rejected. This is a check on document type. It does not confirm a document is genuine or that the address is current, which is why the cross-checks above still matter. For individual identity, TrustVerify's KYC checks cover document extraction and selfie-to-document matching. See our post on passport MRZ and selfie checks.
For many marketplaces, a sensible pattern is:
This keeps friction low for most sellers while asking for more where it matters.
Accepting any document with an address on it. A delivery note or a screenshot of an online account is not the same as a bill or statement from an established organisation.
Checking the date and nothing else. A recent date on an edited document proves nothing.
Asking everyone for documents. It adds friction for honest sellers and does little to stop determined fraudsters, who can produce a convincing fake.
Keeping documents forever. Address documents contain personal and sometimes financial details. Keep them only as long as you need them, and consider whether you need the image or only the result of the review.
If you only remember a few points from this post, make them these:
None of these points requires a large team or a long project. Most can be put in place in a few weeks, and each one makes the next decision easier to explain.
Comparing providers? Read our guide to choosing KYC software in the UK.
See how TrustVerify supports seller verification beyond a single document. Explore seller verification.
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