What is an EIN confirmation letter?
An EIN confirmation letter is the IRS document that proves a 9-digit EIN belongs to a named business. The CP-575 records the assignment, and the 147C confirms it afterwards. The IRS charges $0 for both.
The letter exists because an EIN by itself proves nothing. Nine digits typed into a form carry no evidence that the IRS assigned them, or that they belong to the entity signing the application. The confirmation letter supplies the missing half: it ties the number to an exact legal name held in IRS records.
That pairing is the whole product. A bank compliance officer is not checking whether the number looks valid. They are checking whether the number and the name on the account application came from the same IRS record. One document answers that question, and a screenshot of an online confirmation screen does not.
The IRS generates the CP-575 at the moment the EIN is assigned. It carries a notice date, the 9-digit number, the legal name from Form SS-4 line 1, and the return the IRS expects the entity to file. Read the document field by field on the cp 575 page.
Source: IRS, verified July 2026.
What does an EIN confirmation letter look like?
A CP-575 is one page. It prints 8 identifying fields: the 9-digit EIN, the legal name, the trade name, the mailing address, the notice number, the notice date, the expected return, and a tear-off stub.
The layout is fixed. The notice number and the notice date sit on the header line. The EIN sits in the top right block in the 2-digit, hyphen, 7-digit format. The addressee block below it repeats the legal name and address exactly as they were entered on Form SS-4.
| Field | Where it prints | What a bank does with it |
|---|---|---|
| The 9-digit EIN | Top right block, printed as 2 digits, a hyphen, then 7 digits | The number the bank keys into its verification screen. |
| The legal name | Addressee block, copied from Form SS-4 line 1 | Matched character for character against the account application. |
| The trade name or DBA | Second addressee line, copied from Form SS-4 line 2 | Ignored for the match. The EIN belongs to the legal name only. |
| The mailing address | Addressee block, copied from Form SS-4 lines 4a and 4b | Compared against the address on the formation document. |
| The notice number, CP 575 | Header line, beside the notice date | Identifies the document as the original assignment notice. |
| The notice date | Header line, right of the notice number | Shows the EIN existed before the account application. |
| The form the IRS expects | Body paragraph, naming the return the entity files | Reveals the tax classification the IRS recorded. |
| The tear-off stub | Bottom third of the page, repeating the EIN and legal name | Returned to the IRS when a printed detail is wrong. |
Source: IRS notice CP 575 and Form SS-4 instructions, verified July 2026.
Two of those 8 fields decide most outcomes. The legal name governs the match, and the trade name is ignored during it. A business trading under a DBA that never appeared on Form SS-4 line 1 supplies the registered legal name to the bank, not the brand on the storefront.
What is the difference between a CP-575 and an EIN verification letter?
The CP-575 is issued once, automatically, when the EIN is assigned. The 147C EIN verification letter is issued on request, any number of times, after that. Both state the same 9 digits and cost $0.
The distinction is timing, not authority. Institutions treat the two as equivalent proof because both are printed from the same IRS record. A business formed years ago that has moved offices twice has no CP-575 in a drawer, and the 147C is the document it produces instead.
| Attribute | CP-575 | 147C verification letter |
|---|---|---|
| When it is issued | At assignment, automatically | On request, at any later time |
| How many times | Once per EIN, never reprinted | No limit |
| Who requests it | Nobody, the IRS sends it | An authorized person |
| IRS cost | $0 | $0 |
| Delivery | Mail, to the Form SS-4 address | Mail or fax |
| Accepted by banks | Yes | Yes |
| States the 9-digit EIN | Yes | Yes |
| States the legal name | Yes | Yes |
| Replaces the other document | No | Yes |
Source: IRS, verified July 2026.
One row on that table changes behaviour more than the rest. The CP-575 is printed once, so it is worth storing as a scan the day it arrives. The 9-digit number itself is the part that never changes, and the 147c letter exists precisely because paper does not survive as long as an EIN does.
