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✓ US & International Founders ✓ No SSN or ITIN Required ✓ Single Point of Contact ✓ 100% Human-Reviewed Filings

Apply for Your Federal EIN, Whether You Live in the US or Not

A federal tax ID application should take minutes. For most US founders, it does. For international owners of US companies, the process is a different one entirely, and one wrong detail can turn a same-day approval into a months-long wait. We handle both versions, correctly, the first time, through one dedicated specialist.

Get My Federal EIN See Which Path Applies to Me
Founder completing a federal tax ID application on a laptop
One specialist. One filing. No SSN required.
$0 Filing Fee
What the IRS itself charges for an EIN
Minutes vs. Months
Gap between the US and international paths
Any Country
Foreign ownership never disqualifies you
1:1 Support
One specialist, start to finish
Quick Answer

How to Apply for an EIN

To apply for a federal EIN, you generally need to: (1) confirm you actually need one (most LLCs, corporations, partnerships, and any business hiring employees or opening a US bank account do), (2) identify your responsible party, which must be a named individual, never the business itself, (3) complete the application through the correct channel for your situation, which differs sharply depending on whether you hold a US Social Security Number or ITIN, and (4) receive your confirmation, instantly if you're eligible for the online process, or after a longer wait if you're not. Register for an EIN and it's free directly from the IRS, at any entry point. Where founders actually get stuck is step three, and it depends almost entirely on one question: do you have a US SSN or ITIN, or not. Use the path finder below to see exactly where you stand.

Reviewed by the Simple Consulting Services Compliance & Business Formation Team. Published August 30, 2026. Every process and eligibility rule below is verified against IRS.gov at the time of publication.
Let's Get This Out of the Way

Getting an EIN Is Free. Here's Why People Still Pay Us.

The IRS will never charge you for an EIN, through any application method, and you should be skeptical of any site that looks like a government portal and asks for a fee before telling you otherwise. We're not the IRS, we don't pretend to be, and we'll say so plainly: a federal tax ID application is always available to you directly at IRS.gov, at no cost.

What you're paying us for isn't the number. It's everything around it: getting your responsible party field right the first time (the single most common cause of rejection), knowing exactly which channel applies to your situation when you don't have an SSN or ITIN, and having one person to call instead of an IRS helpline. For international founders in particular, that difference is the gap between a same-week approval and a months-long wait spent wondering if your application ever arrived.

The Basics

What Is an EIN, and Do You Actually Need One?

An Employer Identification Number (EIN) is the nine-digit federal tax ID the IRS assigns to a business, similar in function to a Social Security Number, but for a company instead of a person. It's what banks, payroll providers, and the IRS use to identify your business on tax filings, bank accounts, and employment records.

You need an EIN if any of the following apply to you:

  • You've formed an LLC, corporation, or partnership, even with no employees
  • You plan to open a US business bank account
  • You plan to hire employees
  • You're a foreign-owned single-member LLC, required regardless of activity
  • Your business files excise, alcohol, tobacco, or firearms tax returns
  • You want to keep your Social Security Number off business paperwork and vendor forms
Stacks of business paperwork and federal tax forms on a desk

Can I just use my Social Security Number instead?

A US sole proprietor with no employees is one of the few cases where an EIN is optional rather than required. Nearly everyone else, including every single-member LLC that's foreign-owned, needs one regardless of revenue or activity.

Clearing Up the Confusion

Employer Identification Number vs. Taxpayer Identification Number: What's the Difference?

A Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) is the umbrella term, and an EIN is one specific type of TIN. Put plainly, every EIN is a TIN, but not every TIN is an EIN.

The five types of TIN the IRS recognizes
Type of TINWho it identifies
SSN (Social Security Number)Individuals, issued by the Social Security Administration
EIN (Employer Identification Number)Businesses, estates, and trusts
ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number)Individuals who need a federal tax number but don't qualify for an SSN, commonly non-resident and resident aliens
ATIN (Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number)Children in a pending US adoption, before an SSN is issued
PTIN (Preparer Taxpayer Identification Number)Paid tax return preparers

So, is an EIN the same as a taxpayer ID? Functionally, for a business, yes, your EIN is your business's taxpayer ID number. But "taxpayer ID" is a broader term that can also mean an SSN or ITIN when a form is asking about an individual rather than a company. When a bank, vendor, or W-9 form asks for your "Tax ID" or "TIN" on behalf of a company, your EIN is almost always the correct number to enter.

