How to Find Your EIN Number? (Step by Step Guide)
An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is a federal tax ID issued by the IRS. If you already applied, check your business’s confirmation notice, tax returns and bank records before considering another application.
Treat an EIN as sensitive business information and match it to the correct legal entity. Confirm the name and taxpayer before using it on a return, Form W-9, payroll account or bank application. [1]
Quick Summary
- Recover an existing EIN from IRS notices, tax returns, bank records or prior preparer files.
- The IRS provides a missing EIN to an authorized caller after identity verification.
- IRS Letter 147C, an entity transcript or an eligible business-account notice can confirm the number in writing.
- Another company’s EIN may appear in public filings, but the IRS has no general private-business directory.
What is an EIN?
An EIN identifies a business for federal tax administration. It is different from a state filing number, license or proof that an LLC is in good standing.
A disregarded single-member LLC without employees or excise-tax obligations may not need its own EIN for federal tax purposes. Banking or state rules can still require one; our guide explains whether an LLC needs an EIN. [2]
How to Find Your Company's EIN?
Start with records already held by the business or its adviser. A lost confirmation notice does not by itself require a new EIN; follow this order to recover the existing number.
- Search the original IRS confirmation and any saved tax notices.
- Check the business tax returns, payroll filings, and information returns.
- Review the bank, merchant, payroll, and state-tax account files.
- Ask the person who formed the LLC or prepared its first return.
- Call the IRS only after gathering the legal name, address, formation date, and responsible-party details.
2. Review Business Tax Documents
Review the EIN confirmation notice and a retained Form SS-4 application, if available. A submitted application alone may not show an assigned number, so compare it with the confirmation or a filed return.
Payroll records may include Form 941, Form 944 or Form W-2. Information returns such as Form 1099-NEC and income-tax returns may also show the number used by the business.
Match each number to its legal name and tax classification. A disregarded LLC’s income-tax records can identify its owner, so do not assume every number on the paperwork is the LLC’s separate EIN. [3]
3. Check Other Business Documents
State formation records commonly show a filing or charter number rather than an EIN. Business licenses, sales-tax and unemployment accounts can also use different identifiers.
Check saved bank and payroll files for the EIN supplied when those accounts opened. Our LLC bank account guide explains the documents banks may request.
4. Contact the IRS
If your records do not reveal the EIN, call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933. The IRS verifies identity and provides the number only to an authorized caller.
The line operates Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Residents of Alaska and Hawaii should use Pacific time when planning the call.
Have the business’s legal name, address and responsible-party information available for verification. If you have conflicting EINs, ask which one to use rather than submitting another application.
5. Request an EIN Verification Letter (147C)
For written confirmation of an assigned EIN, ask the IRS for Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned. Keep the confirmation with permanent tax records and share it only with parties that need it.
Eligible Business Tax Account users can download a digital EIN verification notice. An entity transcript is another confirmation route; check access requirements before using either option.
4 Ways to Find Another Company's EIN
The IRS does not offer a public directory of every private company’s EIN. Use one of these four routes, then verify the legal name and protect any number you obtain.
- Ask the company: request a completed Form W-9 when you need its taxpayer information for reporting. The taxpayer’s classification determines which name and number belong on the form. [4]
- Review existing records: check a W-9 or vendor file the company already supplied to you. Confirm that it is current rather than reusing an outdated or unrelated entity’s number.
- Search public-company filings: the SEC EDGAR filing search provides filings that may identify an issuer’s IRS employer number. Many private LLCs do not file there, so a missing result proves little.
- Search tax-exempt organizations: IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search can locate eligible organization records by name or EIN. It covers tax-exempt records rather than ordinary private-company EINs.
Public searches have limited coverage and can contain historical filings. Use SEC filings for reporting issuers and IRS tax-exempt records for the organizations they cover. [5] [6]
FAQs
Can I Search for an EIN on the IRS's Website?
You cannot search a general IRS directory for private companies’ EINs, although the IRS provides tax-exempt organization records. Recover your own EIN from business records or an authorized IRS request, and ask another company for a W-9 when needed for reporting.
Is an EIN Number Free?
An EIN is free when you apply directly through the IRS. A private service may charge for its assistance, so check whether you need that service before paying.
References:
- https://www.irs.gov/businesses/employer-identification-number
- https://www.irs.gov/businesses/small-businesses-self-employed/single-member-limited-liability-companies
- https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iss4
- https://www.irs.gov/forms-pubs/about-form-w-9
- https://www.sec.gov/search-filings
- https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/tax-exempt-organization-search
