If you’ve forgotten your EIN, the fastest way to get it back is usually to check your own paperwork before calling anyone. Your Employer Identification Number appears on your original IRS assignment notice, every business tax return you’ve filed, your business bank records, and most state license applications. If none of those turn it up, call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 and a representative will read the number back to you over the phone once your identity is verified. There is no fee, and the call is usually the end of it.
Check Your Own Records First
Spend a few minutes on these before you call. Your EIN is almost certainly in at least one of them:
- The CP 575 notice. This is the letter the IRS mailed when your EIN was first assigned. If it’s in your files, you’re done.
- Past business tax returns. The number is printed on every return. Sole proprietors should look at line D of Schedule C (Form 1040). Partnerships, corporations, and other entities carry it near the top of their returns.
- Your business bank. The bank required the EIN when you opened the account, and a quick call to your banker will confirm it.
- State and local agencies. Applications for state tax registrations, business licenses, and permits typically asked for the federal EIN.
- Your accountant or payroll provider. Anyone who files taxes or runs payroll for you has it on file.
The IRS itself recommends checking all of these first, because the business tax line can have long hold times.
Request a Business Tax Transcript
If the paper trail is cold, you can request an entity transcript from the IRS through the “Get a Business Tax Transcript” process on irs.gov. The transcript is a written summary of your business tax account and includes the EIN. It’s a reasonable option when you’d rather not sit on hold, but mail processing times apply.
Call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line
When records and transcripts don’t resolve it, calling is the most reliable route. The number is 800-829-4933, staffed Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Callers in Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time.
Only someone authorized to receive the information will get the EIN, so the representative will verify your identity before releasing anything. Be ready to confirm the legal name of the business, its address, and the name and identifying information of a principal officer, general partner, or sole proprietor. Have your Social Security number handy, since the IRS ties the responsible party’s SSN to the EIN on file.
Once you clear identity verification, the agent reads the EIN to you on the call. If you also need written proof, ask for Letter 147C before you hang up.
Getting Written Proof: Letter 147C
Letter 147C, titled “EIN Previously Assigned,” is the IRS’s official replacement for the original CP 575 notice. Banks, lenders, and licensing agencies sometimes require written EIN verification, and 147C satisfies that requirement. It can only be requested by phone, through the same 800-829-4933 line.
When the agent asks how you want to receive it, choose fax if you need it quickly. The letter is faxed during the call, so you have it within minutes. Mail delivery takes four to six weeks. Either option is free.
Having Someone Else Call for You
If you’d rather let your accountant or attorney handle it, they need proper authorization on file with the IRS first. Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, lets a CPA, enrolled agent, or attorney access your confidential tax information, including requesting your EIN on your behalf. The form has to be filed and recorded on the IRS’s Centralized Authorization File before the representative calls. This route is useful when the business owner is unavailable or when the person who originally applied for the EIN has left the organization.
Do Not Apply for a New EIN
This is where people create unnecessary problems. When the number doesn’t surface quickly, it can be tempting to apply for a fresh one online. Don’t. A business entity should have only one EIN, and applying for a second creates a duplicate that tangles your tax records going forward.
With two EINs on file, the IRS may not be able to match your future payments and returns to your prior filing history. That can trigger notices, delay refunds, and create problems that take months to untangle. Fixing a duplicate requires the IRS’s internal processing team to manually consolidate the accounts, which isn’t something you can do yourself online or through a standard phone agent.
If you’ve already applied for a second EIN, call 800-829-4933, explain the situation, and the agent will tell you which number to use going forward and start the consolidation process.
If the EIN You Need Belongs to a Nonprofit
The steps above assume the EIN is yours. If you’re trying to find the EIN of a tax-exempt organization, the IRS runs a free public search tool called Tax Exempt Organization Search. You can search by organization name or EIN, and it pulls from Pub 78 data, determination letters, and Form 990 filings. It only covers 501(c)(3) and other registered tax-exempt entities and won’t help you find a for-profit business’s EIN.