You cannot download an EIN letter from the IRS online. The IRS does not offer a portal for retrieving or reissuing your EIN confirmation, and the Business Tax Account does not currently include this function.1Internal Revenue Service. Business Tax Account The fastest way to get a replacement is to call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933 and ask for Letter 147C, which serves the same purpose as the original CP 575 notice and can be faxed to you during the call.2Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
CP 575 vs. Letter 147C
The CP 575 is the notice the IRS issued when your EIN was first assigned. It confirms the number, the entity’s legal name, its filing address, and which federal returns the entity must file. It’s generated only once. If you applied online, it appeared as a PDF at the end of the session. If you applied by fax or mail, the IRS sent it back through the same channel.3Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
Once the CP 575 is lost, damaged, or deleted, the IRS will not reissue it. The replacement is Letter 147C. Banks, state licensing offices, payment processors, and other institutions that ask for proof of your EIN accept Letter 147C the same way they accept the original CP 575.2Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number So when someone tells you they need “your IRS EIN letter” and you don’t have the CP 575 anymore, 147C is the document you’re after.
What to Have Ready Before You Call
The representative will verify your identity before releasing anything, and the wrong answer to any of these can end the call without a letter. Pull these together first:
- The legal entity name exactly as it appeared on your original Form SS-4. If the business name has since changed, the IRS still matches against the original.
- The EIN itself. Even though you’re calling for confirmation, the nine-digit number lets the representative pull the account quickly.
- The mailing address currently on file with the IRS. If you’ve moved and haven’t updated it, verification will fail.
- The name and title of the authorized person on the call, typically listed as president, managing member, sole proprietor, or the designated responsible party.
- A brief reason for the request, such as opening a bank account or replacing a lost notice. Nothing elaborate.
The address mismatch is the single most common reason 147C requests fail. If your records don’t match what the IRS has, you’ll need to fix that first, and doing so takes weeks.
Requesting Letter 147C by Phone
Call 1-800-829-4933 Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in your local time zone. Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time.4Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers Once you’re through, provide the verification details, and the representative will ask how you want the letter delivered.
Choose fax. Faxed letters typically arrive within minutes of the call or the same business day. If you choose mail, plan on roughly four to six weeks, and know that the letter will only go to the address currently on file. There is no way to redirect it to a different location without updating your records first.
If you don’t have a physical fax machine, an online fax service works. Some virtual fax providers deliver incoming faxes as PDFs to your email, which effectively gives you a same-day electronic copy of the letter even though the IRS never sent anything by email.
Requesting Letter 147C by Fax or Mail
If calling isn’t practical, you can submit the request in writing. The letter should include all five verification items, be signed by someone authorized to act for the entity, and explicitly ask for Letter 147C. Date it.
The catch is figuring out where to send it. The IRS does not publish a single national fax number for 147C requests. Correspondence is handled by regional service centers, and the right fax number depends on the state where the business is located. Calling 1-800-829-4933 to ask for the correct fax number is often the easiest way to find it, which somewhat undermines the point of avoiding the phone. The mailing address for your region is listed in the instructions for your most recent business tax return.
Written requests sent by mail follow the same four-to-six-week timeline as any physical IRS correspondence. Fax is faster but still slower than calling and having the letter faxed back to you while you’re on the line.
Fix Your Address or Responsible Party First
Two situations will block your 147C request: the IRS has an old address on file, or the person listed as the responsible party has changed. Either one causes verification to fail.
The fix is Form 8822-B (Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business). Any entity with an EIN is required to report a change in its responsible party within 60 days of the change.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business If ownership or leadership changed and you never filed the form, you’re both overdue on that reporting requirement and unable to get a 147C until it’s resolved.
Processing Form 8822-B generally takes four to six weeks.5Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B Change of Address or Responsible Party — Business Once it’s processed, you can call for Letter 147C and the IRS will recognize the corrected information. If your records are out of date and you need the letter urgently, you’re realistically looking at a six-week minimum before the 147C process can even begin. Keep Form 8822-B current and this problem doesn’t happen.
Having a Representative Call for You
If a tax professional, attorney, or other representative will make the call on your behalf, the IRS needs a valid Form 2848 (Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative) already on file. Your representative should describe the matter on Line 3 or use the “Other acts authorized” field on Line 5a to specify authorization to request EIN verification.6Internal Revenue Service. Form 2848 Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative
The 2848 must be on record before the call. If your representative calls without one, the IRS won’t discuss the account. Processing power of attorney can take a few weeks by mail, so file it early if you know someone else will handle this.
International Businesses
If your business is based outside the United States, the process is the same, but the phone number is different. International applicants who obtained their EIN by calling 267-941-1099 can reach the IRS at that same number Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time.2Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number The line is not toll-free. Ask for fax delivery to avoid international mail delays.
What About the Business Tax Account?
The IRS Business Tax Account portal lets authorized individuals make payments, view certain tax records, and receive some notices online.1Internal Revenue Service. Business Tax Account Downloading a copy of your CP 575 or requesting Letter 147C is not part of what the portal offers. The IRS may add that capability in the future, but as of now there is no online path to an EIN confirmation letter. Phone, fax, or mail are the only options, and calling for a faxed 147C is by a wide margin the fastest of the three.