How to get an EIN (it's free)
An EIN (Employer Identification Number) is a federal tax ID number for your business. You will need it to open a business bank account, hire people or file certain tax returns, and you get it from the IRS for free.
Does your LLC need an EIN?
It depends on how many owners you have and what the business does.
- Two or more owners: yes. By default the IRS treats a multi-member LLC as a partnership, and partnerships need an EIN.
- One owner with employees, or that owes certain excise taxes: yes.
- One owner, no employees, no excise taxes: for federal tax purposes the LLC can use the owner’s Social Security number, because a single-member LLC is a “disregarded entity” by default.
Even in that last case, the IRS notes that most new single-member LLCs “will need to obtain an EIN.” Banks usually ask for one to open a business account, and some states require one. One thing it doesn’t change: when a client asks a single-member LLC for a Form W-9, the IRS says it should show the owner’s SSN or the owner’s own EIN, not the LLC’s EIN.
Before you apply
Form your LLC with your state first. The IRS warns that if you apply before the state has formed your entity, your application may be delayed.
Then have this ready:
- The LLC’s legal name, exactly as it appears on your formation document.
- A mailing address for IRS letters, and the business’s street address. A P.O. box is not accepted as the street address.
- The responsible party: the person who ultimately owns or controls the LLC, with their SSN or ITIN. It must be a person, not another company, and it cannot be a nominee acting on someone else’s behalf.
- The date the business started.
- How the LLC will be taxed (by default, or electing to be taxed as a corporation).
Apply online (fastest)
The IRS online application gives you the EIN immediately when it is approved. You can use it if:
- your principal place of business is in the US or a US territory, and
- the responsible party has an SSN or ITIN.
A few rules to know before you start:
- Hours (Eastern Time): Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 1 a.m. the next day; Saturday, 6 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sunday, 6 p.m. to midnight.
- Timeout: the session expires after 15 minutes of inactivity and you have to start over, so gather everything first.
- One per day: the IRS issues only one EIN per responsible party per day.
When you finish, save or print the confirmation. It is your official record of the number.
Other ways to apply
If you can’t use the online application, you file Form SS-4 instead:
- By fax: generally processed within 4 business days. If your address is in a US state or DC, the fax number is 855-641-6935. Applicants in a US territory or abroad use 855-215-1627 (from within the US) or 304-707-9471 (from outside the US).
- By mail: takes about 4 weeks, so the IRS recommends sending it 4 to 5 weeks before you need the number. From a US state or DC, mail it to Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999; international applicants use Attn: EIN International Operation at the same city and ZIP code.
- By phone: only for international applicants (267-941-1099, not toll-free, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern, Monday to Friday). The IRS no longer issues EINs by phone for domestic applicants.
Use only one method for each LLC. Applying twice can leave you with two EINs for the same business.
If you lose your EIN
Check your own records first: the notice the IRS sent when the number was issued, your bank, state or local license applications, and past tax returns. If you still can’t find it, call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 (Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time; Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time). After verifying that you are authorized, the IRS can give you the number or send Letter 147C, which confirms the EIN previously assigned.
What this means for your budget
If a formation package includes the EIN, you are paying for someone to fill out a free form. That can be worth it if you’d rather not deal with the IRS, but compare it with doing it yourself online, where the IRS issues the number in minutes once approved. Our calculator shows what each provider charges with and without the EIN, so you can decide.
Sources
Checked October 8, 2026.