From order to EIN in five steps.

The five steps

1. Check and pay. Four questions confirm that your LLC is formed, that you live outside the US and that the LLC has no EIN yet. Then you pay $24 once.
2. Answer a few questions. About three minutes, from your phone or computer: your LLC name and formation date, your name and address, and what the business does. We turn your answers into IRS Form SS-4, worded the way the IRS expects for a foreign-owned LLC.
3. Upload your Articles of Organization. The filed copy from your state, as a PDF or a clear photo. We match your LLC's legal name to it character by character.
4. Check and sign. You see what goes on your SS-4 before you sign. Our rules check names, addresses and entity type, and a second automated check looks for anything unusual. Then you sign on screen and authorize your designee.
5. We call the IRS. Your designee calls the IRS international line, gives the agent your SS-4 details and receives your EIN on the call. You get it by email, and your signed SS-4 and IRS confirmation stay on your private order page.

What you need, and what you don't

Why a phone call, and why a designee

The IRS online EIN application isn't available to applicants without a legal residence, principal place of business or office in the United States. Foreign owners can apply by fax, by mail or by phone. The phone route is the fastest: the IRS international line (+1 267-941-1099, not toll-free) runs Monday to Friday, 6:00 am to 11:00 pm US Eastern time, and the agent issues the EIN during the call.

Long holds and an overseas phone bill make that call hard to do yourself. So the SS-4 you sign names an EINZAP caller in its Third Party Designee section. The IRS allows a designee to receive the entity's EIN and answer questions about the form. That authority covers this one application and ends when the EIN is assigned.

How long it takes

Your order is complete when it's paid, your form is filled in, your Articles are uploaded and you've signed. From then on, our 24-business-hour guarantee applies: if your EIN isn't delivered in time, we refund your $24 and still deliver the EIN at no cost.

Sometimes the IRS agent asks for the signed SS-4 by fax instead of issuing the number on the call. We fax it the same day from our fax number. The IRS usually replies by fax in about four business days, and the guarantee still applies.

Your data

We collect only what the SS-4 needs plus a way to reach you. Your files sit in private storage, and download links expire after a few minutes. Read the privacy policy for the full list.

After you get your EIN

• Use it to open US business bank and payment accounts. Each provider runs its own review.
• Keep your IRS confirmation with your company records. Banks and platforms often ask for it.
• A foreign-owned single-member LLC usually files Form 5472 with a pro forma Form 1120 every year. Read our Form 5472 basics and talk to a tax professional.