EIN lookup: free EIN search and EIN finder

Check an EIN you were given

Paste an EIN from a W-9, invoice or donation receipt. The checker confirms the format, tells you which IRS campus or channel uses that prefix, and flags retired prefixes. It also checks IRS exempt organization records for a match.

What the first two digits mean

Before 2001 the prefix pointed to a region. Today it identifies only the IRS campus or channel that assigned the number, so it cannot tell you where a business operates. Some prefixes are shared between a campus and the online application.

Prefixes no longer assigned: 00, 07, 08, 09, 17, 18, 19, 28, 29, 49, 69, 70, 78, 79, 89, 96, 97. Some older businesses still hold EINs with these prefixes, so a retired prefix is a reason to verify, not proof of fraud.

How to find your own EIN

1. Find the CP 575 notice. The IRS mails or displays this confirmation when the EIN is issued. Online applicants can download it only at the end of the session.
2. Check earlier filings. Any federal return, payroll Form 941, or Form W-2 you issued shows the number.
3. Ask your bank or accountant. Business bank accounts and loan files record the EIN.
4. Call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time on weekdays. An authorized person can get the number and ask for a 147C verification letter.

EIN search by company name

To find another business's EIN, match the route to the type of business. An FEIN, a federal tax ID and an employer identification number are all the same nine-digit EIN, so a business EIN lookup, an EIN number search and a federal tax ID lookup all lead to the routes below.

If you need to confirm that a private company exists rather than learn its EIN, the state record is the better source; start with the LLC lookup guide or the nationwide search guide.

Search a business by EIN

A reverse lookup, starting from the number, works only where the EIN is already public.

Nonprofits

The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search accepts an EIN and returns the organization's name, city and exemption status.

Public companies

SEC filings list the company's IRS number in the filing header, so EDGAR full-text search can match a number to a registrant.

Private companies

There is no free IRS corporation lookup for private companies. Florida's Sunbiz is one of the few state searches with an FEI/EIN number lookup; elsewhere, ask the business for a W-9 and confirm the legal name in the state business search.

Look up the EIN for an LLC

An LLC's EIN is not public unless the LLC is tax-exempt or files with the SEC. Ask for the W-9. A single-member LLC with no employees may not have an EIN of its own and can give its owner's taxpayer number instead, which is why the W-9 name and the LLC name sometimes differ.

State tax ID lookup

A state tax ID is a separate number from the EIN. States issue their own account numbers for sales tax, payroll withholding and franchise tax, and those numbers are confirmed by the state tax agency, not the business register. Many state tax agencies offer a free sales tax permit verification. Texas is the main exception that people search for: its taxpayer number appears in the Comptroller's Taxable Entity Search.

EIN versus state entity number

The EIN is a federal tax number from the IRS. The number shown in a state business search is a separate entity ID assigned by the state. One company has one EIN but can have a different state number in every state where it registers. A new LLC gets its EIN after the state accepts its formation, as covered in claiming a business name.