The Short Answer
If you still have the CP 575 the IRS sent when your EIN was assigned, that is your EIN letter — save it, because the IRS will not print it again. If it is gone, you are not stuck: ask the IRS for a 147C instead. It confirms the same entity name and the same number, and banks, payment processors and marketplaces accept it in place of the original.
Every US company has an EIN, but far fewer founders can produce the paperwork that proves it. That becomes a problem the moment a bank, a payment processor or a marketplace stops accepting the nine digits on their own and asks for the official IRS document instead. This guide explains what the EIN letter actually is, how the CP 575 differs from the 147C, and exactly how to get a copy when the original is nowhere to be found.
What Is an EIN Letter From the IRS?
An EIN letter is written confirmation from the Internal Revenue Service that a specific Employer Identification Number belongs to a specific legal entity. The number itself is nine digits and easy to write down; the letter is the evidence that the number was issued to your company and not simply typed into a form.
This distinction matters because third parties do not verify EINs against IRS records directly. A bank cannot query the IRS database on your behalf. What it can do is compare the name and number on your account application against the name and number printed on an IRS document. That document is the EIN letter, and it is the only artifact in your formation file that carries the IRS letterhead alongside your entity name.
If you are still at the stage of understanding the number itself rather than the paperwork, start with our explanation of what an EIN is and how to get one, then come back here for the document side.
CP 575 and 147C: The Two Versions of the Letter
Almost every question about EIN letters comes down to confusing these two documents, so it is worth separating them clearly.
CP 575. The Original Confirmation Notice
The CP 575 is generated automatically when the IRS assigns your EIN. If you applied online, it appears as a downloadable PDF at the end of the session. If you applied by Form SS-4 through fax or mail, it arrives later as a physical notice or a fax response. It states your entity name, your EIN, the tax forms the IRS expects from you, and the date of assignment.
The critical fact about the CP 575 is that it exists exactly once. The IRS does not keep a reprint queue for it and will not send you a second copy, no matter how the first one was lost. Founders who applied online and closed the browser window without saving the PDF have permanently lost that specific document. The EIN remains completely valid, but the CP 575 is gone.
147C: The Replacement Verification Letter
The 147C exists precisely because the CP 575 cannot be reissued. It is a letter in which the IRS confirms the same information — entity name and EIN — for an existing number, on request. It is not a lesser document and it is not a correction; banks, Stripe, PayPal and Amazon treat it as equivalent proof.
You request the 147C from the IRS by telephone, and the agent sends it by fax or mail after verifying that you are authorised to receive it. The IRS does not email it under any circumstances, which is worth remembering because fake "IRS EIN letter" emails are a common phishing pattern. The full request procedure, including what the agent will ask you and how to handle it as a non-resident without an SSN, is covered in our dedicated guide to the EIN verification letter (147C).
Why Banks and Platforms Ask for Your EIN Letter
The EIN letter is a know-your-customer document, not a tax document, in almost every situation where it is requested. Understanding that changes how you prepare for it.
A US bank opening a business account needs to tie a legal entity to a tax identifier before it can report interest or comply with its own onboarding rules. Payment processors need the same link before they can issue year-end reporting forms. Marketplaces need it because the tax identity on the seller account must match the entity that receives the payouts. In each case the reviewer is doing a string comparison between your application and an IRS document, which is why tiny mismatches matter enormously.
The most common rejection is not a missing letter at all. It is a letter whose entity name does not exactly match the name on the account application, usually because the company was formed as "Northwind Trading LLC" but the bank application says "Northwind Trading" or "Northwind Trading L.L.C." Before you submit anything, read the name on the letter character by character and copy it exactly. If you are preparing a bank application now, our guide on opening a US business bank account walks through the rest of the document set.
How You Receive the Letter When You First Apply
There is no separate application for the EIN letter. It is a by-product of the EIN application, and which version you get depends on how you applied.
Applying Online
The IRS online EIN assistant is available only to applicants who already hold an SSN or ITIN as the responsible party. Its advantage is speed: the EIN is issued during the session and the CP 575 is available as a PDF immediately. Its disadvantage is that the PDF is offered once. Download it, then store it somewhere that is not a browser download folder.