How do you get a copy of your EIN confirmation letter?
Request a 147C letter from the IRS. The IRS releases it to an authorized person only and confirms that authority first. International applicants reach the IRS at 267-941-1099. The letter arrives by mail or fax at $0.
The request runs faster when the 9-digit number is already in hand. The IRS uses the EIN to locate the record, and a caller who cannot state it turns a confirmation request into a search. Recover the number first from any surviving document.
Step 1: Recover the 9-digit number from a record you hold
A filed Form 1120, 1065, or 941 prints the EIN on page 1. Box b of every W-2 you issued carries it. Line 6 of a signed Form W-9 carries it, and every client you invoiced holds a copy.
Step 2: Confirm you are an authorized person
The IRS releases EIN information to a sole owner, a partner, a corporate officer, a trustee, or a person holding a filed power of attorney. It verifies that role before it reads the number back.
Step 3: Contact the IRS and ask for a 147C
Ask for the letter by name. International applicants reach the IRS at 267-941-1099. The IRS charges $0 and issues the letter by mail or by fax to the requester.
Step 4: Store the letter as a scan the day it arrives
The 147C can be requested again, and the CP-575 cannot. A stored scan answers every future request from your own files, with no second call to the IRS and no wait.
Recovering the number and recovering the document are separate jobs. Work through the number itself on the lost ein number page, and compare every retrieval route on the EIN number lookup page.
Who asks for an EIN confirmation letter?
Banks, payment processors, payroll providers, online marketplaces, state licensing offices, and accountants ask for it. Each one is verifying the same thing: that the 9-digit EIN and the legal name came from one IRS record.
A bank asks at account opening, because federal customer identification rules require the institution to verify the entity behind the account. A payment processor asks before it releases payouts, since the EIN it reports on a year-end information return has to match IRS records. A payroll provider asks before it files a Form 941 in the employer name.
The pattern holds across all of them. Nobody is verifying the business. They are verifying the pairing. That is why an unhelpful answer such as a photograph of a laptop screen fails at every one of these checkpoints, while a 1-page letter from the IRS passes at each.
A client asking for the number rather than the document wants a Form W-9 instead, with the EIN on line 6. Read that request on the ein on w9 form page.
How long does an EIN confirmation letter take to arrive?
The CP-575 follows the application method. An online application issues the EIN in 15 minutes, a faxed Form SS-4 returns it in 4 business days, and a mailed application runs 4 weeks. A 147C takes days to weeks.
| Route | EIN issued | Letter received | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| IRS online tool, SSN or ITIN required | 15 minutes | CP-575 by mail | $0 |
| Fax Form SS-4 to the IRS | 4 business days | CP-575 by mail | $0 |
| Mail Form SS-4 to the IRS | 4 weeks | CP-575 by mail | $0 |
| Request a 147C for an existing EIN | Already assigned | Days to weeks | $0 |
| ein-number.com files it for you | 7 business days, in writing | EIN and CP-575 | $99 |
Source: IRS, verified July 2026. Business days are Monday to Friday, excluding US federal holidays.
The EIN and the letter arrive on different clocks. An online applicant holds a usable 9-digit number after 15 minutes while the printed CP-575 is still in the mail. A bank that insists on the document rather than the number is waiting on the second clock, not the first.
Our own commitment covers the first clock and the document together: filed within 1 business day of your completed details, tracked through 4 stages, and delivered in 7 business days or refunded in full automatically.
Why does a bank reject an EIN confirmation letter?
Five causes account for most rejections: a legal name mismatch, a stale address, a DBA presented as the legal name, a screenshot in place of the letter, and a letter belonging to a different entity in the same group.
The legal name does not match character for character. The IRS matches an EIN against a name control built from the first 4 characters of the legal name. A name reading LLC on one document and L.L.C. on another fails that match.
The address on the letter is years out of date. The CP-575 prints the Form SS-4 address and never updates. Form 8822-B records the current address with the IRS, and a fresh 147C then prints it.
