The IRS will give you an Employer Identification Number without a Social Security Number. It says so plainly, it has a dedicated phone line for exactly this, and thousands of non-residents obtain one every week.
Yet this is the step where more non-resident founders stall than any other. The reason is simple: the IRS online application, which is what everyone finds first, refuses anyone without an SSN or ITIN. Founders hit that wall, conclude they need an ITIN first, and lose two or three months to a process they never needed to start.
You do not need an ITIN to get an EIN. This guide covers the route that does work, the single form field responsible for most rejections, and what to do when the paperwork comes back.
The short answer
- Apply on Form SS-4 by fax or phone. The online tool is not available to you.
- Fax the completed form to 855-215-1627 from outside the US, or call the international line on 267-941-1099.
- On line 7b, where it asks for the responsible party’s SSN or ITIN, write “Foreign”. Do not leave it blank and do not invent a number.
- The EIN is free. Fax typically returns it in a few business days; the phone line can issue one on the call.
- You do not need an ITIN, a US address of your own, or a US partner.
What an EIN is, and what it is not
An EIN is a nine-digit federal identification number for a business entity, formatted 12-3456789. It identifies your company to the IRS in the same way an SSN identifies an individual.
It is not a tax registration in the sense of creating an obligation to pay, it is not a licence to trade, and it says nothing about your immigration status. Having one does not make you a US taxpayer, and not having one does not exempt you from anything.
It also is not the same as an ITIN. An EIN belongs to the company; an ITIN belongs to an individual who needs to appear on a US tax return but cannot get an SSN. Many non-resident LLC owners need an EIN and never need an ITIN at all.
Why you need one
- Banking. No US bank or fintech will open a business account without it.
- Payment processors. Stripe, PayPal and similar require it for a US entity.
- Federal filings. Your Form 5472 cannot be processed without one.
- Contracts and Form W-9 requests. US clients routinely ask for it before paying an invoice.
- Hiring and payroll, if you ever take on US staff or contractors.
Apply as soon as the state issues your formation certificate. The EIN, not the formation, is what usually sets the date you can actually start taking money.
Why the online application will not work
The IRS online EIN assistant issues numbers instantly, which is why everyone tries it. It validates the responsible party against an existing SSN or ITIN, and without one it simply will not proceed — usually with an unhelpful reference error rather than a clear explanation.
This is a design limitation, not a judgement about your eligibility. Do not read it as a refusal, do not use someone else’s SSN, and do not pay a service that claims privileged access to the online system. Use the paper form.
Completing Form SS-4
The form is one page. These are the lines that matter for a non-resident applicant.
| Line | What to enter |
|---|---|
| 1 — Legal name | Exactly as it appears on your formation certificate, including the LLC suffix. Any mismatch causes problems at the bank later. |
| 3 — Trade name | Only if you trade under a different name. Otherwise leave blank. |
| 4a and 4b — Mailing address | Your address, which may be outside the US. A foreign address is acceptable. |
| 5a and 5b — Street address | Complete only if different from the mailing address. |
| 6 — County and state | The state where the company was formed. |
| 7a — Responsible party | Your full legal name as the owner. |
| 7b — SSN, ITIN or EIN | Write “Foreign”. See below. |
| 8a — Is this an LLC? | Yes, with the number of members. |
| 9a — Type of entity | For a single-member LLC, tick Other and write “Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity”. |
| 10 — Reason for applying | Usually “Started new business”, or “Banking purpose” where that is the driver. |
| 11 — Date business started | Your formation date. |
| 16 — Principal activity | A plain description, for example “software development services”. |
| 18 — Previous EIN | No, unless the entity genuinely had one before. |
| Third party designee | Complete only if an agent is applying for you. |
Sign and date at the bottom. An unsigned form is returned without being processed, and that alone costs weeks.
Line 7b, where most applications go wrong
Line 7b asks for the responsible party’s SSN, ITIN or EIN. You do not have one, and the form does not obviously tell you what to do.
Write “Foreign” in the field. This is the accepted convention for applicants with no US taxpayer identification number, and it tells the IRS to process the application through its international channel rather than rejecting it for an invalid identifier.
What not to do: leave it blank, which reads as an incomplete form; enter a passport number, which is not what the field is for; or enter any number that is not genuinely yours, which is a considerably more serious problem than a delayed EIN.
Who counts as the responsible party
The responsible party must be a natural person — a human being who ultimately controls or owns the entity. It cannot be a company, and it should not be your formation agent.
