You can change the business name on your EIN without applying for a new number. The IRS treats a name update as a routine change to your existing account, so your Employer Identification Number carries forward. What changes is the paperwork: depending on your entity type, you either check a name-change box on your next tax return or mail a signed letter to the IRS office where you file. The catch most owners miss is timing — the order in which you update the state, the IRS, your payroll filings, and your bank determines whether the next few months go smoothly or turn into a string of rejected returns and stalled account updates.
Your EIN Does Not Change
A name change by itself never triggers a new EIN. The IRS only issues a new number when the underlying entity changes in a fundamental way, such as a sole proprietor incorporating, a corporation receiving a new charter from the secretary of state, or a partnership ending and a new one beginning.1Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN
Rebranding, filing articles of amendment, or correcting a name all leave your EIN in place. So does a state-level reorganization that keeps your tax classification the same, such as converting from a state-law corporation to an LLC without changing your tax election.1Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN
Legal Name or DBA?
Check what you’re actually changing before you contact the IRS. The IRS tracks your business under the legal name you gave when you applied for the EIN — the name on your articles of incorporation, articles of organization, or sole proprietor registration. A “doing business as” name, sometimes called a trade name or fictitious name, is a separate public-facing label registered at the state or county level.
If you’re only adding or swapping a DBA and keeping your legal name the same, there’s nothing to update with the IRS. Your returns still go out under the legal name tied to your EIN. The procedures below apply when the legal name of the entity itself is changing.
Update the State First
Make the new name official with your state before you tell the IRS. Corporations and LLCs file articles of amendment (or the state equivalent) with the secretary of state. The IRS expects to see this documentation, and its guidance for corporations specifically directs you to attach the articles of amendment to your notification letter.2Internal Revenue Service. Using the Correct Name Control in E-Filing Corporate Tax Returns
State amendment fees vary, so check with your secretary of state. Keep a certified copy of the approved amendment. You’ll reference it in your IRS notification, and your bank will almost certainly ask for it when you update your accounts.
How to Notify the IRS
The method depends on your entity type and whether you’ve already filed for the current year.3Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Corporations and S Corporations
If you’re filing your current-year return, check the name-change box on the form:
- Form 1120 (C corporations): Page 1, Line E, Box 3
- Form 1120-S (S corporations): Page 1, Line H, Box 2
If you’ve already filed for the year, mail a letter to the IRS office where you sent your return. A corporate officer must sign it, and you should attach the articles of amendment from the state.2Internal Revenue Service. Using the Correct Name Control in E-Filing Corporate Tax Returns
Partnerships
On a current-year Form 1065, check the name-change box on Page 1, Line G, Box 3. If you’ve already filed, mail a letter, signed by a partner, to the address where the return was sent.3Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Sole Proprietors
There’s no checkbox for sole proprietors. Write to the IRS at the address where you filed your return. The letter must be signed by the owner or an authorized representative.3Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
LLCs
The IRS doesn’t publish a separate LLC procedure because it taxes LLCs based on their elected classification. A single-member LLC treated as a disregarded entity follows the sole-proprietor procedure with a letter. A multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership uses the Form 1065 checkbox. An LLC that elected S corporation treatment uses the Form 1120-S checkbox. Match your method to whichever return your LLC actually files.
What Goes in the Letter
Keep it short. Include your EIN, your old business name exactly as it appears in IRS records, your new business name, and the signature of someone authorized to act for the business — the owner for a sole proprietorship, a corporate officer for a corporation, or a partner for a partnership.3Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change
Corporations should attach the state articles of amendment. Mail the letter to the same IRS address where you file your returns; the correct address is in the instructions for Form 1120, 1120-S, 1065, or 1040.2Internal Revenue Service. Using the Correct Name Control in E-Filing Corporate Tax Returns
Watch the Timing on E-Filed Returns
When the IRS assigned your EIN, it also created a “name control,” a short character sequence pulled from your legal business name. Every e-filed return is checked against that name control, and a mismatch means an outright rejection.2Internal Revenue Service. Using the Correct Name Control in E-Filing Corporate Tax Returns
After you notify the IRS, there’s a window where their records may not yet show the new name. E-filing under the new name during that window will bounce. If it happens, refile with the name-change box checked. Better, though, is to time your filing so the update has processed first, or paper-file if you’re caught in the gap.2Internal Revenue Service. Using the Correct Name Control in E-Filing Corporate Tax Returns
Payroll Filings Need the Same Attention
If you have employees, the change reaches into your quarterly payroll returns. The IRS tells employers to notify it immediately of a business name change by writing to the office where you file. The Form 941 instructions also point to Publication 1635 to confirm whether a new EIN is needed — for a simple name change, it isn’t.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. March 2026)
On your next Form 941, enter the business name exactly as it appears in IRS records. If the change hasn’t been processed yet, use the old name. Switching too early creates the same mismatch problem that rejects income-tax returns.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 941 (Rev. March 2026)
Get Written Proof With Letter 147C
The IRS doesn’t send an automatic confirmation once your name change is processed. To get written proof, request Letter 147C, an EIN verification letter that shows the name currently tied to your EIN. Call the Business and Specialty Tax line at 1-800-829-4933, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, and ask for the letter. The IRS can mail or fax it.
Banks routinely require this letter before they’ll update your business accounts, and some payment processors and licensing agencies want it as proof that the old and new names sit on the same EIN. Requesting it once the change has posted spares you a scramble later.
Form 8822-B Is Not for Name Changes
Form 8822-B often comes up here, but it’s for a different purpose: changes to your business mailing address, business location, or responsible party. It does not handle name changes.5Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business If your rename happens alongside a move or a change in who controls the business, file Form 8822-B separately for those updates.