How to Get an EIN Without an SSN

You can get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN. You cannot get it online. The IRS online EIN assistant requires the responsible party to have a US taxpayer identification number, so foreign owners file Form SS-4 by fax or by mail, entering “Foreign” or “N/A” where the form asks for the responsible party’s SSN or ITIN. Fax is the faster route.

Bottom line

• File Form SS-4 by fax to the IRS international EIN unit; mail is the backup.
• Line 7b takes “Foreign” when the responsible party has no SSN or ITIN and is not eligible for one.
• The IRS quotes about four business days for fax and about four weeks for mail. Non-resident applications frequently take longer.

Why the online route is closed to you

The IRS online application validates the responsible party against an existing SSN, ITIN or EIN before it issues a number. No taxpayer ID, no online application. This is not a policy you can argue with in the browser, and it is the single most common source of confusion for founders forming a US LLC from abroad.

It is also why many mainstream formation services quietly struggle with non-resident EINs: their whole workflow was built around the instant online tool. See Bizee vs ZenBusiness vs LegalZoom for how that plays out in practice.

The paper route works. It is one page.

Do this first: form the LLC

Apply for the EIN after your LLC is approved by the state, not before. You need the exact legal name as registered, the formation date and the state. If the name on your SS-4 does not match the name on the state’s record, expect a rejection or a mismatched record you will spend weeks correcting.

If you have not chosen a state yet, read Wyoming vs New Mexico and our overview for non-residents first. Changing the entity name later means redoing this step.

Filling in Form SS-4, line by line where it matters

Download the current Form SS-4 and its instructions from irs.gov. The form is short; six lines cause nearly all the trouble.

Line 1 — Legal name. Exactly as filed with the state, including “LLC”. No abbreviations you invented.

Line 4 / 5 — Mailing address. Your foreign address is acceptable. Write it in the country’s own format and put the country name in full on the last line. If you use a registered agent or virtual address in the US, make sure mail sent there actually reaches you, because the EIN confirmation letter goes to this address.

Line 7a — Responsible party. A human being’s name, not the company’s. For a single-member LLC that is you. The IRS wants the individual who ultimately controls the entity.

Line 7b — SSN, ITIN or EIN. This is the line everyone asks about. If the responsible party does not have and is not eligible to obtain an SSN or ITIN, the instructions direct you to enter “Foreign” or “N/A”. Do not leave it blank. Do not invent a number. Do not enter a foreign national ID.

Line 8a — Is this an LLC? Yes. Line 8b is the number of members. Line 8c asks whether the LLC was organized in the US; for a US-formed LLC, yes, even though you live elsewhere.

Line 9a — Type of entity. A single-member LLC accepting default treatment checks “Other” and writes “Disregarded entity” (some filers write “Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity”). A multi-member LLC accepting default treatment checks “Partnership”.

Line 10 — Reason for applying. “Started new business” for a new LLC. “Banking purpose” is acceptable if that is genuinely why you need it. Do not check “Hired employees” unless you have or will have US employees — that creates payroll filing expectations you do not want.

Line 18 asks whether this entity ever received an EIN. If you already have one for another entity, that does not matter here; the question is about this entity.

Third Party Designee. If you want a service or accountant to receive the EIN on your behalf, complete this block and sign the authorization. Leave it blank if you are filing for yourself.

Signature. Sign it. An unsigned SS-4 is an automatic rejection. Include a daytime phone number in international format and, on your fax cover, a fax number the IRS can reply to.

Where to send it

For applicants with no legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office in any US state:

• Fax: 855-215-1627 if you are faxing from inside the United States, or 304-707-9471 if you are faxing from outside the United States.
• Mail: Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999.

The SS-4 instructions also list a phone line for international applicants — 267-941-1099, not toll-free, roughly 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday — available only to applicants with no US legal residence or principal place of business. Availability and hours change, so check the current instructions page before you plan around it.

Verify all of this on the IRS “Where to File Your Taxes for Form SS-4” page on the day you send it. These numbers do get reassigned.

Realistic timelines

The IRS states that faxed SS-4 applications are generally processed within about four business days, and mailed applications in about four weeks. Treat those as best cases.

