How do you look up an EIN number?
You look up an EIN number through 7 methods: the CP-575 letter, a filed tax return, bank paperwork, a W-2, a signed W-9, an IRS 147C letter, or a public filing. Each costs $0.
Method 1: Read the CP-575 confirmation letter
The IRS issues one CP-575 per EIN. The letter prints the 9-digit number beside the legal name it was assigned to.
Proves the EIN and the legal name the IRS paired it with. Banks treat it as the primary document.
Method 2: Check a filed federal tax return
Every business return prints the EIN on page 1: Form 1120, Form 1065, Form 941, and Schedule C attached to Form 1040.
Proves the number the business reported to the IRS. A return the IRS accepted carries a matched EIN.
Method 3: Check the business bank account paperwork
Banks record the EIN on the account application and verify it against the CP-575 before the account opens.
Proves the number the bank already verified. It confirms nothing about the current legal name.
Method 4: Check a payroll record or a W-2 you issued
Box b of every W-2 you filed carries the employer EIN. Payroll providers store the same number on file.
Proves the employer EIN used for payroll. A payroll EIN and a company EIN are the same number.
Method 5: Check a W-9 the business signed
Line 6 of Form W-9 carries the EIN. Any client who paid the business holds a signed copy.
Proves the number the business gave a client. The signature attests the number is correct.
Method 6: Request a 147C letter from the IRS
The IRS reissues a lost EIN as a 147C verification letter. It releases the number to an authorized person only.
Proves the assignment directly from IRS records. It is the only method that works with no surviving document.
Method 7: Search a public filing when the EIN is not yours
SEC EDGAR publishes the EIN of public companies. IRS Form 990 publishes the EIN of tax-exempt nonprofits.
Proves the EIN of a public company or a nonprofit. It covers no private company.
Source: IRS, verified July 2026.
How do you find your own EIN number?
Check the CP-575 confirmation letter first. It prints the EIN beside the legal name the IRS assigned it to. A filed tax return, a bank application, a W-2, and a signed W-9 each carry the same number.
The IRS issues one CP-575 per EIN and never reprints it. That single document explains why 4 of the 7 methods exist: each one is a copy of the number that survived somewhere else.
| Document | Where the EIN prints | Who holds a copy |
|---|---|---|
| CP-575 letter | Beside the legal name, top block | The business owner |
| Form 1120 or 1065 | Page 1, identification block | The business and its accountant |
| Form 941 | Page 1, employer block | The business and its payroll provider |
| Form W-2 | Box b, employer identification number | Every employee issued one |
| Form W-9 | Line 6, taxpayer identification number | Every client who paid the business |
Source: IRS forms and instructions, verified July 2026.
Read the anatomy of the confirmation document on the EIN confirmation letter page, or work through recovery on the lost EIN number page.
How do you look up another company’s EIN number?
Search SEC EDGAR when the company is publicly traded. EDGAR prints the EIN in the filing header of every 10-K and 10-Q. A private company releases its EIN on a signed Form W-9, line 6.
EDGAR covers public companies because federal securities law requires the filings. It does not cover the private companies that make up most US businesses. No IRS tool searches private EINs by company name, and any site claiming otherwise is reselling scraped filings.
The reliable route for a private company is a direct request. A vendor, a client, or a payment processor asks for a W-9, and line 6 carries the number. See the method detail on the ein search by company name page, or work backwards from a number on the reverse ein lookup page.
How do you look up a nonprofit’s EIN number?
Search the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search. It publishes the EIN of every registered tax-exempt organization. Form 990 prints the same EIN on page 1, and both sources cost $0.
Tax-exempt organizations file Form 990 annually, and the IRS publishes those returns. That publication requirement makes nonprofit EINs the most openly available category. A donor verifying a charity before giving reaches the number in 3 minutes.
Match the EIN to the organization rather than to the brand. Large charities operate several registered entities, and a national body and its local chapter hold separate EINs. The Tax Exempt Organization Search lists each one under its own legal name, so the record you want is the entity that issues the receipt.
Read what the public can and cannot see on the is ein public record page.
Is there a free EIN lookup database?
No single database lists every EIN. SEC EDGAR covers public companies and IRS Form 990 covers tax-exempt nonprofits, both at $0. Private company EINs stay unpublished, and the IRS runs no public search for them.
| Source | Covers | Official | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| SEC EDGAR | Public companies | Yes | $0 |
| IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search | Registered nonprofits | Yes | $0 |
| IRS Form 990 filings | Tax-exempt organizations | Yes | $0 |
| Your own records | Your business | Yes | $0 |
| A public search for private EINs | Nothing, it does not exist | No | Not applicable |
Sources: IRS and SEC, verified July 2026.
Compare the free sources by reliability on the ein lookup free page.
How do you verify an EIN number is valid?