Applying by Form SS-4
Founders without an SSN or ITIN — which includes most non-resident owners of a US LLC — cannot use the online assistant and must submit Form SS-4 by fax or mail. The EIN is assigned after the IRS processes the form, and the CP 575 follows in the same channel. Processing times vary considerably and have been unpredictable in recent years, so plan formation timelines with slack rather than assuming a fixed turnaround. Our SS-4 form guide covers how to complete the responsible party and reason-for-applying sections, which are where most rejections originate.
What to Do If You Cannot Find the Letter
Work through this in order, because two of the three steps cost nothing and take minutes.
First, check whether you actually lost the letter or only the number. These are different problems with different solutions. If you simply need the nine digits for a form, they appear on filed tax returns, on prior bank onboarding documents, and in your formation provider's records, and there are several faster places to look before you call anyone. Our guide on finding a lost EIN number covers those sources.
Second, check your formation agent. If a service filed the SS-4 on your behalf, the CP 575 was very likely delivered to that agent, not to you, and it is sitting in an account dashboard or an old email thread. This resolves a surprising share of cases.
Third, if the document itself is genuinely gone and a third party insists on IRS letterhead, request the 147C. Do not delay this step out of the belief that a better copy of the CP 575 might turn up; it will not exist.
If your immediate problem is that the letter has not arrived and a bank is waiting, note that some account types can be opened before the EIN paperwork is complete, which we cover in our guide on opening a US bank account without an EIN.
What the EIN Letter Does Not Prove
Three misconceptions cause real damage here.
The EIN letter is not proof that your company is in good standing. Good standing is a state matter, evidenced by a certificate from the state where you formed the entity. An EIN letter says nothing about whether your annual report was filed or your franchise tax was paid.
The EIN letter is not a tax clearance or a filing record. It lists the forms the IRS expects from your entity, which founders sometimes read as a statement that those forms have been filed. It is the opposite: it is a statement of what is owed going forward.
The EIN letter does not expire, and neither does the EIN. If a bank tells you that your letter is "too old", what it usually wants is a recently dated document, which is one of the few situations where requesting a fresh 147C is genuinely useful even though you already hold the CP 575. The number itself survives dormancy and even dissolution, a point we explain in our article on what happens to an EIN after dissolving a company.
Mistakes Non-Resident Founders Make Most Often
Storing the only copy in a single inbox is the first. The CP 575 cannot be regenerated, so it belongs in the same place as your formation documents, with a backup.
Confusing the EIN with a personal tax identifier is the second. An EIN belongs to the entity; an ITIN belongs to an individual. Providing one where the other is required leads to rejected filings and, occasionally, to a second EIN being issued for the same company. Our comparison of EIN and ITIN sets out which one each situation calls for.
Applying twice is the third. When the CP 575 does not arrive, the instinct is to file a fresh SS-4. That can create a duplicate EIN attached to the same entity, which is considerably harder to unwind than requesting a 147C.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is the EIN letter the same thing as the EIN number?
No. The number is the identifier; the letter is the IRS document that evidences it. You can know your number and still be unable to satisfy a bank that asks for documentation.
Can I send a screenshot or a bank statement instead?
Occasionally, for low-risk verifications. For account opening and marketplace verification, reviewers generally require a document on IRS letterhead, which means either the CP 575 or the 147C.
Will the IRS email the letter to speed things up?
No. The IRS sends these letters by mail or fax only. An email offering an EIN letter should be treated as a phishing attempt.
I found two different EINs for my company. Which one is correct?
This usually means a duplicate was issued after a second application. Contact the IRS and have the duplicate closed rather than choosing one and hoping; using the wrong number on filings creates mismatches that surface years later.
Can Clemta obtain the letter on my behalf?
Yes, where authorisation permits it. If Clemta handled your formation, the original document is already in your file.
Getting the Document Side Right
The EIN letter is a small piece of paper that quietly gates bank accounts, payment processors and marketplace approvals. Getting it, storing it, and knowing which version you hold takes an afternoon; recovering from a frozen application because it was missing takes considerably longer. Clemta handles EIN applications and the surrounding paperwork for non-resident founders, so the document is in your file before anyone asks for it.
Note: This article explains how EIN documentation generally works and is provided as general information, not tax or legal advice. IRS procedures, processing times and fax numbers change from time to time, so confirm the current details with the IRS or a licensed professional before acting on them.
If you have any questions, you may reach out to our agents from [email protected].
Tessa Bright
writer