Find Your Path in Two Questions

Which EIN Process Applies to You?

Answer two quick questions and we'll tell you exactly what your situation needs, then connect you with the right next step.

Is your business already formed in the United States?

You Qualify for the Standard Path

You're eligible for the IRS's fastest application route. Most founders in your position still bring us in anyway, so your EIN, LLC paperwork, and bank-account setup are handled by one specialist instead of three separate logins, with the responsible-party details checked before anything is submitted.

Have Us File It For You

You're in Our Specialist Group: International Founders

Foreign ownership never disqualifies you from getting an EIN, but the standard online process will not accept your application, no matter how carefully you complete it. This is exactly the situation our international EIN service exists for. We handle the correct filing channel and the responsible-party rules that trip up most self-filed applications.

Get My International EIN Filed

Let's Start With Formation

Your EIN application depends on how and where your business is formed, so that comes first. Our Launchpad plan bundles your US LLC or corporation formation, your federal EIN, whichever path applies, and your first bookkeeping setup into a single engagement, so you're not repeating the same paperwork with three different vendors.

Start My Business the Right Way
Two Very Different Applications

US Founders and International Owners Face Two Different Processes

Almost every EIN guide online is written for one audience and treats the other as a footnote. We built this service around the fact that these are genuinely two different processes with two different sets of risks.

US-Based Founders

On Paper, the Simple Path

Your business is formed in the US, your principal place of business is in the US, and you personally hold a Social Security Number or ITIN. In theory, this is a same-day process. In practice, this is exactly where founders forming a new LLC or corporation get their responsible party, entity classification, or timing wrong, mistakes that don't surface until a bank or the IRS flags them months later.

We prepare and file this correctly, and fold it into your LLC formation and bookkeeping setup, so you're not sorting through a government form in the middle of launching a business.

Have Us File It For You
Founder reviewing and signing federal tax paperwork
International Founders

A Genuinely Different Process, Not a Workaround

You own or are forming a US LLC or corporation, but you're not a US citizen or resident and don't hold a Social Security Number or ITIN. You are fully entitled to get an EIN, foreign ownership does not disqualify you, but the standard online system will not accept your application under any circumstances.

The alternate process uses a different channel entirely and hinges on a small number of details, most importantly who is listed as the responsible party. Get that wrong, and instead of an EIN you get a rejection notice weeks later, with the clock starting over. This is our specialty, and it's where we save international clients the most time.

Get My International EIN Filed
World map representing an international founder applying for a US EIN

Not sure which one is you?

Take the 10-second path finder above, or just tell us your situation directly and we'll confirm it in one message.

Talk to a Specialist
Straight Answer

What Is the "IRS EIN Assistant," and Should You Use It Yourself?

The EIN Assistant is the actual name of the IRS's own free online application tool, available directly at IRS.gov. It's not a product, and it's not something any third party, including us, owns or operates. It's built for a narrow eligibility window:

  • Your business was formed in the United States or a US territory
  • Your principal place of business is in the US or a US territory
  • You, personally, are the responsible party or its authorized representative
  • You already hold a US Social Security Number or ITIN

If you meet every condition above, you can technically use it yourself, at no cost. Most founders in that position still bring us in anyway, so their EIN is handled alongside their LLC formation and bookkeeping setup by one specialist instead of a separate government login squeezed into a launch week.

If you don't meet even one condition

Most commonly the SSN or ITIN requirement, the EIN Assistant will not process your application at all, no matter how the form is completed. That's not a workaround waiting to be found; it's a hard eligibility rule. That's the exact situation our service exists for.

Budgeting for It

How Much Does an EIN Cost, and How Long Does It Take?

The number itself never costs anything. What drives the real-world timeline is whether the responsible party has a US SSN or ITIN, and whether the application is completed correctly on the first attempt.

