Are you ready to start saving for your child’s higher education with tax-free Ohio’s 529 Plan, CollegeAdvantage? If so, here’s a checklist of information you will need to have on hand to open an account online.
You may notice that one of the required pieces of data is your driver’s license number or state-issued ID. It’s necessary to share this information due to passage of the USA Patriot Act in 2001. This federal law was created after the Sept. 11 terror attacks. One key component of the Patriot Act is “Know Your Customer” (KYC) provision.
Banking and financial institutions must be compliant with the KYC protocol and verify the identity of their customers. This is done by the gathering of specific identification information such as your full name, home address, Social Security number, driver’s license number (or state-issued ID), and birthday in order to verify that you are who you say you are. This measure also helps reduce the opportunities for money laundering, bribery, corruption and terrorism funding through fraudulent means and false identities.
If you are one of the Ohioans whose driver’s license expired during the Ohio’s Stay-At-Home Order, your license is still valid. As stated on the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles website: “On March 27, 2020, Governor DeWine signed Sub. H.B. 197, which states that Ohio licenses (including driver licenses, CDLs, identification cards, temporary instruction permits, vehicle registrations and vehicle temporary tags,) expiring during the declared State of Emergency shall remain valid until either 90 days after the declared emergency ends, or December 1, 2020, whichever comes sooner. The state of emergency was declared by Governor DeWine on March 9, 2020.” Please keep in mind, this is only if your driver’s license or state issued id expired during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
Ohio's 529 Plan Customer Service and Operations Team is available to help you from 8:30 a.m. - 6 p.m. Monday-Friday. If you have account-specific questions, please email customerservice@collegeadvantage.com with your inquiry, as well as a good daytime contact number and the best time of day to reach you if the questions cannot be answered via email.
A 529 account can be used for whatever comes after high school. lf you’d like to do more research, explore Ohio’s 529 Plan —The Plan That Can — at CollegeAdvantage.
