We share powerful business strategies and insights for your company regularly. Join our newsletter to stay up to date!
An EIN is the nine-digit federal tax identification number the IRS assigns to a business entity, and it is required to open a US business bank account, run payroll and file federal returns. It can be obtained online, by fax, by mail, or by phone for international applicants, and the IRS charges no fee for it. Founders without a US Social Security Number cannot use the online application and must submit Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead.
A lost EIN confirmation letter cannot be reissued, because the IRS sends the original CP-575 notice only once. The replacement is an EIN verification letter, which is requested by phone and delivered by fax or mail at no cost, and there is no way to download a copy online. If the EIN itself is also unknown, it should be located from existing tax, bank or state records before contacting the IRS.
A 147C letter is the IRS document that verifies an EIN already assigned to a business, and it replaces the original CP-575 notice when that notice is lost. It can only be requested by phone from the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line by an authorized person, and it is delivered by fax or mail at no cost. Banks, payment processors and payroll providers accept it as proof that a legal entity name matches its EIN.
