Definition
Customer Identification Program (CIP)
The minimum set of identifying information a US financial institution must collect and verify before opening an account: name, date of birth, address, and an identification number.
By Bart Mierzejewski · Founder, FinCrime Desk · Reviewed Sep 19, 2026
Why it matters
CIP is the floor, not the whole of onboarding. Candidates routinely conflate CIP with CDD in interviews. CIP is the identity-verification minimum required at account opening; CDD is the broader, risk-based understanding of the customer that follows and continues.
In practice
The rule requires risk-based procedures for verifying identity within a reasonable time, documentary or non-documentary, plus records retention and comparison against government lists. It applies at account opening; ongoing obligations sit under CDD and EDD.