How to Apply for an EIN Without an SSN

What an EIN is and when you need one

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the nine-digit federal tax number the IRS gives a business. The IRS lists limited liability companies among the entities that need one to operate, whether or not they have employees (source). In practice it is also the number a US bank, a payment provider or a marketplace asks for when it checks your company.

The number belongs to the company, not to you. That is why a founder who lives abroad and has never had a Social Security number can still get one. What changes is the route: the fast online form is closed to you, so the application goes on paper.

Form the company first

The IRS asks LLCs and corporations to form the entity with the secretary of state before they apply for an EIN (source). Wait until the state has accepted your filing, then copy the legal name exactly as it appears on the formation document. If you haven't formed yet, our formation guide for non-residents covers that step.

Can you get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN?

Yes. The Form SS-4 instructions tell you to enter "foreign" or N/A on line 7b if the responsible party doesn't have and isn't eligible for an SSN or ITIN, and they add: "An entry is required" (source). The IRS manual for its own staff says it just as plainly: foreign individuals are not required to have an ITIN in order to receive an EIN (source).

If you already have an ITIN, write it on line 7b. "Foreign" is only for someone who has neither number and can't get one.

Why the online application won't work

The IRS online application issues the number straight away, but only if the company was formed in the US, its principal place of business is in the US, and you have the responsible party's SSN or ITIN (source). Without one of those numbers, you apply with a paper Form SS-4 instead.

Who the responsible party is

The IRS defines the responsible party as someone who "owns, controls or exercises effective control over" the entity and directly or indirectly manages its funds and assets. It must be a person, not a company (source). For a single-member LLC that is normally the owner; for a corporation, usually a principal officer.

The three routes: fax, mail and phone

The fax number and mailing address depend on one question from the SS-4 instructions: does the business have a legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency in a US state or DC? A founder running a US LLC from abroad, with no US office, uses the international row (source).

What about the phone line?

The SS-4 instructions describe 267-941-1099 as a line for international applicants, and the caller "must be authorized to receive the EIN and answer questions concerning Form SS-4" (source). The IRS staff manual adds that assistors first check whether the business was created or organized outside the United States; for an entity formed in the US, they explain the other ways to apply instead (source). So for a Delaware or Wyoming LLC owned from abroad, plan on fax or mail, and treat older advice about "one phone call" with care.

Fax or mail?

• Fax is the faster paper route. Include a fax number on the form so the IRS can send the EIN back; an online fax number works.
• Mail takes longer. The IRS asks you to send the form at least 4 to 5 weeks before you need the EIN (source).
• Pick one. The IRS says to "use only one method for each entity so you don't receive more than one EIN for an entity" (source).

Filling in Form SS-4 without an SSN

Use the current Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025). The notes below cover the most common case for our readers: a single-member LLC owned by one non-US person with no US office. Each line's rule comes from the SS-4 instructions; a corporation or a multi-member LLC answers some lines differently.

Signature and third-party designee

Sign at the bottom of the form as the owner or another authorized person; the SS-4 instructions list who may sign for each type of applicant. If someone else prepares and sends the form for you, they are named in the Third Party Designee box. The IRS says the designee's authority ends when the EIN is assigned and released to them, and "the EIN notice will be mailed to the taxpayer" (source). The designee authorization is only valid if the signature area is completed, and the IRS staff manual calls for a handwritten signature on it (source).

Your mailing address and why it matters

Line 4a looks routine, but the IRS says "generally, this address will be used on all tax returns" (source). The CP 575 notice with your new EIN goes there, and so does any later letter asking for more information. Choose an address where mail will actually reach you and be read.

• A home address abroad is allowed. Write the country in full, and expect international post to take time.
• A US mailing address, such as a virtual mailbox that scans incoming envelopes, can shorten the wait for IRS letters. It belongs on line 4a, not on line 5a, which asks for a street address and rules out a P.O. box.
• A registered agent address receives legal and state notices for the company. It isn't your office, so it doesn't by itself make the business US-based for the fax-number question above.

How long it takes, and what causes delays

The IRS publishes two figures, and they don't always agree. The SS-4 instructions say you'll receive your EIN by fax "generally within 4 business days", and by mail in approximately 4 weeks (source). The IRS processing-status page, reviewed on 25 September 2026, said faxed Forms SS-4 were being processed 12 business days after receipt and paper ones within 30 days (source). Processing times vary, and the IRS sets them; check that page before you send.

By fax, the IRS sends back a cover sheet with the EIN; it no longer returns your SS-4 marked with the number (source). The mailed CP 575 notice follows to your line 4a address.

Common reasons for a slow or stuck application

• Applying before the state has accepted the formation filing.
• Line 7b left blank instead of "foreign" or N/A.
• A legal name on line 1 that doesn't match the state record, or uses characters IRS systems don't accept.
• Faxing the US-business number when the company has no US office, or leaving the applicant fax number off the form.
• Sending the same form again by a second route. The IRS says a business "should have only one EIN" (source), and duplicates create a mess to untangle.
• Two companies for one person on the same day. EINs are limited to "one per responsible party, per day" (source).
• An IRS letter asking for more information that lands at an address nobody checks.

CP 575 and Letter 147C: proving your EIN

Banks and payment providers usually want an IRS document showing the company's legal name next to its EIN. Keep every one you receive.

The IRS also says you can use a new EIN right away for opening a bank account, but should wait up to 2 weeks before it passes IRS TIN-matching checks (source). Some payment providers run those checks, so a fresh EIN can fail verification for a short time. Our Stripe requirements and Mercury requirements pages cover what each one asks for.

After the EIN: the yearly filing to know about

Line 9a hints at what comes next. A US single-member LLC wholly owned by a foreign person has no income tax return of its own, but the IRS requires it to file a pro forma Form 1120 with Form 5472 attached, and it lists a $25,000 penalty for failing to file Form 5472 when due (source). Whether and how that applies to your company is a question for a qualified US tax professional.

Doing it yourself, or with help

1. 1
   Form the companyWait for the state to accept the filing and keep the formation document.
2. 2
   Complete Form SS-4Line 7b "foreign" or N/A, the right 9a and 10 wording, a mailing address you check, and a signature.
3. 3
   Send it onceFax or mail to the number or address for your situation, and keep the transmission report.
4. 4
   Keep the IRS lettersSave the fax reply and the CP 575. Ask for Letter 147C if you ever need a new confirmation.

You can do every step yourself at no IRS cost. If you'd rather not, Registate's EIN support is a paid service that prepares Form SS-4 from your formation details and sends it for you, without an SSN. It can't make the IRS faster, and the IRS still sets the processing time.