Onboard your connected accountPublic preview

As the platform, you must decide if you want to collect the required information from your connected accounts up front or incrementally. Up-front onboarding collects the eventually_due requirements for the account, while incremental onboarding only collects the currently_due requirements.

To determine whether to use up-front or incremental onboarding, review the requirements for your connected accounts’ locations and capabilities. While Stripe tries to minimize any impact to connected accounts, requirements might change over time.

For connected accounts where you’re responsible for requirement collection, you can customize the behavior of future requirements using the collection_options parameter. To collect the account’s future requirements, set collection_options.future_requirements to include.

Create an Account Link using the connected account ID and include a use_case.account_onboarding.refresh_url and a use_case.account_onboarding.return_url. Stripe redirects the connected account to the refresh URL if the Account Link URL has already been visited, has expired, or is otherwise invalid. Stripe redirects connected accounts to the return URL when they have completed or left the onboarding flow. Additionally, based on the information you need to collect, pass either currently_due or eventually_due for use_case.account_onboarding.collection_options.fields. This example passes eventually_due to use up-front onboarding. For incremental onboarding, set it to currently_due.

curl -X POST https://api.stripe.com/v2/core/account_links \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer 
sk_test_BQokikJOvBiI2HlWgH4olfQ2
" \
  -H "Stripe-Version: 2025-07-30.preview" \
  --json '{
    "account": 
"{{CONNECTED_ACCOUNT_ID}}",
    "use_case": {
        "type": "account_onboarding",
        "account_onboarding": {
            "collection_options": {
                "fields": "eventually_due"
            },
            "configurations": [
                "merchant"
            ],
            "return_url": "https://example.com/return",
            "refresh_url": "https://example.com/refresh"
        }
    }
  }'

Redirect your connected account to the Account Link URL

Redirect the connected account to the Account Link URL to send them to the onboarding flow. Each Account Link URL can only be used once, because it grants access to the account holder’s personal information. Authenticate the account in your application before redirecting them to this URL.

Set up your integration to listen for changes to account requirements. You can test handling new requirements (and how they might disable charges and payouts) with the test trigger cards.

Send a connected account back through onboarding when it has any currently_due or eventually_due requirements. You don’t need to identify the specific requirements, because the onboarding interface knows what information it needs to collect. For example, if a typo is preventing verification of the account owner’s identity, onboarding prompts them to upload an identity document.

Stripe notifies you about any upcoming requirements updates that affect your connected accounts. You can proactively collect this information by reviewing your accounts’ requirements that have a requested_reasons.code of future_requirements.

For connected accounts where Stripe is responsible for collecting requirements, stop receiving updates for identity information after creating an Account Link or Account Session.

Accounts store identity information in the identity hash.

Handle verification errors

Listen to the v2.core.account[requirements].updated event. If the account contains any requirements with a minimum_deadline.status of currently_due when the deadline arrives, the corresponding functionality is disabled and those statuses become past_due.

Let your accounts remediate their verification requirements by directing them to the Stripe-hosted onboarding form.

The Account Link requires a refresh_url and return_url to handle all cases in which the connected account is redirected back to your platform. It’s important to implement these correctly to provide the best onboarding flow for your connected accounts.

Refresh URL

Your connected account is redirected to the refresh_url when:

• The link expired (a few minutes went by since the link was created).
• The link was already visited (the connected account refreshed the page or clicked the back or forward button).
• The link was shared in a third-party application such as a messaging client that attempts to access the URL to preview it. Many clients automatically visit links, which causes an Account Link to expire.

Configure the refresh_url to call a method on your server to create a new Account Link with the same parameters and redirect the connected account to the new Account Link URL.

Return URL

Stripe redirects the connected account back to this URL when they complete the onboarding flow or click Save for later at any point in the flow. It doesn’t mean that all information has been collected, or that there are no outstanding requirements on the account. It only means the flow was entered and exited properly.

This URL passes no state. After redirecting a connected account to the return_url, determine whether the account completed onboarding. Retrieve the account and check the requirements hash for outstanding requirements. Alternatively, listen to the v2.core.account[requirements].updated event sent to your webhook endpoint and cache the state of the account in your application. If onboarding is incomplete, provide prompts in your application to allow them to continue onboarding later.

Stripe-hosted onboarding also supports connected account-initiated updates to the information they’ve already provided. Listen to the v2.core.account[requirements].updated event sent to your webhook endpoint to be notified when the account completes requirements and updates their information.

When you create an Account Link, you can set the type to either account_onboarding or account_update.

Account Links for account_onboarding

Account Links of this type provide a form for inputting outstanding requirements. Use it when you’re onboarding a new connected account, or when an existing user has new requirements (such as when a connected account had already provided enough information, but you requested a new capability that needs additional information). Send them to this type of Account Link to just collect the new information you need.

Account Links for account_update

Account Links of this type are enabled for accounts where your platform is responsible for requirement collection. account_update links display the attributes that are already populated on the account object and allow the connected account to edit previously provided information. Provide an option in your application (for example, “edit my profile” or “update my verification information”) for connected accounts to make updates themselves.