How to open a US account

This guide walks you through opening a Light Horse brokerage account from the web application as a U.S. resident. The whole application takes about 3 minutes. You'll upload a government ID, confirm the details we read from it, answer a short set of profile and financial questions, and agree to the account disclosures. When you're done, your application goes to review.

This guide is for applicants who reside in the United States. If you live outside the US, see How to open an international account instead.

Have ready: an unexpired Driver's License or other government-issued ID, and your Social Security Number (SSN). A live photo of the front and back of your ID is required.

Overview of the Flow

The application is organized into four sections, shown as a progress bar across the top:

1. Tell us about yourself — ID upload, personal details, address, SSN, citizenship, marital status, dependents
2. Tell us more about your employment and financial status — employment and financial profile
3. Please share your investment experience — experience, objective, risk, liquidity
4. Please review disclosures and agree to the terms — regulatory questions and disclosure agreements

After the last section you'll land on a Waiting for Review confirmation.

Section 1 — Tell Us About Yourself

1. Start the application. On the Light Horse Account screen ("Open an account in under 3 minutes"), you'll see the documents you need to prepare: a Driver's License / Government Issued ID — a live photo of your unexpired ID is required. Click Upload Government Issued ID to begin. If you don't have one, use the I don't have a Government Issued ID link instead.
2. Upload the front and back of your ID. On the Upload your Driver's License / Government Issued ID screen, add a photo for both the FRONT and BACK slots. This information is used for account-opening verification only.
   • Use Re-upload on either slot to replace a photo.
   • Click Continue when both sides are uploaded.
   • Prefer to type your details instead? Use the Manual Input link.
3. Review what we read from your ID. On the Tell us about yourself screen, we pre-fill your details from the ID photo. A banner reminds you: "Here's what we see from the picture. If any info is incorrect, edit the input boxes or Upload again." Check each field and correct anything that's wrong:
   • Personal Information — First Name, Middle Name (optional), Last Name, Date of Birth, Gender, Document expiration date
   • Address — Country, Address, Apt, suite or unit (optional), City, State, Postal Code
   • Click Looks good! to continue, or Try another photo to re-scan your ID.
4. Enter your SSN. Type your SSN and click Continue.
5. Confirm citizenship. Confirm the country (e.g., United States of America) and click Continue.
6. Marital status. Choose one: Single, Married, Divorced, or Widowed, then click Continue.
7. Number of dependents. Enter the number (e.g., 0, 1, 2) and click Continue.

Section 2 — Employment and Financial Status

1. Employment status. Choose one: Employed, Self Employed, Retired, Student, or Unemployed, then click Continue.
2. Employment information. If you're employed or self-employed, fill in information about your job — Company / Employer name, Position, Years, and Industry — then click Continue.
3. Financial status. Select a range for each (all are dropdowns, e.g., $50,001 – 100,000): Annual Income, Liquid Net Worth, and Total Net Worth. Click Continue.

Section 3 — Investment Profile

1. Investment experience. Choose one: None, Limited, Good, or Extensive, then click Continue.
2. Investment objective. Choose one: Speculation, Growth, Income, Capital Preservation, or Other, then click Continue.
3. Risk tolerance. Choose one: High, Medium, or Low, then click Continue.
4. Importance of liquidity. Choose one: Very Important, Somewhat Important, or Not Important, then click Continue.

Section 4 — Disclosures and Terms

1. Answer the regulatory questions. Answer NO or YES to each, then click Continue:
   • Are you or a family member a senior executive or 10% or greater shareholder of a publicly traded company?
   • Are you or a family member employed with a member firm of a stock exchange or FINRA registered broker dealer?
   • Are you or a family member a senior political figure (SPF) or politically exposed person (PEP)?
   • Do you want to provide a trusted contact person?
2. Review disclosures and agree. Open and review each linked document:
   • Light Horse Customer Agreement
   • Light Horse Terms & Conditions
   • Light Horse Privacy Policy
   • Light Horse Form CRS
   • Light Horse Extended Hours Disclosure
   • Light Horse Fractional Trading Disclosure
   • Light Horse Fully Paid Lending Disclosure
   • Light Horse Market Data Disclosure
   • Light Horse Low Priced Securities Disclosure
   • Apex Customer Agreement
   • Apex Privacy Policy
   • Apex MSLA and Fully Paid Lending Disclosure
   • Apex FDIC Sweep Terms
3. Submit. Tick I agree to all of the above, then click Continue to submit your application.

Answering YES to any of the first three regulatory questions, or to the trusted-contact question, will prompt you for additional details.

Done — Waiting for Review

You'll land on the Waiting for Review screen:

"Your application has been successfully submitted. You will be notified with any status updates via e-mail or app message."

Use View Application Information to review what you submitted at any time.

Quick Reference

Section	Screens
Tell us about yourself	ID upload (front/back) → confirm personal info & address → SSN → citizenship → marital status → dependents
Employment & financial	employment status → employment info → financial status
Investment profile	investment experience → objective → risk tolerance → liquidity
Disclosures & terms	4 regulatory questions → review disclosures → agree → submit
Result	Waiting for Review

Tips & Troubleshooting

• Blurry or unreadable ID? Use Re-upload on the ID upload screen or Try another photo on the Tell us about yourself screen. A clear, unexpired ID reads best.
• Fields read incorrectly from the photo? You can edit any pre-filled box directly on the Tell us about yourself screen.
• Want to skip the photo entirely? Use Manual Input on the ID upload screen and type your details.
• Go back a step: use the Back link at the top-left of each screen.
• No Government Issued ID? Choose I don't have a Government Issued ID on the first screen.

Got questions? Ask us at newaccounts@lighthorse.io.