How to Retrieve Your EIN Number From the IRS

To retrieve your EIN from the IRS, first check your own business records, and if the number isn’t there, call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 during business hours. The IRS assigns each EIN permanently to one entity, and the number never expires or gets reissued, so your original EIN is still on file no matter how long ago it was assigned.¹

Check Your Own Records First

Before you call, the IRS suggests looking in a handful of places where the number is likely already sitting.²

The original IRS confirmation notice, Notice CP 575, which was mailed when your EIN was first assigned. If you applied online, the confirmation was available to print at the end of the application, but that screen cannot be reopened later.³
Past federal business tax returns. The EIN appears near the top of Form 1120 for corporations, Form 1065 for partnerships, and Schedule C for sole proprietors.
Your bank. Any institution where you opened a business account collected the EIN at that time.
State and local licensing agencies, since permit and license applications typically require it.

A few other spots are worth a look: payroll documents such as Form W-2 (the employer’s EIN is in Box b), any correspondence the IRS has sent about the business account, and files kept by your accountant or tax preparer. Finding it here saves the wait on the phone.

Who Can Request the EIN From the IRS

The IRS treats an EIN as confidential tax return information, protected from general disclosure under federal law.⁴ Whoever calls has to be authorized to receive the number and answer questions about the business.⁵

Who qualifies depends on the entity:

Sole proprietorship: the owner.
Corporation: a principal officer, such as the president or vice president.⁶
Partnership: a general partner or another authorized member with knowledge of the partnership’s affairs.⁶
Trust or estate: the fiduciary, typically the trustee, executor, or administrator.⁶

IRS representatives will not release the EIN to employees, family members, or other third parties outside these roles unless a valid power of attorney is on file.

Sending Someone Else in Your Place

If you need an attorney, CPA, or enrolled agent to retrieve the number for you, authorize them by filing Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative. The form lets the representative inspect and receive your confidential tax information, which includes the EIN.⁷ On Line 3, describe the scope of the authority, such as the specific tax forms and years covered. The IRS has to process the authorization before the representative can act, so plan ahead.

What to Have Ready Before You Call

The representative will verify your identity before releasing anything. Have on hand:

The full legal name of the business, matching the original EIN application exactly, including any suffix like LLC or Inc.
The business mailing address currently on file with the IRS.
The responsible party’s Social Security Number or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number. The responsible party is the individual listed on the original Form SS-4 who controls or manages the entity.²

The agent may also ask about the nature of the business or its formation date. If the responsible party, name, or address has changed since the EIN was issued, read the section below on updates before calling; mismatches can keep the representative from locating your account.

Calling the Business and Specialty Tax Line

The main way to retrieve a lost EIN is to call the Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933. The line is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. local time, with callers in Alaska and Hawaii on Pacific time.⁸

From the automated menu, select the option for Employer Identification Numbers, then the option for retrieving an existing EIN. When a representative comes on the line, give the business and personal details listed above. After verifying your identity, the agent will read the EIN back to you. Have a pen ready so you copy it down correctly.

If you also need something in writing, ask the same agent for a 147C verification letter.

Getting Written Confirmation With Letter 147C

Letter 147C is the official IRS document confirming a previously assigned EIN, and you request it through the same Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933.² Ask the agent specifically for “Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned.” You have two delivery options:

Fax, which the agent can send while you are still on the phone. This is the fastest route if you need the document immediately.
Mail to the business address on file, which can take four to six weeks.

Banks and government agencies routinely accept the 147C letter as proof of the EIN, so it’s worth requesting even after you have the number confirmed verbally.

Calling From Outside the United States

The toll-free 800 number does not work from abroad. Instead, call the International Taxpayer Service Call Center at 267-941-1000, which is not toll-free. The line operates Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time.⁹ The same authorization rules apply: the caller has to be the responsible party or another authorized individual for the entity.

When Your Business Information Has Changed

If the business name, address, or responsible party has changed since the EIN was issued, mismatched records can stop the IRS from verifying your identity by phone. Updating the file, or at least being prepared to explain the discrepancy, makes retrieval go faster.

A change in the responsible party has to be reported within 60 days on Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business. The same form handles changes to the mailing address or physical location.¹⁰ There is no penalty for failing to file it, but you may miss important IRS notices, and interest on any unpaid taxes continues to run either way.

A business name change is reported differently depending on entity type:¹¹

Sole proprietorship: write to the IRS at the address where you file your return, with the letter signed by the owner or authorized representative.
Corporation: check the name-change box on the current-year Form 1120 or 1120-S. If the return has already been filed, send a signed letter from a corporate officer.
Partnership: check the name-change box on Form 1065. If already filed, send a signed letter from a partner.

In some situations a name change requires a brand-new EIN rather than an update. IRS Publication 1635, Understanding Your EIN, explains when a new number is needed and when the existing one carries over.¹¹

1
Cornell Law School Legal Information Institute (LII). Employer Identification Number (EIN)
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Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6103 – Confidentiality and Disclosure of Returns and Return Information
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 2848 (Rev. September 2021)
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Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers
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Internal Revenue Service. Contact My Local Office Internationally
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business
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Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change