A DBA is presented as the legal name. The EIN belongs to the legal entity, not the trade name. Form SS-4 line 2 records a DBA, and it carries no weight in the name match a bank performs.
A screenshot stands in for the letter. An online confirmation screen is not an IRS notice. The IRS issues exactly 2 documents that confirm an EIN, the CP-575 and the 147C, and an image of a screen is neither of them.
The letter belongs to a related but different entity. A parent company and a subsidiary hold 2 separate EINs. A holding company letter fails when the account is opened in the operating company name.
Four of those 5 causes trace back to one rule: the IRS holds one exact legal name for each EIN, and every institution checks against that name rather than against the business as you describe it. Fixing the record fixes all four.
What do you do when a detail on the letter is wrong?
File Form 8822-B. It corrects the business name, the mailing address, and the responsible party the IRS holds. The IRS requires notice of a responsible party change within 60 days. The EIN stays the same, at $0.
A wrong detail is a record problem, not a number problem. The 9-digit EIN survives a name change, an address change, and a change of the person answering for the entity. Nothing about those events creates a second EIN.
| What is wrong | The fix | Same EIN | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| The legal name changed | Form 8822-B, then request a 147C | Yes | $0 |
| The mailing address changed | Form 8822-B | Yes | $0 |
| The responsible party changed | Form 8822-B, within 60 days | Yes | $0 |
| A typo the IRS introduced | Return the tear-off stub with the correction | Yes | $0 |
| The entity type itself changed | A new Form SS-4 application | No | $0 |
Source: IRS Form 8822-B instructions and Form SS-4 instructions, verified July 2026.
Only the last row breaks the pattern. A change of entity type creates a new taxpayer in IRS terms, and a new taxpayer needs its own EIN and its own CP-575. Read the line-by-line filing on the Form 8822-B page.
How do you get an EIN confirmation letter without an SSN?
Form SS-4 line 7b accepts the entry Foreign, so the IRS assigns the EIN and issues the CP-575 to a responsible party holding no SSN. The application moves from the online tool to fax, at $0.
The online tool is the only route that requires an SSN or an ITIN. Every other route accepts Foreign on line 7b, and the letter that follows is identical. No identity document is filed with Form SS-4, and no passport upload is part of the process at any stage.
| Your situation | The honest route | Time | Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
| You have an SSN | irs.gov, the online tool | 15 minutes | Free |
| You have no SSN | The fax route yourself, or we file it | 7 business days, in writing | $0 or $99 |
Source: IRS Form SS-4 instructions, verified July 2026.
Have an SSN? irs.gov is free, and the online tool issues the EIN in 15 minutes. No SSN? The fax route works, or we file it for $99 with a 7-business-day deadline in writing.
The fax route, in detail
The IRS fax line is 855-641-6935 for entities based in a US state and 855-215-1627 for international applicants. Line 7b takes the word Foreign. Line 9a records the entity type, and line 10 records the reason for applying. The IRS returns the 9-digit EIN, and the CP-575 follows by mail to the address on lines 4a and 4b.
A non-resident who needs the letter later requests a 147C the same way any other business does. The IRS international line is 267-941-1099, and it releases the letter to an authorized person at $0.
What do you do when your situation requires a new EIN?
File Form SS-4. A confirmation letter proves an EIN that already exists, and an entity that never held one applies instead. The IRS charges $0, and line 7b accepts Foreign when the responsible party holds no SSN.
A new entity needs its own number and its own CP-575. A sole proprietorship that incorporates needs one. A single-member LLC that adds a second member becomes a partnership and needs one. In each case there is no old letter to recover, because there was never an old EIN.
| 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 |
| Rocket Lawyer | $59.99 | 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 route, and an EIN never renews, so year 2 and every year after cost $0 as well. The $99 covers preparation, filing within 1 business day of your completed details, IRS monitoring across 4 tracked stages, and a delivery date in writing. You can use the guaranteed EIN filing service or file it yourself for nothing.