How to Find or Verify a Lost EIN: IRS Line and Transcripts

To find a lost EIN, start with the papers you already have: the CP 575 confirmation notice the IRS mailed when the number was first assigned, a prior federal business tax return, a W-2 you issued, or your business bank account paperwork. If none of that turns up, an authorized person for the business can call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 and get the number read out over the phone.1Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers An EIN is permanent. The IRS never cancels or reassigns one, so the number you were originally given is still yours, and recovering it is almost always a question of knowing where to look.2Internal Revenue Service. If You No Longer Need Your EIN

Check Your Own Records First

Before calling anyone, dig through the business’s files. The number is probably sitting in a document you already own. The usual places:

  • The CP 575 notice. The IRS mails this to the business address after processing a new EIN application. It’s the original proof of assignment and the single most reliable document for verification.3Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
  • A 147C verification letter. If anyone at the business ever asked the IRS to confirm the EIN in writing, this is the letter that came back. Banks and government agencies accept it in place of the CP 575.
  • Your copy of Form SS-4. The IRS instructions tell applicants to write the assigned number on the form and keep a copy.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4
  • Prior federal tax returns. The EIN appears on the first page of every business return: Form 1120 for corporations, Form 1065 for partnerships, Schedule C for sole proprietors.5Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1120 – Section: Item B. Employer Identification Number (EIN)
  • W-2s and payroll records. Every W-2 issued to an employee carries the employer’s EIN. Payroll services keep it on file too. Employers must retain employment tax records for at least four years, so older payroll registers should have it.6Internal Revenue Service. Publication 15 (2026), (Circular E), Employer’s Tax Guide
  • Business bank documents. Financial institutions are required to collect a taxpayer identification number when opening a business account under federal anti-money-laundering rules. Your original account paperwork almost always contains it.7FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual. Beneficial Ownership Requirements for Legal Entity Customers

If you outsource bookkeeping or tax prep, your accountant will have the EIN as well. Most people find the number somewhere in this stack without ever contacting the IRS.

Third-Party Sources That May Have the Number

When your own files come up empty, several outside sources can produce the EIN quickly.

The bank that holds your business account is usually the fastest call. Federal regulations require the institution to have collected your taxpayer identification number when the account was opened.7FFIEC BSA/AML Examination Manual. Beneficial Ownership Requirements for Legal Entity Customers If you’re an authorized signer, a phone call to your commercial banking representative should recover it within minutes.

Local licensing and permitting agencies keep the number too. Most business license applications require a federal tax ID, so the issuing office has it on file. The same goes for professional permits, commercial lease applications, and business insurance policies where the EIN was submitted.

For a publicly traded company, the SEC’s EDGAR database is a free shortcut. Search by company name or ticker, open any annual (Form 10-K) or quarterly (Form 10-Q) report, and the EIN appears in the header information.8U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. EDGAR Search

Tax-exempt organizations are easier still. The IRS runs a public Tax Exempt Organization Search tool that lets anyone look up a nonprofit by name and view its Form 990 filings, which contain the EIN.9Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search The Auto-Revocation List also displays EINs for organizations that have lost exempt status.10Internal Revenue Service. Search for Tax Exempt Organizations

Calling the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line

If nothing surfaces, call 800-829-4933. The line is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time (Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific).1Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers Hold times stretch from January through April, so a late-morning call in the off-season gives you the shortest wait.

Only an authorized person can request the number. The IRS defines that as the “responsible party,” meaning whoever controls or manages the entity’s funds and assets.11Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees In practice:

  • Sole proprietors: the owner.
  • Corporations: a principal officer such as the president or CEO.
  • Partnerships: a general partner.
  • Trusts: the grantor, owner, or trustor.
  • Estates: the executor, administrator, or personal representative.

The responsible party must always be a person, not another entity.11Internal Revenue Service. Responsible Parties and Nominees A bookkeeper or assistant cannot call and get the number without a valid power of attorney (Form 2848) from someone who qualifies.

