Is a FEI number the same as an EIN?
Yes, identical. FEI is Florida DOR shorthand for the federal EIN issued by the IRS on Form SS-4. FEIN adds "Number" to the same acronym. All 3 labels, FEI, FEIN and EIN, describe the same 9-digit identifier printed in 2-7 format. No state issues a different federal number.
The confusion is a labeling accident. When Florida built its DOR forms in the 1980s, it called the field FEI, short for Federal Employer Identification Number. Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, and Iowa followed with FEIN. The IRS itself has always used EIN on Form SS-4 and CP-575. Nothing about the underlying number differs across labels.
Which states use FEI or FEIN on their forms?
Seven state agencies use FEI or FEIN language. Florida DOR uses FEI on sales tax forms, including Form DR-1 and Form DR-15. Alabama, Missouri, Illinois, Georgia, Tennessee, and Iowa use FEIN on entity registration and annual reports. The other 43 states use "federal EIN" or "employer identification number." All 50 accept the same IRS number.
| State | Label | Where to find |
|---|---|---|
| Florida | FEI or FEIN | Florida Sunbiz records; DOR sales tax certificate line 4 |
| Alabama | FEIN | Alabama SOS entity records; Business Privilege Tax return |
| Missouri | FEIN | Missouri SOS registered agent lookup |
| Illinois | FEIN | Illinois SOS Cyberdrive corporation lookup |
| Georgia | FEIN | Georgia SOS business search |
| Tennessee | FEIN | Tennessee SOS business information search |
| Iowa | FEIN | Iowa SOS business entities search |
How do you look up a Florida FEI number?
Two routes. Sunbiz.org business entity search returns the FEI on the annual report when the entity has filed one. The Florida DOR sales tax certificate prints FEI on line 4. Sunbiz search is $0. Older records predating electronic annual reports often leave the field blank.
The Sunbiz annual report deadline is May 1, and the Florida LLC annual report fee is $138.75 under Florida Statutes Chapter 605. A Florida corporation pays $150 on the same date, and a limited partnership pays $500. Missing the deadline adds a late penalty and, if it stays unfiled, costs the entity its active status. Florida administratively dissolves a delinquent entity after the 4th month, and a dissolved entity stops refreshing its FEI field, which is why a lookup can return a number that no longer matches the IRS record. Reinstatement costs $100 for an LLC on top of the report fee.
Sunbiz workflow: go to sunbiz.org → Search Records → Entity Name → enter the legal name. The results page returns the document number and status. Click into the entity and scroll to the most recent annual report (Rev. 2020 or later). The FEI is printed under the Principal Address block. If blank, the entity has not filed an annual report since 2000.
Which documents print the FEI number?
The same 9 digits appear on IRS and Florida paperwork under 3 labels. Knowing which document prints it saves a 147C request: the number is already on a form the entity filed or received, in the 2-7 format the IRS assigns.
On the IRS side, CP-575 carries it in the header as the original assignment notice, and Letter 147C restates it when the CP-575 is lost. Form 1120 and Form 1065 print it on page 1 beside the legal name. Form 941 carries it on each of the 4 quarterly employment filings, Form 940 on the annual one, Form 944 on the small-employer alternative, and Form W-2 shows an employer’s copy in box b. Form W-9 records it in the Part I TIN box when a client requests it, and Form 8832 or Form 2553 carries it on a classification election.
On the Florida side, the Sunbiz annual report shows it in the FEI/EIN Number field, and the DOR sales tax certificate prints it on line 4. Both are secondhand: they show what the entity reported to Florida, not what sits on the IRS Master File under 26 U.S.C. 6109. Where the 2 disagree the IRS record governs, and Form 8822-B is the instrument that corrects the name attached to the number, filed within 60 days of a responsible-party change.
How do you verify an FEI number is real?
Three paths, and only 1 is authoritative. IRS Letter 147C is issued by the IRS at $0, released only to the authorized responsible party, and is faxed during the call on request, otherwise mailed. A Sunbiz cross-check is $0 but reflects what the entity last filed with Florida, not what the IRS holds. Commercial databases charge per query and carry the same secondhand limitation. The IRS runs no public verification tool.
Every non-IRS source shares 1 weakness: it reports a number somebody else keyed in, so a state transcription error or a stale annual report propagates unchallenged. Cross-checking 2 or 3 commercial databases raises confidence and never reaches certainty, because none of them reads the IRS Master File. Letter 147C is the only route that does, under 26 U.S.C. § 6109.
Read the verification playbook at verify EIN number and the free lookup limits at free EIN lookup.
What if the FEI does not match your CP-575?
Three causes. 1: a business name changed with the state but never updated at the IRS. 2: a transcription error when the number was keyed into a state form. 3: two EINs assigned to one entity in error. Fix a name mismatch with Form 8822-B at the IRS; correct the state side through the SOS annual report.
A single digit off between Sunbiz and CP-575 points to a mistype on the state side rather than a misissue by the IRS. Compare against the accountant's copy of Form 1120 or Form 1065; the tax return copy is the authoritative record. If 2 EINs exist for the same entity, close the duplicate via written request to the IRS.
Read the name-change workflow at change business name with IRS and the address-update workflow at Form 8822-B.