A valid EIN carries 9 digits, printed as 2 digits, a hyphen, then 7 digits. The IRS confirms the pairing of an EIN and a legal name through a 147C letter, and banks check that pairing against the CP-575.
Format alone proves nothing. Verification means matching the number to the exact legal name the IRS holds, character for character. A name that reads LLC on one document and L.L.C. on another fails that match, which is the most common cause of a rejected bank application.
Two documents carry authority for that match. The CP-575 records the pairing at assignment. The 147C records it at the moment the IRS reissues it. Every other document copies one of those two, which is why a bank asks for a CP-575 and accepts no screenshot.
The person making the request matters as much as the document. The IRS releases EIN information to the responsible party or another authorized person, and it verifies that authority first. Read who holds that role on the EIN responsible party page.
Work through the confirmation steps on the verify ein number page, or read what a client needs from you on the ein on w9 form page.
How long does an EIN number lookup take?
A document lookup takes 1 to 5 minutes. A public filing search takes 3 minutes. A 147C letter from the IRS takes days to weeks, because it is the only method that waits on IRS processing.
| Method | Time | Waits on the IRS | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| CP-575 letter | 1 minute | No | $0 |
| Filed tax return | 2 minutes | No | $0 |
| Public filing, EDGAR or Form 990 | 3 minutes | No | $0 |
| Bank file, W-2, or W-9 | 5 minutes | No | $0 |
| 147C letter | Days to weeks | Yes | $0 |
Source: IRS, verified July 2026.
Order the methods by speed rather than by preference. Four of the 5 rows finish inside 5 minutes with no IRS contact, so the 147C belongs last. A deadline changes nothing about that order, because a document already in your files answers faster than any request.
Why does an EIN number lookup fail?
Five causes account for most failed lookups: a transcription error, a legal name that changed, a search for a private company EIN, a number belonging to a different entity, and a business that never received an EIN.
A transcription error in the 9 digits. The digit 0 and the letter O look alike in scanned documents, and so do 1 and 7. Read the number from the CP-575 rather than a photocopy of a photocopy.
The legal name changed after the EIN issued. The EIN stays with the entity through a name change, so the number remains correct while the name on file no longer matches. The IRS records the change on Form 8822-B.
The search targets a private company. No public database lists private company EINs. A search that returns nothing has produced the accurate result, and a signed W-9 is the route instead.
The number belongs to a different entity. A parent company EIN and a subsidiary EIN are separate numbers. A DBA carries no EIN of its own, because the EIN belongs to the legal entity behind it.
The business never received an EIN. A sole proprietor without employees reports under a Social Security Number, so no EIN exists to find. Applying with Form SS-4 creates one, at $0 from the IRS.
The name-match rule causes the failures that look strangest. The IRS matches an EIN against a name control derived from the first 4 characters of the legal name, which is why a comma or an abbreviation changes the result. Read how that works on the IRS name control page, and record a name change on the Form 8822-B page.
What do you do when the EIN cannot be found?
Request a 147C letter. The IRS reissues an assigned EIN through that letter and releases it to an authorized person only. International applicants reach the IRS at 267-941-1099.
The 147C exists because the CP-575 prints once. An authorized person means an owner, a partner, a corporate officer, or a person holding a filed power of attorney. The IRS verifies that authority before releasing the number.
Read the request procedure on the 147C letter page.
What do you do when your situation requires a new EIN?
File Form SS-4. A lookup recovers an existing EIN, and an entity that never received one applies instead. The IRS charges $0, and line 7b accepts the entry Foreign when the responsible party holds no SSN.
A new entity needs its own EIN. A sole proprietorship that incorporates needs a new one. A single-member LLC that adds a second member becomes a partnership and needs a new one. Recovering the old number does not help in any of those cases.
Applying without a Social Security Number
Form SS-4 line 7b accepts the word Foreign, so the IRS issues EINs to responsible parties who hold no SSN and no ITIN. The application moves from the online tool to fax. The IRS fax line is 855-641-6935 for entities based in a US state and 855-215-1627 for international applicants. No identity document is filed with Form SS-4.
Have an SSN? irs.gov is free, and the online tool issues the EIN in 15 minutes.
| Filed by | Price | Written deadline | Year 2+ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Yourself, direct to the IRS | $0 | None | $0 |
| ein-number.com | $99 | 7 business days or 100% automatic refund | $0 |
| Northwest | $200 | None | $0 |
| ZenBusiness | $99 | None | $0 |
Competitor prices verified July 2026. Northwest reflects the no-SSN rate. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding US federal holidays.
The IRS charges $0 for an EIN through every method. The $99 covers preparation, filing within 1 business day of your completed details, IRS monitoring, and a delivery date in writing. You can get your EIN number in 7 business days or file it yourself for nothing.