# NordVPN review: KYC policy, privacy and safety grades

> NordVPN is a VPN. Its terms put it at KYC level 1 of 4: no ID mentioned. NoKYC Score grades it 5.8/10 for privacy (fair) and 5.2/10 for safety (caution). In its favour: no-logs policy and company named. To watch: it requires an email address and is closed source. No incidents are on record.

Source: NoKYC Score, "NordVPN review", reviewed 23 Oct 2026, https://nokycscore.com/service/nordvpn

## Key facts
- **Category:** VPNs
- **KYC level:** 1 of 4: No ID mentioned
- **Grades:** Privacy 5.8/10, Safety 5.2/10
- **Sign-up:** Email required
- **Fees:** Subscription plans; prices vary by plan and region
- **Jurisdiction:** Panama
- **Incidents on record:** 0
- **Last reviewed:** 23 Oct 2026
- **Official website:** https://nordvpn.com

## What it is
NordVPN is a commercial VPN service whose terms name nordvpn S.A. in Panama City, Panama, as the contracting company, with Panama as the governing law and regional payment processors listed for the EU, UK, Japan, Australia and other markets. Using the service requires an account set up with an email address and password. Checkout offers cards, PayPal and other regional methods, and the no-log page says cryptocurrency is accepted; the terms say crypto purchases are refunded in the same cryptocurrency. The no-log page says the no-logs policy has been reviewed by PricewaterhouseCoopers AG Switzerland and later by Deloitte, but the reports are not posted publicly on that page. The Linux client is published on GitHub under GPL-3.0; the other apps are not open source.

## What the terms say about ID
The terms require an account with "certain information (such as your email address and password)" and allow card verification for fraud prevention; no identity-document requirement was found.

## Features and warnings
- **Identity:** ID never required: not stated; No account needed: no; No email needed: no; No phone number: not stated
- **Payment:** Accepts Monero: not stated; Accepts Lightning: not stated; Accepts cash: not stated
- **Access:** Tor onion address: not stated; Works without JavaScript: not stated
- **Trust:** Open source: no; No-logs policy: yes; Independent audit: not stated; Company named: yes; 5+ years operating: not stated
- **Warnings:** May ask for ID: not in terms; Email required: yes; Phone number required: not in terms; Closed source: yes; Nobody accountable: not in terms

## Questions
### Does NordVPN require KYC?
NordVPN is rated KYC level 1 of 4 on this site: no ID mentioned. The terms require an account with "certain information (such as your email address and password)" and allow card verification for fraud prevention; no identity-document requirement was found.

### Is NordVPN safe to use?
NordVPN has a Safety grade of 5.2 out of 10 and a Privacy grade of 5.8 out of 10. No incidents are on record. Evidence level: documentation reviewed.

### Is NordVPN legit?
NordVPN is a working VPN. It publishes the company that runs it, in Panama. Being real is not the same as being safe: its Safety grade here is 5.2 out of 10, built from custody, liquidity, track record and incidents.

### Is NordVPN a scam?
NoKYC Score does not label services as scams; it records documented incidents with their sources and outcomes. No incidents are on record for NordVPN.

### Do I need an account or email to use NordVPN?
Email required.

### What fees does NordVPN charge?
Subscription plans; prices vary by plan and region. Fees were recorded from NordVPN's own pages and can change; check before you send.

### Does NordVPN have a Tor onion address?
No official onion address was found on NordVPN's own pages.

### Can I use NordVPN over Tor?
NordVPN does not publish an official onion address.

## Sources
- https://my.nordaccount.com/legal/terms-of-service/
- https://nordvpn.com/features/no-log-vpn/
- https://github.com/NordSecurity/nordvpn-linux

How grades are calculated: https://nokycscore.com/methodology