How to Request an IRS 147C EIN Verification Letter

To request an IRS 147C letter, call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, verify your identity as an authorized person for the entity, and ask the representative to fax the letter to you during the call. The letter is free, and in most cases you’ll have it in hand within minutes of the call ending. It restates your entity’s legal name, nine-digit EIN, and address on file with the IRS, and it substitutes for the original CP 575 notice the IRS sent when it assigned your EIN.1Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number

What to Have Ready Before You Call

The representative will not release entity information until you’ve matched what the IRS already has on file. If any piece is wrong, the call ends and you start over on the next one. Gather all of this first:

  • The entity’s legal name exactly as it appears on the Form SS-4 and your tax returns. If you filed with a trade name on line 2 of Form SS-4 and have used it consistently, use that name.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)
  • The full nine-digit EIN, including the prefix.
  • The business address currently on file with the IRS. If you moved and never updated it, the old address is still what the IRS has.
  • Your name, your title within the entity, and the last four digits of your Social Security Number. The SSN is matched against the responsible party recorded on the EIN application.
  • A specific reason for the request, such as opening a business bank account or applying for a state license.

Keep your most recent business return within reach. The assistor may ask for a detail from it as secondary verification.

Who Is Allowed to Make the Request

The caller has to be someone the IRS recognizes as authorized for the entity. For a sole proprietorship, that’s the owner from the original Form SS-4. For a partnership, any listed partner. For a corporation, the principal officer or another recognized officer such as president, vice president, secretary, or treasurer. The responsible party on record must be an individual, not another entity.2Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025)

A single-member LLC classified as a disregarded entity works differently: the sole member calls and verifies using their own SSN or individual EIN, not the LLC’s EIN.3Internal Revenue Service. Single Member Limited Liability Companies

If Someone Else Is Calling for You

An outside representative can request the letter only if the IRS already has an authorization form on file. Three forms cover this:

  • Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, which lets the representative speak and act on your behalf with the IRS.
  • Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, which lets a designee inspect and receive your confidential tax information but not represent you.4Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8821 (09/2021)
  • Form 8655, Reporting Agent Authorization, for reporting agents handling limited compliance tasks.

The representative should be ready with the specific form, its effective date, and their own identifying information. The assistor verifies the authorization before releasing anything.5Internal Revenue Service. Before Calling the IRS, People Should Know What Info They’ll Need to Verify Their Identity

Making the Call

The Business and Specialty Tax Line is open Monday through Friday, 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. in your local time zone. Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time.6Internal Revenue Service. Telephone Assistance Contacts for Business Customers Tuesday through Thursday mornings before 10:00 a.m. tend to have the shortest holds. Monday mornings, late afternoons, and anything between January and April are the worst; peak filing season holds can run past 45 minutes.

Work through the automated menu to reach a live representative on EIN or business tax questions. When they pick up, open with a direct line: “I need to request a 147C EIN verification letter.” That points them straight to the right internal procedure. Then walk through the identity checks: EIN, legal name, address, your name and title, and the last four of your SSN.

If your entity has moved over the years, the assistor may ask which address is on file and when it was last updated. This is one of the most common reasons requests fail. If you’re not sure, look at the address the IRS used on your most recent correspondence.

Fax or Mail

Ask the representative to fax the letter to you before you hang up. Give them your fax number and the letter usually arrives within minutes. An online fax service works fine for this. If speed doesn’t matter, they can mail the letter to the address on file, which takes about seven to ten business days by USPS. There is no email delivery and no digital download.

Requesting the Letter by Mail

You can skip the phone entirely and send a written request instead. Include the entity’s legal name, EIN, the business address on file, the name and title of the authorized person, and a clear statement that you’re requesting a 147C EIN verification letter. Sign it and mail it to the IRS office where the entity files its returns.

The trade-off is time. A mailed request adds IRS processing on top of return mail, so the full turnaround runs well past the seven-to-ten-day window a phone request gives you. If you have any deadline at all, call.

Fix Your Records First If They’re Wrong

The 147C simply reproduces what the IRS has. If the name, address, or responsible party on file is outdated, the letter will carry that outdated information and may be rejected by whoever asked for it. Handle corrections before you request the letter.

Business Name

Corporations that haven’t yet filed the current year’s return can check the name-change box on Form 1120 or Form 1120-S. If the return is already filed, send a signed letter from a corporate officer to the IRS address where the return was filed, explaining the change. Partnerships use Form 1065 the same way.7Internal Revenue Service. Business Name Change Some changes require a new EIN rather than an update; IRS Publication 1635, Understanding Your EIN, walks through those cases. If your entity restructured along with the name change, check that publication before requesting the 147C so you know you’re verifying the right number.

Address

File Form 8822-B, or send a signed written statement with the entity name, old address, new address, and EIN to the IRS office where the last return was filed.8Internal Revenue Service. Address Changes USPS forwarding is not a reliable substitute for updating the IRS directly. Address changes take four to six weeks to process, so build that lead time in if you need the letter mailed to a new location.

Responsible Party

If the entity’s responsible party has changed, you’re required to report it within 60 days using Form 8822-B. The form must be signed by an officer, owner, general partner, LLC member-manager, or an authorized representative with an attached power of attorney.9Internal Revenue Service. Form 8822-B Change of Address or Responsible Party – Business This one matters directly for the 147C: the assistor verifies the caller against the responsible party on file. If the previous responsible party left months ago and the record was never updated, the current person in charge will not pass the identity check.

Calling From Outside the United States

The 800-829-4933 number does not work from abroad. Foreign-owned entities call the IRS International Taxpayer Service Call Center at 267-941-1000, which is not toll-free, Monday through Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time.10Internal Revenue Service. Contact My Local Office Internationally

Verification runs the same way, except that a responsible party without an SSN verifies using the ITIN on the entity’s records. If the responsible party has no ITIN, they need to apply for one on Form W-7 before the 147C request can go through. A foreign passport is the simplest supporting document for the W-7 because it establishes identity and foreign status on its own.11Internal Revenue Service. Obtaining an ITIN From Abroad

Check the Letter When It Arrives

The 147C is a single page on IRS letterhead showing the issue date, your entity’s legal name as the IRS has it, the nine-digit EIN, and the mailing address on file. It contains no financial or return data. Read it as soon as it comes through. If the name or EIN is wrong for your purpose, call back; the underlying record usually needs correcting before a corrected letter can be issued. When you hand it to a bank or licensing agency, give them the original or a high-resolution scan and keep the original secure. You can always request another copy at no cost.1Internal Revenue Service. Employer Identification Number