Eligibility & requirements

## What company structures do you support? We currently support C Corporations, LLCs or Public Benefit Corporations. ## Are any companies restricted from raising? Yes. Companies in certain industries are not supported by our banking partners, including cannabis (cultivation, sales, or delivery), adult entertainment, gambling, pawn brokers, and others (if your company is adjacent to one of these industries, reach out to us and we'll let you know if we can support your raise). ## Can a foreign company raise on Wefunder? No. Wefunder is only available to companies legally registered in the United States. The company you raise for has to be a US entity (typically a Delaware C-Corp, LLC, or Public Benefit Corporation). But "foreign founder" and "foreign company" are different. If you're a non-US person, you can still raise - as long as the company itself is incorporated in the US. ## I'm a foreign founder. What do I actually need to do? Three things: 1. **Form a US entity.** Most founders use a Delaware C-Corp via a registered agent service. This typically takes a few days. The company — not you personally — is what raises on Wefunder. 2. **Get an EIN for the US entity.** The IRS issues this to your new US company. Foreign founders can get an EIN without a US SSN, but it takes a few weeks if done by mail (or faster via a service). 3. **Plan for the SEC identity verification step (Form C signing).** You'll need to notarize a Power of Attorney so we can file your Form C. The default path is Proof.com (which accepts SSN or ITIN), but there are multiple workarounds if that doesn't work for you. See [Notarizing your Form C POA as a foreign founder](03-notarizing-your-form-c-poa-as-a-foreign-founder.md). ## Reg CF vs Reg D as a foreign founder Both are open to foreign-led US entities, but they have different practical implications: - **Regulation Crowdfunding (Community Round)** has a "use of proceeds" requirement: roughly half of the capital raised must be deployed inside the United States. If your operations are mostly outside the US, this is a real constraint. You can still raise Reg CF, but plan to spend at least half of the funds on US-based activity (US employees, US operations, US marketing, etc.). - **Regulation D 506(c) (Private Round)** has no such deployment requirement. You can raise capital and spend it anywhere. But Reg D is limited to accredited investors and the offering needs to be set up case-by-case. Email **launch@wefunder.com** to discuss. For many foreign founders with global operations, a Reg D Private Round is a cleaner fit than Reg CF. ## Are founders from some countries blocked entirely? This section is about **founders**, not investors. There is no published country blacklist. But Wefunder still has to clear standard compliance checks — sanctions screening (OFAC), identity verification, and intended use of the funds. If your country is on a US sanctions list, the raise isn't possible regardless of which exemption you choose. For everyone else, the country you're in doesn't disqualify you. We have successfully onboarded founders from Canada, the UK, India, Italy, Brazil, Switzerland, Jamaica, Turkey, Korea, Azerbaijan, Yemen, and most of the EU and Latin America. If you're not sure where your country falls, email **launch@wefunder.com** before you start setup. ## Can my investors be outside the US? For the full rules on which investors can participate based on their country, see [Location restrictions](https://help.wefunder.com/article/923fd4a7-3-location-restrictions). ## Bottom line You can raise on Wefunder as a foreign founder, but only through a US entity. The two practical things to plan for are (1) notarizing your Form C POA (which has multiple paths if Proof.com doesn't work for you), and (2) the Reg CF use-of-proceeds rule if you're mostly operating outside the US. Email **launch@wefunder.com** before you incorporate, not after — we can save you weeks of detours.