For a single-member LLC that is you. For a multi-member LLC, name one member; the others do not need listing. If the LLC is owned by another company, name the individual who controls that company.
If the responsible party changes later, the IRS expects to be told on Form 8822-B within 60 days. It is a small filing that almost nobody remembers, and it matters when the IRS needs to reach the right person.
Three ways to submit
| Method | Details | Typical turnaround |
|---|---|---|
| Fax | 855-215-1627 from outside the US | About four business days |
| Phone | 267-941-1099, the international line, not toll-free | Often issued during the call |
| Post | IRS, Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999 | Several weeks |
Fax is the usual choice: no time-zone problem, no language barrier over a phone line, and you keep a transmission report as evidence. Include a cover sheet with a return fax number if you have one.
The phone route is fastest when it works. The line is open during US Eastern business hours, the person answering will work through the form with you, and they can issue the number before you hang off. Have the completed form in front of you and be ready to confirm you are authorised to receive it.
Post is a last resort. From outside the US it can take well over a month and gives you no confirmation of arrival.
After you apply
The IRS issues a CP 575 notice confirming the EIN. This is the document banks ask for, and it is issued once. Save it as a PDF in more than one place the day it arrives.
If you lose it, the IRS will not reissue the CP 575, but it will issue a 147C letter confirming the same number, which banks accept just as readily. You request it by calling the same international line.
Check the letter carefully as soon as it arrives. The company name must match your formation certificate character for character. A transposed word or a missing “LLC” is far easier to correct in week one than during a bank review six months later.
A realistic timeline
Founders routinely underestimate this step because the form itself takes twenty minutes. The waiting is the part to plan around, particularly if a client is expecting to pay a US entity by a certain date.
Week one. The state approves your formation and issues the certificate. Only now can you sensibly apply, because the IRS record must match the state record.
Week one to two. You fax Form SS-4. Most applications are processed within about four business days, though periods around the April filing season and the end of the calendar year run slower.
Week two to three. The CP 575 confirmation arrives by fax or post. If you gave a return fax number you will usually see it first there.
Week three onward. Bank onboarding begins. This is normally the longest stage of the whole process, and it cannot start without the EIN.
Plan on four to six weeks from formation to a working bank account, and treat anything faster as good luck rather than the schedule. If you need to move quicker, the phone route can compress the middle stage to a single call.
Two founders, two routes
The founder who faxed
Adeel formed a Wyoming LLC and needed an EIN to open a Mercury account. He had no fax machine, used an online fax service for a couple of dollars, and sent the completed SS-4 with a cover sheet on a Tuesday. The confirmation reached him the following Monday.
What he did right: he copied the company name straight from the formation certificate rather than typing it from memory, wrote “Foreign” on line 7b, signed the form by hand and scanned it, and kept the fax transmission report. When the bank later queried a detail, he had the paperwork to hand.
The founder who called
Sana needed the number quickly because a US client would not raise a purchase order without it. She completed the SS-4 but did not send it, then rang the international line early in the US morning with the form in front of her.
The agent worked through the questions in the order they appear on the form, confirmed she was the responsible party and authorised to receive the number, and issued the EIN on the call. She wrote it down, read it back, and received the written confirmation afterwards.
The call is not difficult, but it rewards preparation. Have the form completed, know your formation date and state, and be ready to describe your business activity in one plain sentence.
If nothing comes back
Silence is common enough not to panic about, but do not simply keep re-faxing. Sending the same application repeatedly is how entities end up with two EINs, which then have to be untangled with the IRS.
Wait a full two weeks from the fax date. Then call the international line, quote your company name and formation state, and ask whether the application was received and what its status is. If it was rejected, the agent can usually tell you which field caused it — which is faster than guessing and resubmitting.
If the application never arrived, resend it with a fresh cover sheet and keep the new transmission report. Only at that point is a second submission sensible.
Why applications get rejected
- Line 7b left blank. The most common cause by a wide margin.
- Company name does not match the state record. Copy it exactly, including punctuation.
- Form not signed. An electronic signature image is not reliably accepted; sign and scan.
- A company named as responsible party. It must be a person.
- Applying before the state has approved formation. Wait for the certificate.
- Duplicate applications. Sending the same form repeatedly can create two EINs for one entity, which is tedious to unwind.
