How to Apply for an ITIN Without a Social Security Number

To apply for an ITIN without a Social Security Number, submit IRS Form W-7 together with your federal tax return and documents proving your identity and foreign status. The IRS issues the Individual Taxpayer Identification Number — a nine-digit number that always begins with 9 — only for federal tax purposes, and applying directly through the IRS is free.¹ You can send the package by mail, hand it to a Certifying Acceptance Agent, bring it to an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center, or take it to a participating VITA site.

Confirm You Actually Need an ITIN

Federal law requires anyone who files a U.S. tax return, or who appears on one as a spouse or dependent, to have a taxpayer identification number.² For most people that number is an SSN. An ITIN is only for people who have a federal tax obligation but are not eligible for a Social Security Number.³

The people who typically qualify include:

Nonresident aliens who must file a U.S. return or want to claim a tax treaty benefit
Resident aliens filing a return based on days present in the United States
Spouses and dependents of U.S. citizens or resident aliens who will be claimed on a return
Nonresident alien students, professors, and researchers who must file or claim a treaty exemption

If the IRS determines you are actually eligible for an SSN, it will deny the ITIN application, so apply for the SSN first when there is any doubt.⁴

Fill Out Form W-7

Form W-7, “Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number,” is available free on the IRS website.⁵ It asks for your full legal name, mailing address, foreign address if you live outside the United States, date of birth, and country of citizenship. You also check a box explaining why you are applying — for example, that you are a nonresident alien claiming a treaty benefit or a dependent of a U.S. citizen.⁶

Most applicants must attach a completed federal income tax return to the form. If you check reason boxes b, c, d, e, f, or g, a return is required unless you qualify for one of the specific exceptions described further down.⁶ Sending the form without the required return usually results in a denial.

Gather Identity and Foreign-Status Documents

You must prove both your identity and your foreign status. The documents have to be originals or copies certified by the agency that issued them. A valid, unexpired passport is the only single document that establishes both, so if you have one, that alone is enough.⁷

Without a passport, you need at least two documents from the IRS-approved list, and together they have to cover both identity and foreign status. Accepted documents include:

National identification card showing your name, photo, address, date of birth, and expiration date
Civil birth certificate
Foreign voter’s registration card
Foreign driver’s license
Foreign military identification card
U.S. state identification card

At least one of the documents must include your photograph, unless you are a dependent under 14 (or under 18 if a student).⁷ Every document has to be current and unexpired on the date you submit the application. Dependents from Canada or Mexico get slightly easier treatment: their passport does not need a U.S. date-of-entry stamp to be used as a stand-alone identity document.⁸

What Counts as a Certified Copy

A certified copy is a duplicate issued by the same agency that produced the original, stamped with an official seal. The IRS does not accept notarized copies. If you are overseas, a U.S. embassy or consulate can authenticate documents for you. The one exception to the notarization rule applies to spouses and dependents of U.S. military personnel applying from an overseas or APO/FPO address, who may submit notarized copies.⁹

When You Can Apply Without a Tax Return

Some applicants can send Form W-7 without attaching a return. If one of these exceptions applies, you check box “h” and write the exception number on the dotted line next to it.⁷ The three most common are:

Exception 1 (passive income): partnership income, interest, annuities, rental income, royalties, dividends, or pension distributions subject to withholding or a treaty. You attach a letter from the withholding agent on official letterhead confirming that an ITIN is required.
Exception 2 (wages, scholarships, or gambling income): for claiming treaty benefits on wages, salary, honoraria, scholarships, fellowships, or gambling winnings. You typically need a letter of employment or engagement and a completed Form 8233 from the withholding agent.
Exception 3 (mortgage interest): if you own U.S. real property with a home mortgage subject to third-party interest reporting on Form 1098, you can apply with evidence of the loan instead of a return.

Nonresident alien students and exchange visitors on F, J, or M visas who use Exception 2 can have their identity documents certified by their SEVP-approved institution rather than mailing originals to the IRS.⁷

Choose How to Submit

There are four ways to file the application. The IRS charges nothing for any of them.¹

By Mail

Send your completed Form W-7, your tax return, and your original supporting documents or certified copies to:

Internal Revenue Service
ITIN Operation
P.O. Box 149342
Austin, TX 78714-9342

A separate street address applies if you use a private delivery service, and only IRS-designated services qualify for the timely-mailing rule.¹⁰ The drawback of mailing is that you are sending your original passport or other identity documents. The IRS returns them within 60 days, and you can include a prepaid express envelope to get them back faster.¹

Through a Certifying Acceptance Agent

A Certifying Acceptance Agent is a private individual or firm authorized by the IRS to review your identity documents in person and attach a Certificate of Accuracy to your application.¹¹ Because the CAA verifies your documents at an in-person interview, you generally do not have to mail your passport or birth certificate to the IRS. CAAs set their own fees. The IRS keeps a searchable directory of authorized agents on its website.

At an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center

You can apply for free at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center that offers ITIN services. Staff there review your Form W-7, authenticate your supporting documents, hand them back at the appointment, and mail the application package for you.¹ Appointments are typically required.

At a VITA Site

Some Volunteer Income Tax Assistance sites offer free ITIN help. Like Taxpayer Assistance Centers, participating VITA sites can review Form W-7, authenticate most supporting documents, and prepare your tax return at no cost.¹

Processing Times and Confirmation

Allow at least seven weeks for the IRS to process your application. Between January 15 and April 30, or if you applied from outside the United States, expect nine to eleven weeks.¹

Once the IRS approves the application, you receive a CP565 notice confirming your assigned ITIN along with the name and date of birth on file. Keep the notice; you may need it later.¹² If you mailed originals and have not received them back after 60 days, or if the standard processing window has passed with no answer, contact the IRS to check status.¹

Why Applications Get Rejected

When the IRS denies an application it sends a CP567 notice. The most frequent reasons are:

The applicant is actually eligible for a Social Security Number.
The documents are expired, uncertified, or do not match the information on Form W-7.
The IRS asked for additional information and never received a reply.
The application was missing a required federal tax return and no valid exception was claimed.

If your application is denied, you can reapply with a new, fully completed Form W-7, the correct documents, and the required return attached.⁴

What an ITIN Will Not Do

An ITIN exists only for federal tax processing. It does not authorize you to work in the United States, change your immigration status, qualify you for Social Security benefits, or serve as identification outside the tax system.³ It cannot be used on its own to open bank or investment accounts, although some financial institutions will accept it as part of their account-opening process.

Two credits work differently for ITIN filers. You cannot claim the Earned Income Tax Credit with an ITIN; only taxpayers with a valid SSN qualify.³ For the Child Tax Credit, the child must have an SSN even if the parent files with an ITIN; a child who only has an ITIN does not qualify for the CTC or the Additional Child Tax Credit.¹³

1
Internal Revenue Service. How to Apply for an ITIN
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6109 – Identifying Numbers
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Internal Revenue Service. Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)
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Internal Revenue Service. Understanding Your CP567 Notice
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form W-7
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Internal Revenue Service. Revised Application Standards for ITINs
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Internal Revenue Service. ITIN Supporting Documents
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Internal Revenue Service. Private Delivery Services (PDS)
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Internal Revenue Service. ITIN Acceptance Agent Program
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Internal Revenue Service. CP565 Notice – Confirmation of Your Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Child Tax Credit 4