How to get an EIN for your LLC without an SSN

The Employer Identification Number (EIN) is your LLC’s federal tax ID. You need it to open a bank account, connect Stripe or Amazon, hire a contractor, and file the annual Form 5472. Every guide calls it simple, and for a US citizen it is: a ten-minute online form.

For a non-resident it is different, because the IRS online application requires the responsible party to have an SSN or ITIN. Without one you have two channels: phone or fax. Both work; both are free.

Before you apply

You need:

• Your LLC’s approved articles of organization (apply after the state approves the company, not before).
• The exact legal name and formation date as shown on the state filing.
• A responsible party: the individual who ultimately owns or controls the LLC — normally you.
• A mailing address where the IRS can send letters. It can be outside the US, or a US mailing address you control.

Option 1: By phone (fastest)

The IRS runs a line for applicants with no legal residence, principal place of business or principal office in the US:

+1 267-941-1099 (not toll-free), 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern time, Monday to Friday.

The caller must be authorised to receive the EIN — normally the owner. Have a completed Form SS-4 in front of you; the agent will walk through it line by line and read the EIN to you at the end of the call. Write it down twice. The confirmation letter (CP 575) follows by mail.

Practical tips: call close to the opening time, expect to be on hold, and use a calling service with a stable line. The phone route is the one most experienced non-resident founders recommend.

Option 2: By fax

Send a signed Form SS-4 to the IRS fax number for applicants with no US residence or principal place of business:

Sending from	IRS fax number
Outside the United States	+1 304-707-9471
Inside the United States	855-215-1627

Include a cover sheet with your own fax number, because the IRS faxes the EIN back. If you do not have a fax line, an online fax service works. Turnaround ranges from a few business days to several weeks.

The IRS states that these numbers can change. Confirm them in the current Form SS-4 instructions before sending.

Filling in Form SS-4 for a foreign-owned LLC

Most lines are self-explanatory. These are the ones that matter for a non-resident single-member LLC:

Line	What to enter
1	The LLC’s exact legal name, including “LLC”
4a–4b	Mailing address for IRS correspondence (foreign addresses are accepted)
7a	Your full name as the responsible party
7b	Your SSN or ITIN only if you have one. If you have neither, you do not need one to apply
8a–8c	Yes, it is an LLC; number of members: 1; organized in the US: Yes
9a	Check Other and write: Foreign-owned disregarded entity — File Form 5472
10	Started new business (describe briefly, e.g. “online software sales”)
11	The date the state approved the LLC
16–17	Your principal activity, described plainly
Third-party designee	Fill in only if a provider applies for you

Line 9a is the one non-residents most often get wrong. The wording tells the IRS your company is a foreign-owned disregarded entity required to file Form 5472 — which is exactly what it is.

After you have the EIN

• Keep the CP 575 confirmation letter safe. Banks and payment processors ask for it.
• If you never received it or lost it, request a 147C verification letter from the IRS.
• Diarise your first Form 5472 for the April 15 after your first year.

Should you pay someone to do it?

Only for convenience. Providers submit through the same fax and phone channels, so they cannot make the IRS faster. A bundled EIN (as in doola or Firstbase) is reasonable value; a standalone $200 EIN add-on is worth paying only if a 30-minute phone call is genuinely impractical for you.