In practice, non-resident applications commonly take several weeks, and formation services routinely quote four to eight weeks for a non-resident EIN because that is what they observe. A rejection restarts the clock, which is why accuracy beats speed here. Some providers quote far longer worst cases.

Plan your business around it: EIN first, then the bank account, then payment processors. Nothing downstream moves until the number arrives. Our banking guide for non-residents covers what to line up while you wait.

Common reasons applications get rejected

From the patterns that show up repeatedly:

1. Line 7b left blank. Write “Foreign”. A blank line reads as an incomplete form.
2. Name mismatch. The SS-4 name differs from the state filing — a missing “LLC”, a different transliteration of your name, or a comma.
3. No signature. Faxed forms with a typed name and no signature get bounced.
4. No return fax number. If the IRS cannot fax you back, your reply goes by mail and you lose weeks.
5. Applying before the state approves the LLC. The entity does not exist yet.
6. Wrong entity classification. Checking “Corporation” on line 9a for an LLC that intends default treatment creates a mess that takes far longer to unwind than a rejection.
7. Checking “Hired employees” without employees. This can generate employment tax notices for a company with no payroll.
8. Applying twice out of impatience. Duplicate applications produce duplicate or conflicting records. Wait, then follow up by phone rather than refiling.
9. A foreign address written in US format. Put the full country name on its own line.

If nothing comes back after the quoted window, call the international line and ask for status rather than sending a second form.

When to let a formation service handle it

Do it yourself if: your LLC is single-member, you are the only responsible party, you have a working fax option, and you can read the instructions carefully once. It costs nothing but your attention.

Pay someone if any of these is true:

• There are multiple members, or a foreign company is a member.
• You have no reliable fax and do not want to use an online fax service for a document containing your personal details.
• You have already had one application rejected and cannot identify why.
• You want the EIN, registered agent, US address and formation handled as one workstream so the sequencing does not break.

That last case is the honest argument for a specialist. doola bundles the EIN with formation, a US business address and registered agent service in one annual plan, and sells an expedited EIN option on its higher tiers. Firstbase includes an expedited EIN with formation and sells accounting and tax filing as separate modules. Neither can make the IRS faster; what you are buying is a correctly completed SS-4, a designee who chases it, and one less failure point. We compare the two in doola vs Firstbase.

Be skeptical of any provider promising an EIN in days without an SSN. The bottleneck is the IRS, not the vendor.

After the EIN arrives

Keep the CP 575 confirmation letter. Banks, Stripe, Amazon and the IRS will all ask for it, and replacing it is a slow request for a letter 147C.

Then deal with the filing obligation nobody mentions in formation ads: a foreign-owned single-member LLC is generally required to file Form 5472 together with a pro forma Form 1120 every year, even with zero revenue, with penalties starting at $25,000. This is not optional and it is not triggered by profit. Read US LLC taxes for non-residents and get that scheduled before your first deadline.

FAQ

Do I need an ITIN before I can get an EIN?

No. An ITIN is a personal tax ID and is a separate, slower process. Line 7b accepts “Foreign” precisely so that you do not need one to obtain an EIN for your company.

Can I use an online fax service?

Many founders do, and it generally works. The form contains your name, address and company details, so use a provider you trust, and make sure the return fax number on your cover sheet is one you can actually receive on.

Will the IRS call or email me the number?

The confirmation comes back by fax if you supplied a return fax number, otherwise by mail to the address on lines 4 and 5. The IRS does not email EINs, and anyone emailing you asking to confirm details is not the IRS.

Can my registered agent be the responsible party?

No. Line 7a is for the individual who controls the entity — an owner or managing member — not your agent. Your agent can be listed as a third party designee if you authorize it. See what a registered agent is.

The call

Filing the SS-4 yourself is the cheapest path and it works: get the LLC approved, complete the form, write “Foreign” on line 7b, sign it, fax it to the international unit, and wait.

If you would rather the EIN, the address, the registered agent and the annual filings arrive as one package — and you would rather not discover a rejection six weeks in — start with doola or Firstbase and let the sequencing be someone else’s job.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice. Confirm your situation with a CPA or attorney experienced with foreign-owned US entities before you file.