Before you dial, have your Social Security Number or ITIN, the entity’s full legal name (not a DBA), and its registered address as it appears on the most recent filing. The agent will verify identity against those details. If everything matches, the EIN is read to you on the call.

You can also ask the representative to send a 147C verification letter for your files. The IRS delivers it by mail or fax; a fax typically arrives the same day, while a mailed copy takes roughly four to six weeks. There is no online method for requesting a 147C.

One caution: misrepresenting your identity or authority during this call is a federal crime under 18 U.S.C. ยง 1001, carrying up to five years in prison.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 1001 – Statements or Entries Generally

Ordering a Business Tax Transcript

If you can’t get through on the phone or you need documentation instead of a verbal answer, order a business tax transcript. Submit Form 4506-T (Request for Transcript of Tax Return) by mail or fax.13Internal Revenue Service. Get a Business Tax Transcript

Most IRS transcripts redact identifying information, but business entity transcripts are different. The only items hidden are a sole proprietor’s personal taxpayer identification number and the parent entity’s EIN.13Internal Revenue Service. Get a Business Tax Transcript For a corporation, partnership, or LLC taxed as either, the full EIN appears on the transcript.

The IRS also offers a Business Tax Account portal where registered users can view records and transcripts online.14Internal Revenue Service. Business Tax Account Access requires ID.me identity verification, which takes some setup, but once you’re in you can pull transcripts without any calls or mail.

When You Actually Need a New EIN

Not every “lost” EIN needs to be recovered. Certain changes to a business require applying for a fresh one, and if a major restructuring happened between the original assignment and today, the old number may not be the right number anymore.

The IRS requires a new EIN when ownership or legal structure changes:15Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN

  • Sole proprietors who incorporate, form a partnership, or declare bankruptcy.
  • Corporations that receive a new charter from the secretary of state, change to a partnership or sole proprietorship, or merge to create a new corporation.
  • Partnerships that incorporate, dissolve and re-form as a new partnership, or dissolve leaving one partner to continue as a sole proprietor.
  • LLCs that terminate and form a new corporation or partnership. Simply electing to be taxed as a corporation or S corporation does not, on its own, require a new EIN.15Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN

The LLC rule catches people off guard. If you elected S corporation treatment but kept the same LLC entity, your original EIN still applies. If you dissolved the LLC at the state level and formed a new corporation, you need a new number. The distinction turns on whether the legal entity itself changed, not just how it’s taxed.

And even if you’ve closed the business, the old EIN is not gone. The IRS never cancels an EIN; the number stays permanently assigned to that entity and cannot be transferred or reused.2Internal Revenue Service. If You No Longer Need Your EIN

What If the EIN Isn’t Lost but Stolen

If your search turns up filings or notices you didn’t authorize, the issue may be business identity theft rather than a misplaced record. The IRS flags several warning signs:16Internal Revenue Service. Identity Theft Information for Businesses

  • An e-filed return is rejected because one was already filed under your EIN.
  • A routine extension request is denied for the same reason.
  • You receive an unexpected tax transcript or IRS notice that doesn’t match anything you submitted.
  • Expected IRS correspondence stops arriving because someone changed the business address on file.
  • The IRS sends Letter 6042C or 5263C, both identity verification notices.

If any of these apply, file Form 14039-B (Business Identity Theft Affidavit) right away. You can mail it to Internal Revenue Service, Ogden, UT 84201, fax it to 855-807-5720, or bring it to a Taxpayer Assistance Center (appointments at 844-545-5640). Sole proprietors must include two forms of identification: a government-issued photo ID and a document supporting business operations, such as a utility bill or invoice. Corporations, partnerships, LLCs, and other entities must include articles of incorporation or organization, or a signed statement on corporate letterhead from an officer confirming the submitter’s authority.17Internal Revenue Service. Business Identity Theft Affidavit (Form 14039-B)