Realistic cost and timeline by scenario (2026)
ScenarioCostRealistic Timeline
DIY, online, US applicant with SSN/ITIN$0Same session
DIY, alternate channel, no SSN/ITIN$0Several weeks to a few months
Handled for you, US applicantFixed quote1 to 4 business days
Handled for you, international applicantFixed quoteFiled correctly the first time

A single rejected international application, resubmitted the wrong way because the correct channel wasn't clear, can easily turn a weeks-long process into a several-months-long one. We quote a fixed price before we start, based on your SSN/ITIN status and how many entities are involved.

Avoid the Wait

Why EIN Applications Get Rejected Instead of Approved

The IRS doesn't simply say "no." It returns a reference number instead of an EIN, and each one flags a specific problem. Tap a code to see what it usually means.

Reference Number 101

Usually a name conflict or duplicate application, frequently tied to how the responsible party's name was entered relative to existing IRS records.

Reference Number 102

The responsible party's name doesn't match IRS records for their SSN or ITIN.

Reference Number 104

The third-party designee's address or phone number matches the business's own contact details instead of the designee's own.

Reference Number 105

Too many applications were submitted in a short window using the same SSN, ITIN, or existing EIN.

Reference Number 114

The responsible party has already been issued an EIN that same day, hitting the one-per-day limit.

Rejected for listing the LLC as the responsible party

By far the most common issue for international applicants. The IRS requires a named individual in that field, never the entity itself.

Got a reference number instead of an EIN?

Send us the number you received and we'll tell you exactly what went wrong, then refile it correctly instead of guessing and waiting out another rejection.

Get This Fixed
Already Have One?

How to Verify or Retrieve an EIN You Already Have

There's no public database to "look up" a private company's EIN the way you might verify a domain registration. If you need to verify a business EIN, confirm your own, or replace a lost confirmation letter, here's what actually exists:

  • Your original confirmation notice (CP 575), issued the moment your EIN was approved. It's the only original the IRS sends.
  • Prior tax filings, bank documents, or loan applications, all of which list your EIN.
  • An EIN Verification Letter (Form 147C), available from the IRS if you can't locate either of the above, sent to the responsible party or an authorized representative. It's never emailed.
  • A completed Form W-9 is the correct way to confirm another company's EIN; there's no public lookup tool for someone else's business.

Lost your documentation, or not sure what's on file?

We can request and manage this process on your behalf as part of any engagement, so you're not the one on hold with the IRS.

Help Me Verify My EIN
Our EIN Application Service

One Filing, Correctly Prepared, By a Human, Not a Portal

Most EIN services stop at submitting a form. Because Simple Consulting Services runs Legal & Compliance, Finance & Tax, and Technology under one roof, your EIN doesn't have to be a standalone errand. It slots directly into whichever stage of the business you're at, prepared and filed by your own dedicated specialist, never an automated queue.

Simple Consulting Services specialist agreeing to handle a client's EIN application

Legal & Compliance

Responsible-party review, entity classification, and correct-channel filing for your exact situation.

Built for International Founders

The no-SSN process handled as a specialty, not an afterthought.

Single Point of Contact

One dedicated specialist manages your EIN, your formation, and your bookkeeping setup.

100% Human-Crafted

Every application is prepared and reviewed by our own compliance specialists, never auto-generated.

EIN Only

For an already-formed business that just needs its federal tax ID handled correctly

  • Responsible-party review to prevent rejection
  • Application prepared and filed through the correct channel for your situation
  • International/no-SSN filings handled as a specialty
  • Confirmation letter delivered and stored for your records

Launchpad Bundle

For pre-launch founders, including international founders entering the US market

  • US LLC or corporation formation
  • Federal EIN application, US or international path
  • Initial bookkeeping setup (QuickBooks/Xero) so you're bank-account-ready from day one
  • One specialist across all three, instead of three separate vendors

Growth Engine / Executive Ecosystem Add-On

For existing businesses adding entities, opening new bank accounts, or cleaning up compliance

  • Additional EINs for new entities or subsidiaries
  • Coordination with your ongoing bookkeeping and tax prep
  • Dedicated account manager already assigned to your business

Pricing

Every quote is fixed before we start, based on whether you have a US SSN/ITIN and how many entities are involved. Tell us your situation and we'll confirm your exact path and price before any work begins.

