EIN: how to get one, including without a US Social Security number

If you are setting up a US company and need an EIN, the process splits in two depending on one fact: whether the person named as responsible party has a US Social Security number or ITIN.

If they do, the online application takes about fifteen minutes and issues the number immediately. If they do not, the online tool is closed to you, and the route is Form SS-4 submitted by fax or, for applicants abroad, by phone. That takes days to weeks rather than minutes. Most guidance on EINs states flatly that you need a US taxpayer ID to apply, which is only true of the online method and leaves foreign owners believing they are blocked from something they are entitled to.

Here is how each route works, who the responsible party can be, and the administration that follows once the number exists.

The online application needs a US taxpayer ID, the other routes do not

The IRS issues EINs free of charge through four channels, and eligibility differs by channel.

Online. Requires the responsible party to have an SSN or ITIN, and requires the business to be located in the US or a US territory. The number is issued immediately on completion. The session times out, so the form has to be finished in one sitting, and the tool is only available during set hours on weekdays rather than around the clock.

Fax. Complete Form SS-4 and fax it to the IRS. No US taxpayer ID is required for the responsible party. Turnaround is usually around a week if you provide a return fax number.

Phone, for international applicants. An applicant with no legal residence or principal place of business in the US can call the IRS international line and be issued a number during the call. The caller must be authorized to receive it and to sign the application.

Mail. Also Form SS-4, and slowest by a wide margin. Reserve it for cases where nothing else is available.

On the fax and phone routes, the line asking for the responsible party's taxpayer identification number is left blank or marked to indicate the person has none. Leaving it blank is correct in that situation and does not invalidate the application, which is the point most foreign owners never get told.

Applications are limited to one EIN per responsible party per day regardless of channel.

The responsible party has to be a person

Since 2018 the responsible party on an EIN application must be a natural person, not another entity. A parent company cannot be named as the responsible party for its subsidiary. Someone at that parent has to be.

The responsible party is whoever actually controls or directs the entity and the disposition of its funds and assets. In most companies that is an owner or an officer. Naming a lawyer, an accountant, or a formation agent is not appropriate, and the third-party designee box on Form SS-4 is the correct place for an adviser who is only helping you obtain the number.

When the responsible party changes, you have to tell the IRS on Form 8822-B within 60 days. This is routinely missed. The consequence is that IRS correspondence continues going to a person who has left the company, which matters because notice response windows run from the date on the notice rather than the day someone finally sees it. We incorporate US entities and file Form 8822-B, so the record stays pointed at someone who will actually act on what arrives.

An EIN is not a tax election and not an ITIN

Three identifiers get conflated, and they do different jobs.

EIN. Identifies a business entity to the IRS. Nine digits. Free.

ITIN. Identifies an individual who is required to file or be reported on a US return but is not eligible for a Social Security number. Applied for on Form W-7, usually with a tax return attached. A foreign owner may need one personally even though the company has an EIN.

SSN. Identifies an individual authorized to work in the US.

Obtaining an EIN also does not choose how your entity is taxed. An LLC's classification is its default treatment unless you file Form 8832, and an S corporation election is made on Form 2553. Owners sometimes assume the entity type they typed into the EIN application settled the tax question. It did not.

When you need a new EIN and when you do not

The general principle is that a new EIN follows a new legal entity, not a new circumstance.

You generally need a new one when: a sole proprietorship incorporates or takes on partners, a partnership incorporates, a corporation is created through a statutory merger, or you take over a business as a sole proprietor rather than continuing the existing entity.

You generally do not when: you change the business name, change the address, open additional locations, or elect S corporation status for a corporation that already has an EIN. An existing corporation making an S election keeps its number.

The cases that actually cause confusion involve LLCs, because an LLC is a legal form rather than a tax classification. Whether a change in membership or classification requires a new EIN depends on what the LLC was treated as before and after, and it is worth confirming rather than assuming. A disregarded single-member LLC that has never had its own EIN is in a different position from one that has.

If you lose it, ask for a 147C letter

The IRS issues a CP 575 confirmation notice when the EIN is first assigned. It is issued once and not reissued, which surprises people whose bank asks for it later.

The replacement is a Letter 147C, which the IRS will send on request to an authorized person. Banks, payment processors, and payroll providers accept it in place of the original notice. Before calling, check your prior tax returns, your bank account opening documents, and any payroll filings, since the number appears on all of them.

There is no public EIN lookup for private companies. EINs for publicly traded companies appear in securities filings, and some nonprofits disclose theirs, but a private company's EIN is not published anywhere and guidance referring to an EIN database is describing something that does not exist.

What an EIN does not do

It does not build business credit. Business credit files are built through trade references and reporting agencies, and the commercial bureaus use their own identifiers rather than your EIN. Getting an EIN creates no credit file and no score.

It does not register you in any state. Federal identification and state registration are separate. You still need to form or qualify the entity with the relevant Secretary of State, and to register separately for state payroll and sales tax where those apply.

It does not guarantee a bank account. An EIN is necessary to open a US business account and is not sufficient. Banks run their own identity and beneficial ownership checks, which are more involved when the owners are outside the US, and requirements vary considerably between institutions.

It does not expire. An EIN stays assigned to the entity permanently. It is not reissued or reused even after the business closes, which is why dissolving an entity properly matters more than trying to surrender the number.

The bottom line

The EIN itself is free, quick, and mostly administrative. The only genuine complication is the responsible party's taxpayer ID, and the answer there is that the online tool is not the only route. If your responsible party has no SSN or ITIN, use Form SS-4 by fax or the international phone line and leave the taxpayer ID line blank. After that, the two things worth keeping on top of are filing Form 8822-B when the responsible party changes, and remembering that the EIN settles none of your state registrations or tax elections.

Frequently asked questions

Can I get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN?

Yes. The online application requires the responsible party to have one, but Form SS-4 submitted by fax or, for applicants outside the US, by phone does not. The taxpayer identification line is left blank or marked to show the person has none, which is correct rather than a defect in the application.

How long does an EIN take?

Immediately online, during the call by international phone, usually around a week by fax with a return fax number provided, and considerably longer by mail. The channel you are eligible for determines the timeline more than anything else does.

Does an EIN cost anything?

No. The IRS issues EINs free of charge through every channel. Paid services exist that submit the application for you, but the number itself is never a paid item, and any site charging an IRS fee for it is misrepresenting the process.

Do I need a new EIN if I change my business name or move?

No. Name changes, address changes, and additional locations all keep the existing EIN. A new EIN follows a change of legal entity, such as a sole proprietorship incorporating or a partnership becoming a corporation. Electing S corporation status on an existing corporation also keeps the same number.

I lost my EIN confirmation letter. What do I do?

Request a Letter 147C from the IRS, which an authorized person can obtain by phone. The original CP 575 notice is issued once and never reissued, and the 147C is accepted in its place by banks and payroll providers. Your EIN also appears on past returns and payroll filings.

Does having an EIN let me open a US bank account?

It is required but not sufficient. Banks apply their own identity and beneficial ownership checks on top of the EIN, and those are more demanding for companies with owners outside the US. Requirements differ by bank, so the EIN is the first step rather than the whole of it.