Age Requirement: Must Be 18 or Older
Binance has a clear age requirement—you must be at least 18 years old to register for and use the platform. This is not just Binance's own policy but a standard requirement across virtually all global financial service platforms.
During the registration phase, Binance may not strictly verify your age, as registration only requires a phone number or email. However, when you complete KYC identity verification, the system will automatically calculate your age based on the date of birth on your identity document. If you are under 18, KYC verification will be rejected, and your account functionality will be severely restricted.
Note that Binance calculates age using the Gregorian calendar, not the lunar calendar. Also, the legal age of adulthood varies by country—in some countries it's 21. Binance applies the appropriate age requirement based on the country/region you select.
For mainland China users, the legal age of adulthood is 18, so as long as you are 18 or older and have a valid ID card, you meet Binance's age requirement.
Document Requirements: What Identity Documents Does Binance Accept
Completing KYC verification requires a valid identity document. The accepted document types vary slightly by country and region, but for mainland China users, the most commonly used options are:
People's Republic of China Resident ID Card. This is the most convenient and commonly used option. You'll need to photograph both the front (the side with your photo and name) and back (the side with the expiration date) of your ID card. Note several requirements: the photo must be clear with legible text and image; all four corners of the ID must be visible and not cropped; avoid strong light reflections by not photographing directly under a light; copies or scans of photos cannot be used.
Chinese Passport. If you have a passport, you can also use it for KYC verification. You'll need to photograph the passport's information page (the page with your photo and personal details). Passports sometimes have a higher approval rate because the English information is more system-friendly for recognition.
Driver's License. Users in some countries and regions can use a driver's license for KYC verification. Whether a mainland China driver's license can be used for Binance KYC depends on Binance's current policy—check the verification page for available document types.
Regardless of which document you choose, there's one fundamental requirement—the document must be within its validity period. Expired ID cards or passports cannot pass KYC verification. If your ID card is nearing expiration, consider renewing it first before doing the verification.
Phone Number and Email Requirements
Registering a Binance account requires a phone number or email address, but not all phone numbers and emails work equally well.
Phone number requirements:
Mainland China +86 phone numbers can be used to register for Binance. Numbers from all three major carriers—China Mobile, China Unicom, and China Telecom—are supported. You'll need to receive an SMS verification code during registration, so your phone number must be able to send and receive text messages normally.
However, certain phone numbers may encounter issues: virtual phone numbers (such as some internet phone numbers) may not receive verification codes; newly activated phone numbers may have a "cooling period" at the carrier during which some platform messages may not be received; phone numbers with SMS blocking services enabled may filter out verification codes.
Email requirements:
Almost all mainstream email services can be used to register for Binance. Recommended email providers include: Gmail (Google email, most recommended), Outlook/Hotmail (Microsoft email), QQ Mail, 163 Mail (NetEase email), and Yahoo Mail.
It's not recommended to use temporary or disposable email addresses for registration, as these may later fail to receive important notifications and security verification emails from Binance. Additionally, while corporate email addresses can be used for registration, if you lose access to the email after leaving the company, account recovery will be very difficult.
Network Environment Requirements
This topic is sensitive but unavoidable for mainland China users. Binance's official website cannot be accessed directly from mainland China—you'll need special network tools to connect.
During the registration process, you need to ensure network stability. If the connection drops during registration, you may need to restart the entire process. Choose a stable network environment to complete registration, avoiding verification code expiration or page loading failures due to network issues.
Also note that some network tool IP addresses may be identified and restricted by Binance. If you encounter a message like "This service is not available in your region," try switching to a different node.
Financial Preparation: Does Opening an Account Cost Money?
The short answer: opening a Binance account is completely free. Registering an account and completing KYC verification cost nothing—there are no "account opening fees," "annual fees," or similar charges.
However, if you want to start trading immediately after registration, you'll obviously need to fund your account. For mainland China users, the most common deposit method is buying USDT (a stablecoin pegged 1:1 to the US dollar) through C2C trading using Chinese yuan. C2C trading itself charges no fees, but the USDT price you get may be slightly higher than the market rate—this spread is the merchant's profit.
There's no hard minimum for first-time deposits, but different merchants in C2C trading may set minimum transaction amounts, typically ranging from tens to hundreds of yuan.
Summary: Pre-Registration Checklist
To summarize everything above, here's what you need to prepare before registering for Binance:
- Confirm you are at least 18 years old
- Have a valid identity document ready (ID card or passport)
- Have a phone number that can normally send and receive texts, or a frequently used email address
- Ensure you have a stable network environment to access the Binance website
- If you plan to trade immediately after registration, have funds ready for deposit
Once you meet these conditions, the entire registration process typically takes only 5-10 minutes. After submitting KYC verification, review times range from minutes to days. Once verified, you can start trading on Binance.
It's recommended to register through Binance Official to enjoy a fee rebate on every trade—a significant saving over the long term.