Get My Federal EIN Call (929) 924-9287
FAQ

A Few More Questions

Most common questions are answered in the sections above. Here are a few more.

Do I need an EIN if I'm the only owner and don't have employees?

If you're a US sole proprietor with no employees, an EIN is optional; you can generally use your SSN instead. That exception disappears the moment you form an LLC or corporation, hire anyone, or are a foreign-owned single-member LLC, in which case an EIN is required regardless of activity or revenue.

Is an EIN the same as a taxpayer ID number?

For a business, yes, your EIN functions as your taxpayer ID. "Taxpayer ID" is a broader term that can also mean an SSN or ITIN when the form is asking about an individual rather than a company.

What's the actual difference between an EIN and a TIN?

A TIN (Taxpayer Identification Number) is the umbrella category. An EIN is one of five specific types of TIN, the one used for businesses, estates, and trusts. Every EIN is a TIN; not every TIN is an EIN.

What is the IRS EIN Assistant, exactly?

It's the IRS's own free online application tool at IRS.gov. It's only available to applicants with a US SSN or ITIN whose business is formed in the US. It is not a paid product, and no third party, including us, operates it.

Can I get an EIN without a Social Security Number?

Yes. Foreign ownership doesn't disqualify you, but it does mean the IRS's online tool will not accept your application no matter how it's filled in. You'll need a different version of the same federal process, filed through a different channel, with specific requirements around who can be listed as the responsible party. This is exactly the situation our international EIN service exists for.

How long does it really take if I'm not a US resident?

Plan on several weeks at minimum, and it can stretch to a few months depending on current IRS processing volume. This is significantly longer than the same-day process available to SSN/ITIN holders, which is exactly why getting the application right on the first attempt matters so much for international founders.

If getting an EIN is free, why would I pay for this?

Because the number is free, but getting it right on the first attempt isn't guaranteed. We handle the responsible-party rules, the correct filing channel for your situation, and rejection-proofing the application, especially for international founders where a single mistake can add months to the timeline.

My application came back with a reference number instead of an EIN. What happened?

The IRS uses reference numbers to flag a specific problem instead of a plain rejection, commonly a name mismatch, a duplicate filing, or, for international applicants, listing the company itself instead of a person as the responsible party. Send us the reference number you received and we'll tell you exactly what it means and refile it correctly.

How do I verify an EIN or get a copy if I lost my confirmation letter?

There's no public lookup tool for a private company's EIN. You can check your original CP 575 confirmation notice, review past tax filings or bank paperwork, or have us request an EIN Verification Letter (Form 147C) on your behalf.

Can I apply for an EIN before my LLC is officially approved by the state?

It's possible in some cases, but it's not recommended. Using formation details that later change, such as your business name or structure, can create a mismatch that complicates matters down the line. We generally file the EIN once your formation is confirmed, as part of the same engagement.

Do I need a new EIN if I change my business name or structure?

A name change alone usually doesn't require a new EIN. Changing your entity type, for example sole proprietorship to LLC, or LLC to corporation, generally does. We can confirm which applies to your specific change.

Why Business Owners Trust Us

With the IRS, You Want a Human Double-Checking the Form

Human Specialists, Not Software
Every application is prepared and reviewed by our own compliance team, never auto-generated, never outsourced to an anonymous queue.
One Point of Contact
The same specialist handles your EIN, your formation, and your bookkeeping setup, not a different vendor for each piece.
Built for International Founders
Most competitors treat the no-SSN process as an afterthought. We built our workflow around it.
A note on scope: Simple Consulting Services provides administrative support, compliance management, and strategic planning around federal EIN applications and business formation. We are not the IRS, are not affiliated with the IRS, and do not provide formal legal counsel or certified CPA advice. An EIN is always available directly from the IRS at no cost; our fee is for preparation, filing, and specialist support, particularly for international and no-SSN applications. This page is for general informational purposes and shouldn't be relied on as legal or tax advice for your specific situation.

Ready to Get Your EIN Handled Correctly?

Tell us whether you have a US SSN or ITIN and we'll confirm your exact path, give you a fixed quote, and file it through the correct channel, so you're not the one finding out about a rejection notice weeks from now.

Get My Federal EIN Call (929) 924-9287