Can I have multiple accounts?

No, not only do we not allow the use of multiple accounts; we also consider it a form of cheating.

Please restrict yourself to a single Chess.com account, and avoid all suspicion!

If it's just a new username you are after, please see here. 

But what about streamers? 

If you've watched the popular chess streamers for any amount of time, I'm sure you've seen at least one of them doing a 'speed run' using a new account to climb the ratings as quickly as possible. 

This kind of thing is normally not allowed and is a form of cheating we call 'rating manipulation' or 'sandbagging.' Doing this yourself is a quick way to get your account closed! 

However, streamers partnered with Chess.com have a special exception to this rule for entertainment purposes. The speedrun accounts are closely monitored by the Fair Play team, and all points lost to the accounts are returned to the opponents. 

The accounts are also clearly labeled for anyone playing against them to see, for example here is the profile of one of Hikaru Nakamura's speedrun accounts: 

This kind of thing is not allowed otherwise, and only happens with special approval from Chess.com staff. Please do not make your own 'speed run' account or you will end up with it, and your normal account both closed for cheating!