An Employer Identification Number is public information in most practical senses, not confidential the way a Social Security Number is. The IRS assigns the nine-digit number to businesses for tax filing and reporting, and it appears in government databases, public filings, and routine business paperwork.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number (EIN) What is protected is different: the tax returns filed under an EIN are confidential by federal law, even though the number itself often isn’t.
Where Anyone Can Find an EIN
Tax-exempt organizations are the clearest case. The IRS requires them to make their annual Form 990 returns available for public inspection, and those returns show the EIN.2Internal Revenue Service. Public Disclosure and Availability of Exempt Organization Returns and Applications – Public Disclosure Overview The IRS runs a free Tax Exempt Organization Search that lets anyone look up a nonprofit’s EIN online.3Internal Revenue Service. Tax Exempt Organization Search
Public companies disclose their EINs on SEC filings, which are searchable through EDGAR. State business registrations often include EINs or related state tax identification numbers in records the public can pull up on a Secretary of State website.
How Businesses Share Their EIN in Daily Operations
Even setting government records aside, businesses hand out their EIN constantly. When a vendor, client, or contractor sends a Form W-9 asking for a taxpayer identification number, the business supplies its EIN so payments can be reported to the IRS.4Internal Revenue Service. About Form W-9, Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification Banks require it to open a business account. Lenders use it to pull business credit reports from Experian, Equifax, or Dun & Bradstreet.5U.S. Small Business Administration. Establish Business Credit Insurance companies, licensing agencies, and payroll providers collect it too.
The number of parties who see an EIN in ordinary business is what makes it fundamentally unlike an SSN. Sharing an SSN with dozens of companies creates serious identity theft exposure. Sharing an EIN with dozens of companies is just how business gets done.
What Is Confidential: The Returns Filed Under Your EIN
Here is where confusion sets in. The EIN itself is not a secret; the tax returns filed with it generally are. Under federal law, returns and return information are confidential and may not be disclosed by government officers or employees except in specifically authorized circumstances.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 6103 – Confidentiality and Disclosure of Returns and Return Information Your Form 941 quarterly payroll return, your corporate income tax return, and other filings tied to the EIN are protected from public disclosure. The IRS applies the same principle to its online portals: its Business Tax Account system requires identity verification and authorization before granting access to federal tax information linked to an EIN.7Internal Revenue Service. Business Tax Account Knowing someone’s EIN does not let you pull up their tax filings.
The major exception is nonprofits, which must make Form 990 returns publicly available as a condition of tax-exempt status.2Internal Revenue Service. Public Disclosure and Availability of Exempt Organization Returns and Applications – Public Disclosure Overview For-profit businesses carry no similar obligation.
Why the Law Treats EINs Differently From SSNs
The Privacy Act of 1974 protects information about individuals held in federal records systems and restricts disclosure without consent except in narrow circumstances.8Social Security Administration. The Privacy Act of 1974 The law even makes it illegal for a government agency to deny someone a right or benefit for refusing to provide their SSN, unless a federal statute requires the disclosure.9Social Security Administration. P.L. 93-579, Approved December 31, 1974 (88 Stat. 1896) Privacy Act of 1974 No equivalent protection exists for EINs.
The reasoning is straightforward. An SSN is tied to one human being’s credit history, tax records, and financial identity for life. An EIN identifies a business entity. Someone who obtains an SSN can open credit cards, file fraudulent tax returns, and drain bank accounts in that person’s name. Someone who obtains an EIN can do real damage, but the damage is more limited and typically caught sooner because business credit and business tax accounts have additional verification layers.
Why Sole Proprietors Should Still Get an EIN
This is where EIN privacy matters most in practice. Freelancers and sole proprietors can legally use an SSN as their taxpayer identification number, but doing so means putting the SSN on every W-9 sent to every client. The IRS allows sole proprietors to apply for an EIN even with no employees, and using that EIN on W-9 forms keeps the SSN off documents circulating through other companies’ accounting departments.1Internal Revenue Service. About Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number (EIN) Applying takes minutes on the IRS website, costs nothing, and the number is assigned immediately online.10Internal Revenue Service. Valid EINs
When an EIN Ends Up in the Wrong Hands
An EIN in the wrong hands isn’t harmless. Criminals who obtain a business’s EIN along with other identifying information can file fraudulent tax returns in the business’s name, open lines of credit, or submit fake payroll filings. The damage often surfaces only when the real owner gets an unexpected IRS notice about a return they never filed or a balance they don’t owe.
If you suspect someone is using your EIN fraudulently, the IRS instructs businesses to complete and submit Form 14039-B, Business Identity Theft Affidavit.11Internal Revenue Service. Report Identity Theft for a Business Warning signs include an e-file rejection because a return for that period is already on file, notices about Forms W-2 you never submitted to the Social Security Administration, or an IRS balance-due notice for taxes you don’t recognize. Delay gives fraudsters more time to layer additional activity onto the account, so act quickly.
Practical Ways to Protect Your EIN
The fact that an EIN isn’t legally confidential doesn’t mean carelessness is fine. A few habits reduce the risk of misuse:
- Store the IRS confirmation notice securely. The IRS references this document as the primary way to verify your number if you lose track of it.12Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
- Share the EIN only when legitimately required, such as for tax reporting, banking, licensing, and credit applications. Decline requests that seem unnecessary or come from unfamiliar parties.
- Watch IRS correspondence closely. Unexpected notices are the most common early sign of EIN fraud.
- Review business credit reports periodically for accounts or inquiries you don’t recognize.5U.S. Small Business Administration. Establish Business Credit
The EIN Stays With the Business Forever
One detail worth knowing: the IRS cannot cancel an EIN once assigned. Even after a business closes, the number remains permanently tied to the entity.13Internal Revenue Service. If You No Longer Need Your EIN The IRS can deactivate the account so the number is no longer associated with active filing obligations, but all outstanding returns must be filed and any taxes owed paid first. The EIN itself is never reissued to another entity, which is one reason to keep safeguarding it even after a business shuts down.