How to Get a FEIN: Apply Online, by Fax, Mail, or Phone

To get a Federal Employer Identification Number (FEIN), complete IRS Form SS-4 and submit it through one of four channels: the IRS online application, which issues your number immediately; fax, which takes about four business days; mail, which takes about four weeks; or phone, which is available only to international applicants. There is no filing fee.¹

Do You Actually Need an EIN

You need one if you have employees, pay employment or excise taxes, or withhold taxes on payments to a nonresident alien. You also need one to operate a partnership, corporation, LLC, tax-exempt organization, estate, most trusts, or a retirement plan or IRA, whether or not you have employees.²

Sole proprietors without employees generally don’t need an EIN for federal tax purposes and can file under their Social Security Number. Many still apply for one to avoid putting their SSN on W-9s and 1099s, or to open a business bank account. You can request an EIN for those reasons even when the IRS doesn’t require it.²

One limit worth knowing before you start: the IRS issues only one EIN per responsible party per day. If you’re setting up multiple entities, space the applications out.³

What to Gather Before You Apply

Form SS-4 is short, but it asks for specific information that can slow you down if you don’t have it in front of you. Have the following ready:

The legal name of the entity, exactly as it appears on your articles of incorporation, partnership agreement, or other formation documents.
The mailing address, and the physical address if it’s different.
The responsible party — the individual who ultimately owns or controls the entity — with their SSN or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Government entities may list an EIN here; every other applicant must give an SSN or ITIN.
Your entity type (sole proprietorship, LLC, corporation, partnership, trust, estate, or other).
The reason you’re applying, such as starting a new business, buying an existing one, or hiring employees.
An estimate of the highest number of employees you expect in the next twelve months, if you plan to hire.
The date the business started or will start, and the closing month of your accounting year.
A short description of your primary business activity, such as retail sales, consulting, or construction.

Accuracy in every field helps you avoid rejection or delay.¹

If you want an accountant, attorney, or other representative to receive the EIN on your behalf, complete the Third Party Designee section on Line 18 and sign the form. That authority ends the moment the EIN is issued to the designee.⁴

The Four Ways to Submit Form SS-4

Online

The online application is the fastest route and issues your EIN immediately when you finish. It’s open Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. Eastern (running into the next day), Saturday from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m., and Sunday from 6:00 p.m. to midnight. To use it, your business must be located in the United States or a U.S. territory, and the responsible party must have a valid SSN or ITIN.³

You have to finish in a single session. The application can’t be saved, and it times out after fifteen minutes of inactivity. If that happens, you start over.³

Fax

Fax your completed Form SS-4 and you’ll typically have your EIN back within four business days. Include a return fax number so the IRS can send confirmation without falling back to postal mail. Applicants with a principal business location in the 50 states or the District of Columbia fax to 855-641-6935 (IRS EIN Operation, Cincinnati). International applicants without a U.S. address use 855-215-1627 from inside the United States or 304-707-9471 from outside it.⁵

Mail

If timing isn’t tight, mail the completed form to Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999. International applicants without a U.S. address use the same Cincinnati address, directed to the EIN International Operation. Plan on about four weeks.⁵

Phone (International Applicants Only)

If you have no legal residence or principal business location in the United States or its territories, you can apply by calling 267-941-1099 (not toll-free), Monday through Friday from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern. The person calling must be authorized to receive the EIN and to answer questions about the form, so fill out Form SS-4 in advance. Domestic applicants can no longer get an EIN by phone.⁴

What You Get After Approval

Once your application is approved, the IRS mails a CP 575 notice — the official confirmation that your EIN has been assigned, listing the number alongside the legal name of the entity. Keep it somewhere secure. Banks routinely ask for it when you open a business account, along with your formation documents and ownership agreements.⁶ Online applicants can print an EIN confirmation letter at the end of the session, but the mailed CP 575 is the formal IRS record.³

If You Lose the Number Later

Check old business tax returns, the original CP 575 notice, or the bank that holds your business account. State or local licensing agencies where you applied for permits will usually have it on file too.²

If those don’t work, call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time (Pacific time for Alaska and Hawaii). If you’re authorized to receive it, the IRS will give the number over the phone. You can also ask for a Letter 147C, a written confirmation of a previously assigned EIN. The IRS does not reissue the original CP 575, so the 147C is what replaces it for verification.²

When a Business Change Forces a New EIN

Changing your business name or address alone does not require a new EIN for any entity type; you update your existing IRS records instead. Certain structural changes do trigger a new application:⁷

A sole proprietor who incorporates, forms a partnership, or declares bankruptcy needs a new EIN.
A corporation needs a new EIN if it receives a new charter from the secretary of state, converts to a partnership or sole proprietorship, or merges to create a new corporation. Reorganizing to change a name or location does not qualify.
A partnership needs a new EIN if it incorporates, dissolves so one partner continues as a sole proprietor, or ends and begins as a new partnership. A change of ownership without termination does not.
An LLC needs a new EIN if the existing LLC terminates and a new corporation or partnership takes its place.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
2
Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
3
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
4
Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
5
Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form SS-4
6
U.S. Small Business Administration. Open a Business Bank Account
7
Internal Revenue Service. When to Get a New EIN