EIN, ITIN and SSN compared
| EIN | ITIN | SSN | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Belongs to | A business entity | An individual | An individual |
| Who can get one | Anyone forming a US entity | Individuals with a US filing need who cannot get an SSN | US citizens and authorised workers |
| Needed to open a business bank account | Yes | Sometimes requested | No |
| Expires | No | Yes, after three years of non-use | No |
| Typical wait | Days | Weeks to months | N/A |
If you have been told you must obtain an ITIN before an EIN, that is wrong, and following it will cost you months. Our guide to ITINs and Certifying Acceptance Agents explains when you genuinely do need one.
Once you have the number
Open the bank account while the paperwork is fresh, because most providers want the CP 575 alongside your formation documents and identification. Give the EIN to any US client who asks for a Form W-9. Put 15 April in your calendar for the federal filing. And store the number somewhere you can find it in a year — you will be asked for it more often than you expect.
The third party designee box
Below the numbered lines on Form SS-4 sits a block headed Third Party Designee. If you are using an agent or accountant to obtain the number, this is what lets the IRS speak to them, and it is regularly left blank by people who then wonder why their agent cannot chase the application.
Completing it authorises the named person to receive the EIN on your behalf and to answer questions about how the form was filled in. That is genuinely useful when the alternative is an international phone call at three in the morning.
Understand the limits, though, because the box is narrower than it looks. The authority covers this application and nothing else, and it ends as soon as the number is issued and released. It does not let anyone discuss your tax affairs afterwards, request transcripts, or deal with a notice that arrives next year — that requires a properly executed power of attorney on Form 2848, which is a separate exercise.
Two practical points. The designee’s fax number is where the IRS will send the EIN if you file by fax, so check it before submitting — a digit wrong here is the most common cause of an application that appears to vanish. And you must still sign the form yourself: naming a designee does not delegate the signature, and an unsigned SS-4 is returned.
Changing the responsible party, and closing the account
Two things happen to companies that nobody plans for at the point of applying, and both have a specific procedure.
The responsible party changes. A co-founder buys the other out, or the person named on the original SS-4 steps back. The IRS has to be told, on Form 8822-B, within 60 days of the change. This applies to every EIN holder, and it is not optional simply because the company owes no tax.
The consequence of not filing it is quiet and inconvenient rather than dramatic: the IRS keeps writing to the person who left. Since IRS correspondence is the mechanism by which you find out about a problem, a stale responsible party is how a small notice becomes a penalty notice. The same form also updates the company’s mailing address, which is worth doing on the same day you change it.
The company closes. Here the surprise is that an EIN cannot be cancelled. Once issued, the number belongs to that entity permanently and is never reassigned to anyone else, even decades later.
What you can do is ask the IRS to close the business account attached to it. That means a letter giving the legal name, the EIN, the business address and the reason for closing, with a copy of the original assignment notice if you still have it. Every outstanding return has to be filed first — including the final Form 5472 and pro forma 1120 if your LLC is foreign-owned and single-member.
Founders who dissolve the company at state level and simply stop filing federally are the ones who hear from the IRS years later. Dissolving in Wyoming tells Wyoming. It tells the IRS nothing at all.
Frequently asked questions
Does an EIN cost anything?
No. The IRS issues it free. Any fee you pay is for someone completing and submitting the form correctly on your behalf.
Can I get one before the company exists?
Wait for the state to approve formation. Applying first risks a mismatch between the IRS record and the state record, which is harder to fix than to avoid.
Do I need a US phone number or address?
No. A foreign address and phone number are acceptable on the form. A US mailing address is convenient for other reasons, but it is not required here.
Does having an EIN make me liable for US tax?
No. It is an identifier. Liability depends on whether you have income effectively connected with a US trade or business, which is a separate analysis.
What if my company name changes?
The EIN stays the same. Notify the IRS of the name change and update your bank, or the mismatch will surface during a review.
Can one EIN cover several companies?
No. Each entity needs its own. Using one EIN across two companies causes filing and banking problems quickly.
How long does the number stay valid?
Indefinitely. EINs are never reissued or recycled, and they do not lapse through non-use as ITINs do.
Getting it done
An EIN application is a one-page form and a fax. The difficulty is entirely in knowing that the online route is closed to you, what to write on line 7b, and how to match the company name exactly — three details that between them account for most of the delay non-resident founders experience.
We obtain EINs for non-resident owners as part of US company formation, or separately for companies already established. Get in touch if you would rather not deal with the fax machine.
This article is general information, current as at September 2026, and is not tax advice. Remotix BPO is a business process outsourcing company and is not an accounting firm or a law firm. IRS contact details and procedures change — confirm current guidance before filing.
