Can you sell ranks on your Minecraft server if you're under 18?

A lot of good Minecraft servers are run by people who are 14, 15 or 16. They build the spawn, write the plugins and keep the Discord alive, and at some point the hosting bill makes them think about a store. Then they reach the payout step and it asks for a date of birth, an ID and a bank account. This post explains why that step is there, what the rules are, and how to get paid anyway.

Why the payout step asks for an adult

When a player pays for a rank, the money has to end up in a bank account. Every payment provider that does that, Stripe, PayPal or a bank, is required by law to know who that account belongs to. That is what the questions are for: your name, date of birth, address and an ID, and sometimes a photo of it. It is the same check a bank does when you open an account, and the same rules apply: in most countries you cannot sign a contract like that on your own until you are 18.

So the age question is not something a store platform made up, and no honest one can skip it. A store that pays you out without knowing who you are is one to stay away from: the same shortcut that lets you in also lets in the people who use stolen cards.

What Stripe allows

Stores on Minecraftstore.io are paid out through Stripe. Stripe's rules for the kind of account your store gets:

• 18 or older: you set it up yourself, with your own ID and bank account.
• 13 to 17: in some countries Stripe lets you open the account yourself, with a parent or legal guardian. During setup Stripe shows a form for their details, and by going on, they agree to Stripe's terms for you. Stripe decides in which countries this works; you see it when you enter a date of birth under 18.
• Brazil: 18 or older, no exceptions.
• Under 13: not possible.

If the form for a guardian does not show up for your country, there is still a way, and it is the one most young owners use.

The way that always works: a parent sets up the payouts

A parent or another adult you trust sets up the payouts in their own name, with their own ID and their own bank account. You keep running the store: the products, the server, the players. They are only the person the money goes to.

On Minecraftstore.io that works like this:

1. You build the store on your own account: products, the server connection, a test delivery. None of that needs Stripe.
2. When the store is ready, sit down with your parent and open Payouts together.
3. They pick the country of their bank account, choose A person, and fill in their own details at Stripe.
4. Stripe pays out to their account. They can log in to the Stripe dashboard at any time and see every payment.

That last point matters more than it sounds. A parent who can see exactly what came in, from whom and for what, is a lot more relaxed about it than one who hears "people send me money for a server".

How to ask

Most parents say no to "can I use your ID for a website" and yes to a plan. Show them:

• What players buy. Cosmetic ranks, colours and keys, not power. Mojang's rules forbid selling things that let a buyer beat other players; see what Mojang's rules allow.
• What it is for. "The server costs €25 a month, and this pays for it" is a good answer.
• What it costs. No monthly fee, a platform fee and Stripe's payment fee per sale. See Fees.
• What happens if a player wants their money back. Refunds are done in the Stripe dashboard, and a chargeback is handled by Stripe. See Refunds and chargebacks.
• That they can see everything. Every payment is in their Stripe dashboard and on the order page.

Agree beforehand how the money gets to the server bill. The simplest version: the hosting is paid from the account the payouts go to, and anything left over is yours.

Get the details ready first

Stripe's first screen is where most people stop, usually because something is not at hand. Have these ready before you click Set up payouts:

• the full name and date of birth of the person whose name it is in
• their home address and a phone number
• a passport or ID card, in case Stripe asks for a photo
• the bank account number (IBAN in Europe)

Pick the country carefully. It is the country of the bank account, and a Stripe account can never change its country later. If you pick the wrong one, the account has to be closed and set up again.

What not to do

• Do not use someone's details without them. Stripe checks the ID against the name and date of birth. A mismatch fails the check, and Stripe can hold the money that already came in.
• Do not lie about your age. It fails the same check, and you lose the account.
• Do not take payments by PayPal in a DM to get around it. You have no protection when a player charges back, the player has none when something goes wrong, and it looks exactly like a scam to everyone else.

Meanwhile, build the store

None of this needs to wait. You can make the store, add ranks, connect your server and send a test delivery to yourself before anyone sets up payouts. Players can already look at the store and see the prices; they can buy as soon as the payouts are done. Having a working store to show is also the best way to start the conversation with your parents.

Open a store for free and set it up today. The payout step can come when you and your parents are ready.