Open a Robinhood Account in 2026

How to Open a Robinhood Account

Main Points:

• An investment account at Robinhood can easily be opened on the broker’s website or mobile app.

• Some accounts may require a securities brokerage account first.

• Various requirements must be satisfied to open a Robinhood account.

If you’re thinking about opening a new brokerage account at Robinhood, read this first:

Robinhood Account Opening Requirements

To open a Robinhood account, you must satisfy these requirements:

Have a Social Security Number (SSN); an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) won’t work
Be at least 18 years old
Be a U.S. citizen, permanent resident, or have a valid U.S. visa (not all visas are accepted)
Have a residential address in the United States (the U.S. is defined here as Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, the 50 states, and the Virgin Islands; U.S. soldiers stationed abroad are exempt)

Separately, Robinhood Europe offers crypto services to eligible European customers. The broker has a crypto program in Europe that allows European residents in many countries to open crypto accounts (securities accounts are not yet available).

Robinhood open Account

How to Open a Robinhood Brokerage Account

To open an individual or joint brokerage account at Robinhood for securities trading, and click on the yellow-green button to sign up. You might see another one to “Start with more.” Both buttons can be used to begin Robinhood’s online application.

Go through the various pages and enter all requested details. You’ll need to start with an email address and a mobile phone number. Robinhood will send a text message to the phone number, which you’ll need to verify.

Further into the application, you must supply your SSN, date of birth, and country of citizenship. Robinhood does not require U.S. citizenship; one of many countries can be used. As already mentioned, a U.S. address must also be supplied.

Besides the website, an account can also be opened on Robinhood’s mobile app. After downloading the app to an Android or Apple device, look for the black button to sign up. This will give you the same application the website has.

Robinhood Sign Up Promotion

Visit Robinhood Website

How to Open a Robinhood Crypto Account

If you want to open a U.S.-based crypto account, the first step is to open the securities brokerage account noted above. A crypto account cannot be opened by itself; Robinhood requires the securities account to be linked to the crypto account.

To open the crypto account, head to the website and click on the Account tab in the upper right. In the drop-down list of choices, select the link for crypto. Here, you’ll be able to open the discrete crypto account. It will have its own account number and will generate its own account documents, such as trade confirmations and monthly statements.

The same requirements noted above for securities accounts apply to crypto accounts; these presumably have already been met but should be maintained as well.

How to Open a Robinhood Futures Account

Yet another discrete account is needed at Robinhood to trade futures contracts. This account requires a link to a securities brokerage account, so getting that open first is an absolute must. Once you have the securities account open, head to the Investing menu on the app or website and select the link to apply for futures trading.

How to Open a Robinhood Robo Account

American investors who want to open a robo account with Robinhood Strategies should follow the initial instructions for opening the securities brokerage account. As with crypto and futures accounts, the securities brokerage account is required to get the automated account open. After that first account is open, log into the website or mobile app and click or tap on the Gold icon. On the Gold page, there is a link to the application for a robo account (a Gold subscription is required for this one).

open new Robinhood account

How to Open a Robinhood IRA

To open an Individual Retirement Account, log into the mobile app and tap on the center icon in the bottom menu. You’ll get the IRA page here. Tap on the button to get started, choose your registration (Roth or Traditional) and follow the on-screen prompts. As with the other accounts, you first must have a taxable brokerage account; you won’t be able to open an IRA by itself.

Rules in Europe

Europeans don’t need (and cannot) open securities accounts at Robinhood. To open crypto accounts, they should follow the instructions presented in the securities section: start with the initial application and supply required details. This time, a tax ID number from any acceptable European country can be used; an SSN and U.S. address are not required.

Robinhood recently launched trading in stock tokens. These are derivatives that can be traded on the blockchain. A discrete account is required for these, too. Log into your crypto account and look for the button to apply for stock tokens. Applying will create a separate account.

Fees and Minimums

A self-directed brokerage account domiciled in the U.S. will be able to trade stocks, equity options, and ETFs without any commissions. There are no account fees or minimums, either. A Strategies account costs 0.25% per year and has no commissions. This time, there is a $50 minimum.

Stock tokens in European accounts cost 0.1% per transaction.

Open Robinhood Account

Visit Robinhood Website

Updated on 4/27/2026.

About the Author

Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.