How to get an EIN (free, 10 minutes, 2026)
The IRS gives you an Employer Identification Number free of charge. Here is the only process you need, and why you should never pay a third party to file it for you.
Contents 9 sections
n Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the federal tax ID for your business — nine digits, formatted XX-XXXXXXX, assigned by the IRS. It is the business equivalent of a Social Security Number. Banks require one to open a business account. Payroll providers need one to remit taxes. The IRS uses it to identify your entity on every return you will ever file.
What an EIN is
You do not need to wait until you are hiring anyone to get one. "Employer" in the name is a historical artifact; single-member LLCs with zero employees still need an EIN for banking, 1099s received from clients, and most state tax registrations.
The cost
Zero. The IRS does not, and never has, charged a fee for an EIN. Any website that asks you to pay for an EIN is a third-party service filing the free IRS form on your behalf and adding a markup. Some charge $200 or more for a form that takes 10 minutes on a government website.
The only legitimate place to apply is the official IRS page:
If the URL you are on is not irs.gov, close the tab.
Before you apply: what you need
The online application cannot be saved and resumed. You have about 15 minutes of inactivity before the session drops. Collect everything first:
- Legal entity name exactly as it appears on your filed articles of organization or incorporation. If you formed an LLC two days ago, use the name on the certificate the state returned to you.
- Business mailing address (this can be your home address or a registered agent's address)
- Responsible party: the individual who ultimately controls the entity. For a single-member LLC, this is you. The IRS needs this person's SSN or ITIN.
- Date the business was formed and state of formation
- Principal business activity (the dropdown has about a dozen categories — pick the closest match; this is not binding for anything)
- Expected number of employees in the next 12 months (zero is a valid answer)
One responsible party can be listed on only one EIN application per day — the IRS throttles this to prevent abuse. If you are forming multiple entities, space the applications across days or use Form SS-4 by fax.
The process (US applicants with SSN or ITIN)
- Go to the IRS EIN Assistant. It is only available Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern. Weekends and holidays, the system is down.
- Select the entity type. For an LLC, choose "Limited Liability Company." The next screen asks how many members — this determines the default tax classification (single-member defaults to disregarded entity; multi-member defaults to partnership). You can elect corporate taxation later with Form 8832 or 2553.
- Answer the state of formation and the reason for applying (usually "Started a new business").
- Enter the responsible party's name and SSN or ITIN.
- Enter the business address and phone.
- Confirm the details. Submit.
- You will receive the EIN immediately on screen. Download the confirmation letter (CP 575) as a PDF before closing the browser. The IRS will not re-issue this exact letter — if you lose it, you can only get a substitute (147C), which banks sometimes accept less readily.
Total elapsed time from a prepared desk: about 10 minutes.
If you are a non-US founder (no SSN or ITIN)
The online EIN Assistant requires an SSN or ITIN for the responsible party. Foreign founders without either cannot use it. The IRS's official workaround is Form SS-4 by fax or mail:
- Form: IRS Form SS-4. Download, fill out, sign.
- Responsible-party line: write the foreign founder's name. In the SSN/ITIN box, write "Foreign" (literally the word).
- Fax to: +1-855-215-1627 (inside the US) or +1-304-707-9471 (outside the US). This is the number published on the IRS page "Where to File Your Taxes (for Form SS-4)" — confirm the current number there before sending, since the IRS has changed it before.
- Turnaround: 4 business days by fax if you provide a return fax number; 4 to 5 weeks by mail. The IRS will fax back the EIN confirmation.
You do not need an ITIN to get an EIN. A common myth says you do — you do not. The SS-4 fax route is built for exactly this case.
There is also a telephone option for non-US applicants: +1-267-941-1099 (not toll-free). The line is open Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern. Be prepared to read your completed SS-4 aloud; the IRS agent enters it for you and reads back the EIN at the end of the call. Write it down.
What to do with it once you have it
- Open a business bank account. Most banks want the CP 575 letter, your state-filed articles, and operating agreement. EIN alone is not enough.
- Register for state tax accounts. Sales tax, withholding, and unemployment insurance all reference your EIN.
- Give it to clients who 1099 you. They need it to file, and giving them an EIN instead of your SSN keeps your SSN off their records.
- Do not share it casually. EINs are public enough that they are not secrets, but paired with a name they are a phishing vector. Treat it roughly like a bank account number.
Common mistakes
- Paying for one. There is no situation where you should pay. If your formation service "includes" an EIN, either (a) they filed the free form for you and bundled it, which is fine, or (b) they charged you $75 to $200 for it, which is not.
- Getting it before the LLC exists. The EIN attaches to the legal entity name. Form the LLC first; the EIN comes second. If you apply before filing, you will list a name that does not exist at the state level, which creates reconciliation pain later.
- Listing the wrong responsible party. The responsible party must be a natural person with control over the entity — not a trust, not another LLC. For single-member LLCs it is always the member. The IRS updated this definition in 2018; older articles still say otherwise.
- Using a nominee. A nominee is someone other than the true responsible party whose name appears on the application. The IRS explicitly prohibits this and will invalidate the EIN if discovered.
- Losing the CP 575. Save the PDF to two places. When you ask for a replacement, you get a Letter 147C, which says "I hereby confirm that EIN XX-XXXXXXX is assigned to [Entity]" — some banks accept it, some want the original.
When you need a new EIN
The IRS only requires a new EIN in a narrow set of events:
- You change entity type (e.g., LLC converts to corporation)
- The sole proprietor takes on partners (becomes a partnership)
- A corporation goes through bankruptcy
- You are a trust and the trust terminates
You do not need a new EIN if you change your business name, move to a new state, hire employees for the first time, or elect S-corp taxation on an existing LLC. Keep the one you have.
FAQ
Can I use my SSN instead of an EIN? For a sole proprietorship, yes. For any LLC, LP, corporation, or multi-member entity, no — you must have an EIN.
Does the EIN expire? No. It is permanent. It does not renew, and it does not lapse from disuse. If the entity dissolves, the EIN is retired but never re-assigned.
How do I find an EIN I already got but lost? Check past tax returns (Form 1120, 1065, 941), the CP 575 letter, or any bank account opened with the entity. If none of those work, call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax line at +1-800-829-4933 and request a 147C letter.
Is my EIN confidential? No. EINs for most entities are publicly searchable (nonprofits especially — GuideStar lists them). Corporations disclose theirs on SEC filings. Treat the EIN like a phone number, not a password.
This article is a practical guide, not tax or legal advice. The IRS forms and phone numbers cited are current as of 2026 — verify at irs.gov before acting. If your situation involves trusts, foreign partnerships, or existing entity conversions, consult a CPA.