Can Anyone Get an EIN Number? Responsible Party and How to Apply

Almost anyone running a business, trust, estate, or nonprofit connected to the United States can get an EIN number, and the IRS issues it for free in a few minutes online. The real question isn’t whether your entity qualifies, because eligibility is broad. It’s whether you, personally, meet the IRS’s rules for who can sign the application, and whether you’re required to have an EIN or simply choosing to get one.

Who Qualifies for an EIN

The IRS assigns EINs to a wide range of entities: sole proprietors, partnerships, corporations, LLCs, tax-exempt organizations, estates, trusts, and government agencies, among others. Some of these must have an EIN. You’re required to have one if you have employees, owe excise taxes, or withhold taxes on payments to a nonresident alien. Partnerships, corporations, LLCs taxed as corporations or partnerships, tax-exempt organizations, estates, and most trusts also need their own EIN regardless of whether they have employees.¹

A sole proprietor with no employees and no excise tax obligations is not required to get one and can legally operate using a Social Security Number. Many still apply, because an EIN keeps the SSN off invoices, W-9 forms, and vendor files. The IRS allows this, and notes you can request an EIN for banking or state tax reasons even when federal tax rules don’t require it.¹

The Real Gatekeeper: The Responsible Party

Entity eligibility is broad, but the IRS restricts who can actually submit the application. Every EIN application must name a “responsible party,” defined as a person who owns, controls, or exercises effective control over the entity and directly or indirectly manages its funds and assets.²

That person has to supply a valid taxpayer identification number: a Social Security Number or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.² Since May 13, 2019, the IRS has prohibited entities from using a previously issued EIN to obtain additional EINs. Before that change, a corporation could list its own EIN when creating a subsidiary. Now, a real person with an SSN or ITIN must always appear on the application.³

This is the piece that trips up people who assume “anyone” means literally anyone. If you have no SSN, no ITIN, and no ability to get either, you cannot sign the online application as the responsible party. International applicants have a separate path, described below.

One more responsible-party rule matters after the fact: if the person on file changes, you have 60 days to notify the IRS by filing Form 8822-B.⁴ Missing that deadline doesn’t trigger an automatic penalty, but it can send IRS notices to the wrong person.

How to Apply

The application is IRS Form SS-4, free from irs.gov.⁵ Before you start, have the entity’s exact legal name (matching your formation documents), any trade name, the entity type, the reason for applying, and an estimate of employees for the next 12 months. The responsible party’s name and SSN or ITIN go on the form.⁶

The IRS offers three submission methods, but only one gives you the number the same day.

Online

The online EIN tool is available to any applicant whose principal business, legal residence, or main office is in the United States or a U.S. territory.⁶ Walk through the questions in one session, and the system assigns your EIN at the end. Hours are Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. the following day; Saturday, 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m.; and Sunday, 6:00 p.m. to midnight, all Eastern Time. The IRS limits each responsible party to one EIN per day through the online system.⁷

Fax or Mail

Fax a completed Form SS-4 with a return fax number, and the IRS will return the EIN within about four business days. Mail is the slowest route, running four to five weeks, so build in time before any deadline.⁶

Applying from Outside the United States

If you have no legal residence, principal office, or place of business in the United States or its territories, the online tool is not available to you. The fastest option is calling the IRS international line at 267-941-1099 (not toll-free), Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time; the representative assigns the EIN during the call, and you fax or mail the signed SS-4 within 24 hours if asked. You can also fax the form to 304-707-9471 for a response in about four business days, or mail it to the IRS EIN International Operation in Cincinnati for roughly four-week processing. If the responsible party has no SSN and is ineligible for an ITIN, enter “foreign” or “N/A” on Line 7b.⁶

When You Need a New EIN Instead

Changing your business name or address does not require a new EIN. Changing the entity’s ownership or structure usually does, and the rules depend on the entity type.⁸

Sole proprietors need a new EIN when incorporating, forming a partnership, or declaring bankruptcy.
Corporations need one when receiving a new charter from the secretary of state, converting to a partnership or sole proprietorship, or merging to create a new corporation. A corporate bankruptcy alone does not trigger a new EIN.
Partnerships need one when incorporating, when one partner takes over as a sole proprietor, or when the partnership terminates and a new one forms. A change in ownership that doesn’t terminate the partnership does not require one.
LLCs need one when the LLC terminates and a new corporation or partnership forms in its place, or when a single-member LLC must begin filing excise or employment taxes.
Trusts need one when a revocable trust becomes irrevocable, a living trust converts to a testamentary trust, or a living trust distributes property to a residual trust.
Estates need one when creating a trust with estate funds that isn’t a continuation of the estate, or when operating a sole proprietorship after the owner’s death.

A sole proprietor who incorporates and keeps using the old EIN is filing under the wrong taxpayer ID, which can delay refunds and create mismatched records with the IRS.⁸

The EIN Is Free

The IRS does not charge for issuing an EIN through any application method. A number of third-party sites mimic the look of irs.gov and charge anywhere from $50 to several hundred dollars to fill out Form SS-4 on your behalf. The Federal Trade Commission has warned that these sites create a false impression of affiliation with the IRS.⁹ If a site asks for a credit card before issuing an EIN, it isn’t the IRS. The real application lives at irs.gov and costs nothing.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees
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Internal Revenue Service. IR-2019-58: IRS Revises EIN Application Process; Seeks to Enhance Security
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
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Internal Revenue Service. Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN
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Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Don’t Pay to Get Your Employer Identification Number (EIN)