A complete ITIN application takes about seven weeks to process when the IRS receives it between May and mid-January. During tax season (January 15 through April 30) or when you apply from outside the United States, how long it takes to get an ITIN stretches to roughly nine to eleven weeks.1Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN The clock starts when the IRS receives your package, not the day you mail it, and any missing document or error resets it.
The Two Processing Windows
The IRS publishes two timelines for Form W-7:1Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN
- Off-season, May through mid-January: about seven weeks.
- Tax season (January 15 through April 30) or applications sent from abroad: about nine to eleven weeks.
The longer window during peak filing reflects the volume of returns the agency handles at once. For overseas applicants, international mail transit is added on top of the IRS’s own review time.
What a Complete Application Looks Like
The timelines above assume your package is complete on arrival. That means a correctly filled-out Form W-7, your identity and foreign-status documents, and, in most cases, the federal tax return the ITIN is being requested for. The return goes on top of the W-7 and they travel together.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7
A valid, unexpired passport is the only single document that proves both identity and foreign status. Without one, you need at least two documents from the IRS’s list that together cover both. Expired documents are rejected. If you send copies, they must be certified by the issuing agency with an official stamp; notarized copies are not accepted.3Internal Revenue Service. ITIN Documentation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Some applicants qualify to skip the attached tax return: for example, nonresident aliens receiving passive income covered by withholding or a treaty, or those receiving wages or scholarships under specific treaty conditions. Each exception has its own required documentation in place of a return.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7 (Rev. December 2024) If you do not qualify for an exception and leave out the return, the application stalls.
How Submission Method Affects the Wait
You can send Form W-7 three ways, and the choice mostly affects what happens to your original documents, not the IRS’s review time.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7 (Rev. December 2024)
Mailing to the ITIN Operation in Austin, Texas is the standard route. If you send originals, expect to be without them until the IRS returns them in a separate envelope, which can take up to 60 days after your ITIN is assigned.5Internal Revenue Service. Notice CP565
An IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center can verify your originals in person and hand them back the same day. Appointments are required.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7 (Rev. December 2024)
A Certifying Acceptance Agent, authorized by the IRS, reviews your documents, returns your originals, and forwards the application. Fees vary by provider and location. The IRS keeps a searchable directory of authorized agents.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7 (Rev. December 2024)
What Arrives, and When to Follow Up
When the IRS approves your application, it mails Notice CP565 with your assigned nine-digit ITIN. Original documents come back separately, within roughly 60 days of the notice date.5Internal Revenue Service. Notice CP565 If the application is rejected, the IRS sends Notice CP567 explaining why.
If seven weeks have passed (or eleven during peak season or for overseas applicants) with no letter of any kind, you can call the IRS to check the status.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7
What Pushes You Past the Standard Window
Most extended waits trace back to a handful of issues:
- Errors or omissions on Form W-7. The IRS mails a letter requesting corrections, processing pauses, and each exchange adds weeks.
- A missing tax return when no exception applies.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7
- Expired identification, or notarized copies where certified copies are required.3Internal Revenue Service. ITIN Documentation Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
- International postal transit on top of the review clock.1Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN
- Peak-season volume between January 15 and April 30, when manual document review slows down.
If the Wait Runs Past the Filing Deadline
Because your tax return travels with Form W-7, the return is not treated as filed until the IRS assigns your ITIN. If processing runs past April 15, you could technically be exposed to late-filing penalties. The IRS may grant relief under its reasonable-cause standard when a taxpayer used ordinary care but could not comply due to circumstances beyond their control.6Internal Revenue Service. 20.1.1 Introduction and Penalty Relief Applying well before the deadline and keeping proof of mailing helps if you need to request that relief later.
Renewals Follow the Same Clock
An ITIN expires on December 31 of the third consecutive year you do not use it on a federal tax return.7Internal Revenue Service. How to Renew an ITIN To renew, you file a new Form W-7 with the “Renew” box checked and your identity and foreign-status documents. No tax return is needed for a renewal. The same seven-week and nine-to-eleven-week windows apply.1Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN Renewing before you need to file keeps a return from getting stuck behind the renewal.