EIN Number for Non-US Citizens: Apply by Phone, Fax, or Mail

If you’re a non-US citizen without a Social Security Number, you can still get an Employer Identification Number (EIN) for your US business by submitting IRS Form SS-4 by phone, fax, or mail. The online application requires a US taxpayer identification number and a US address, so international applicants use one of these three alternative channels. The IRS charges nothing for an EIN. Any website asking for a fee is a third-party service, not the government.¹

Why the Online Application Won’t Work for You

The IRS online EIN tool is unavailable to applicants who lack a valid US taxpayer identification number or have no legal residence or principal place of business in the United States.² Line 7b of Form SS-4 asks the responsible party for an SSN, ITIN, or EIN, and the online system will not let you past that field without one.

You do not need to obtain an ITIN first. On the paper form, write “Foreign” in the SSN/ITIN space. Providing your home country’s tax identification number is helpful but not required as a substitute.³

When You Actually Need an EIN

An EIN is a nine-digit number the IRS assigns to business entities for tax filing and reporting.⁴ As a non-US citizen, you’ll need one if you’re:

Forming a US corporation. Every US corporation needs an EIN to file Form 1120, even with zero employees.⁵
Forming a multi-member LLC taxed as a partnership or corporation.
Owning a single-member LLC as a foreign person. A domestically owned single-member LLC with no employees and no excise tax liability can skip the EIN, but a foreign-owned single-member LLC must file Form 5472, and that form requires an EIN. This catches many first-time foreign LLC owners off guard.⁶⁷
Opening a US business bank account. Virtually every US bank requires an EIN.
Hiring US employees and reporting employment taxes.

The EIN belongs to the entity, not to you personally. If you have personal US tax obligations of your own — rental income, investment gains, consulting fees paid directly to you — you may separately need an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). The ITIN and the EIN serve different purposes, and having one does not replace the other.

What to Have Ready Before You Apply

Incomplete answers are the leading reason applications stall. Gather everything Form SS-4 asks for before you pick up the phone or send the fax:

The entity’s legal name, matching your state formation documents exactly. Small discrepancies cause rejection.
A mailing address. A foreign address is acceptable. Include a US address as well if the entity has one.
Entity type as classified for US tax purposes: corporation, LLC, partnership, or other.
Reason for applying: starting a new business, banking requirements, or hiring employees.
The date the business started (formation or registration date).
Expected number of employees in the next 12 months. Zero is a valid answer.
A brief description of the principal business activity in the US.

The form also requires a “responsible party” — an actual person who owns or controls the entity, not another company or a nominee. For a corporation, that’s usually the principal officer. For a partnership, it’s a general partner.

Three Ways to Apply Without an SSN

Phone (Fastest)

Calling the IRS is the quickest route. You can walk away with an EIN in a single call. The dedicated international line is 267-941-1099 (not toll-free), open Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern Time.⁸ Only international applicants can use this phone method.

The caller must be the responsible party named on the form, or a properly authorized third-party designee. Have your completed Form SS-4 in front of you. The IRS agent walks through every line and assigns the EIN on the spot if everything is in order. The official confirmation letter, Notice CP 575, follows by mail and can take several weeks to reach a foreign address.

Call early in the morning Eastern Time. Wait times climb through the day, and you’re paying per-minute international rates.

Fax

Fax is the next-fastest option. Complete and sign Form SS-4, then fax it to 304-707-9471, the international fax number.⁹ Include a return fax number on the form. This is critical. With a return fax number, the IRS faxes your EIN back within about four business days.¹⁰ Without one, the IRS mails the EIN instead, adding weeks.

If you’re inside the US applying for an entity that has no US principal place of business, the domestic fax number is 855-215-1627.⁹

Mail (Slowest)

Mail is the last resort. Send the completed, signed form to:

Internal Revenue Service
Attn: EIN International Operation
Cincinnati, OH 45999⁹

Processing takes about four weeks, longer if the form has errors, and international mail adds time on both ends.⁸ Unless phone and fax are genuinely unavailable, the delay isn’t worth it.

Using a Third-Party Designee

You don’t have to make the call or send the fax yourself. Form SS-4 has a “Third Party Designee” section that authorizes someone else — a US attorney, accountant, or registered agent — to receive the EIN and answer the agent’s questions.² The responsible party still signs the form, and the designee’s authority ends when the EIN is assigned.

One trap catches legitimate applicants: if the third-party designee’s address or phone number matches the entity’s, the IRS will not process a phone application.² The rule targets fraud but hits foreign founders who use a registered agent’s address as the entity’s mailing address. If that’s your setup, use fax.

Mistakes That Stall the Application

Name mismatch. The entity name on Form SS-4 must match the state formation documents exactly, punctuation included.
Missing signature. An unsigned Form SS-4 gets rejected. Foreign applicants may have any duly authorized person sign.²
Wrong entity type. Selecting “LLC” when the entity elected corporate tax treatment (or the reverse) creates problems that take weeks to unwind.
More than one EIN request per day. The IRS limits each responsible party to one EIN per business day across all application methods. Space multiple entities across separate days.¹¹
No return fax number. Turns a four-day fax turnaround into a multi-week mail turnaround.

If Your Confirmation Letter Never Arrives

The IRS mails Notice CP 575 exactly once and will not reissue it. Lost international mail is common. If the letter doesn’t arrive, request a Letter 147C as an official replacement. Call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933, verify your identity as an authorized person for the entity, and ask them to fax or mail the 147C. The fax option delivers it while you’re still on the phone.

Treat the EIN like confidential information once you have it. Share it only with your bank, your tax preparer, and other parties who genuinely need it.

1
Internal Revenue Service. Get an Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4
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Internal Revenue Service. Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025)
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Internal Revenue Service. About Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number (EIN)
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Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 1120
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Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies
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Internal Revenue Service. Form 5472 – Information Return of a 25% Foreign-Owned U.S. Corporation or a Foreign Corporation Engaged in a U.S. Trade or Business
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Taxpayer Advocate Service. Getting an EIN
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Internal Revenue Service. Where to File Your Taxes for Form SS-4
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Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number
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Internal Revenue Service. 21.7.13 Assigning Employer Identification Numbers (EINs)