On this page · 4 sections
| Route | The IRS's figure | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Online | Immediate | Needs the responsible party's SSN or ITIN |
| Fax | About 4 business days with a return fax number | The number is often assigned before the letter arrives |
| Phone, international line | During the call | The caller must be authorised to sign the form, or a designee named on it |
| Post | About 4 weeks | The slowest route |
With the expedited EIN, $199 on any plan, we use the direct route. Our estimate is two to three weeks. Only a successful call to the phone line is faster, and that line can be hard to reach.
The IRS assigns the EIN when it processes the form. The CP 575 letter confirming it is printed and posted afterwards to the mailing address on the form, and international post adds its own delay. On the fax route the IRS faxes the number back. On the phone route you get the number during the call and the letter follows. So a company can have a working EIN weeks before the letter arrives.
- The spring filing season, from January to April, when IRS queues are longest.
- US federal holidays, and the days around them.
- A form with an error: a missing signature, a name that doesn't match the state's record, or a duplicate application.
- A second application sent because the first seemed slow. It can produce a second number and months of letters to cancel it.
- Sign the operating agreement, which doesn't need the EIN.
- Prepare the bank application: passport scans, proof of address, a description of the business and a website.
- Set up invoicing and bookkeeping, which can start without the number.
Sources
Checked by Saais Patel against these official pages.
Next in EIN and tax:CP 575 and 147C: the two letters that prove your EIN, and how to get the second one