Entity Roles

Roles govern which financial products an entity can use. Lead computes each entity’s role eligibility from its data: the role_details array on every entity response states, per role, whether the entity qualifies (active) or not (inactive) and — check by check — why not. To validate eligibility synchronously at create/update time instead, pass intended_roles (how the two fit together).

The Four Roles

Role	Who	What it means
`account_holder`	Any entity type	Full control and legal responsibility for the account.
`minor_account_holder`	Individuals aged 16–17 only	Full control of the account; same requirements as Account Holder except the age window.
`authorized_signer`	Individuals only	Authorized to sign on behalf of the account holder, without legal responsibility. Common for business accounts.
`authorized_user`	Individuals only	Restricted account access, without legal responsibility.

The hierarchy: Account Holders qualify for all Authorized Signer and Authorized User use cases. Authorized Signers qualify for all Authorized User use cases. Minor Account Holders qualify for all Authorized User use cases but are not eligible for the Authorized Signer role.

What Each Role Unlocks

Account Holder

Provisioning and using Account Numbers.
Designating the entity as an account_holder on an Account (API) or in the Account file.
Provisioning Cards to the entity — if it is also an Account Holder on the account the card is issued under.

Minor Account Holder

Provisioning and using Account Numbers for individuals aged 16–17.
When the entity turns 18, Lead recomputes eligibility from the date of birth. The entity stops qualifying for minor_account_holder and qualifies for account_holder with no entity update required. To complete the transition, designate the entity as an account_holder on the account; existing account numbers carry over.
For an existing Account Number, update its controls first. Lead validates that request against the entity’s recalculated roles.
An account whose only holders are Minor Account Holders cannot use the credit_with_underwriting capability (Accounts API validation rules).
API only — not supported in file integrations.

Program availability. The minor_account_holder role is available only to programs approved for minor account holder support — subject to Lead review of the program’s intended audience, monitoring, and product controls for minors. Contact your Technical Account Manager to request enablement.

Minor Account Holders can receive funds on all rails and originate ACH and instant payments, but cannot send wires or blockchain transfers. Programs are responsible for enforcing these restrictions in their product experience as a condition of enablement.

Authorized Signer

Required for listing an entity as a beneficial owner or control person of a business entity (Beneficial Ownership Requirements).
Designating the entity as an authorized_signer on an Account (API or file).

Authorized User

Designating the entity as an authorized_user on an Account (API or file).
Provisioning Cards to the entity — if it is also an Authorized User on the account the card is issued under.

Data Requirements

	Individual	Business	Sole Proprietorship
Authorized User	First name · Last name · Contact method (email or phone)	N/A	N/A
Authorized Signer	First name · Last name · Contact method · Physical address¹ · Date of birth (18+) · Government-verified identification² · OFAC passed & valid · KYC passed & valid	N/A	N/A
Account Holder	Authorized-signer set, plus risk score	Business name · Business type · Business industry · Contact method · Government-verified identification² · Physical address¹ · KYC passed & valid · OFAC passed & valid · Risk score · One or more control persons³ with titles · One or more applicable beneficial owners³	Business name · Business type · Business industry · Contact method · Government-verified identification² · Physical address¹ · KYC passed & valid · OFAC passed & valid · Risk score · One or more sole proprietors⁴
Minor Account Holder	Account-holder set, with date of birth 16 or 17	N/A	N/A

Minor Account Holder requirements are identical to Account Holder except the date-of-birth window. Individuals 18+ use account_holder; individuals under 16 are not eligible for any account holder role.

^{1. Address must not be a registered-agent address, P.O. box, or in a prohibited country.}
^{2. For US entities (those with a US tax identification number), a US tax ID is required; non-US entities require other government-verified identification. Field rules: The Entity Object.}
^{3. Beneficial owner / control person data requirements match the authorized_signer set. Capture and submit accurate beneficial ownership data; where there are genuinely no qualifying owners, an empty array is a valid submission.}
^{4. Sole proprietor data requirements match the authorized_signer set.}

Validating Eligibility

Two complementary mechanisms, same vocabulary:

intended_roles (synchronous): pass it on POST/PATCH when you believe the data satisfies a role’s requirements. Validation is all-or-nothing across the listed roles; a failure returns a 422 naming the failing check. For business/sole_prop, pass only account_holder.
role_details (always on): every entity response carries the per-role eligibility computed from current data — the source of truth for downstream use. If you omit intended_roles and the data happens to meet a role’s requirements, the entity is still eligible downstream.

Reading failures — including indirect failures through child entities — is covered step-by-step on Troubleshooting.

Banking Infrastructure

Lending & Receivables

Payment Rails

Customers & Accounts

Network Settlement

The Four Roles

What Each Role Unlocks

Data Requirements

Validating Eligibility

​The Four Roles

​What Each Role Unlocks

​Data Requirements

​Validating Eligibility

The Four Roles

What Each Role Unlocks

Data Requirements

Validating Eligibility