EIN Without SSN: How Non-US Residents Get One Free (SS-4)

You can get an EIN without an SSN or ITIN: if you live outside the US and have no US office, you send the IRS a Form SS-4 by phone, fax or mail. The online tool is closed to you, but an SSN or ITIN is not required: you write “foreign” on line 7b. The number is free, and by phone you can have it the same day.

This guide walks through the lines that trip non-residents up, the three routes and their real timelines, and the errors that send applications back. Every rule below is from IRS pages checked on 28 October 2026.

This is general information, not tax or legal advice. Confirm with a CPA for your situation.

Who this applies to

The IRS online EIN application only works if the entity has a legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office in the US or a US territory, and the principal officer or owner has a valid SSN, EIN or ITIN. If you have no US legal residence, principal place of business or office, the SS-4 instructions say plainly: you can’t use the online application.

That covers most Canadian and Australian founders who formed a Delaware or Wyoming LLC through a registered agent. A registered agent address is a mail drop, not your place of business. If you’re still choosing a state, see Delaware vs Wyoming LLC for non-residents, and the full sequence lives in our US LLC for non-residents guide.

Form the company first. The IRS says to register your LLC or corporation with the state before applying. The SS-4 asks for the legal name exactly as it appears on your charter or formation document.

The three routes compared

Phone numbers, fax numbers and timelines checked 28 Oct 2026 on irs.gov. The IRS notes fax numbers may change without notice.

Phone: fastest, with conditions

The phone line is only for international applicants. The IRS no longer issues EINs by phone to domestic applicants. The caller must be authorized to receive the EIN and answer questions about the SS-4, and the IRS recommends completing the form before you call, because the agent builds your account from it.

When you get the number, write it on the top right of your SS-4, sign and date it, and keep it. If the agent asks, you must mail or fax the signed form within 24 hours.

Time zones: 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern is 3 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Vancouver. In Sydney, after US daylight saving ends in November, it is 10 p.m. to 3 p.m. the next day, so a Monday ET window opens Monday night Sydney time.

Fax: the paper-trail option

Under the IRS Fax-TIN program, you generally get your EIN back by fax within 4 business days. Put your fax number on the form so they can reply. Fax-TIN runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. If you don’t own a fax machine, an online fax service with a receiving number works, as long as you can actually receive the reply.

Mail: slowest

Mail the signed form at least 4 to 5 weeks before you need the number. The EIN arrives by post in about 4 weeks. To check status on a mailed application, the IRS lists 800-829-4933.

Form SS-4 line by line (non-resident essentials)

The IRS rule of thumb: enter “N/A” on lines that don’t apply. These are the lines that matter for a foreign-owned LLC or corporation.

Line 9a: the one that matters for taxes

• Single-owner LLC owned by a non-resident: check Other and write “Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity-Form 5472”. This tells the IRS the LLC will file Form 5472 every year.
• Multi-member LLC keeping partnership treatment: check Partnership.
• C corporation: check Corporation and enter the return it will file (Form 1120).
• LLC electing corporate tax treatment: check Corporation and write the return form number. A single-member LLC doing this writes “Single-member” and the form number.

For line 10, the instructions say a foreign-owned US disregarded entity required to file Form 5472 should check Other and enter “Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity filing Form 5472”.

That 5472 flag is not cosmetic. The penalty for not filing Form 5472, or filing a substantially incomplete one, is $25,000, and more accrues if you ignore an IRS notice. Our Form 5472 guide covers the filing.

The responsible party, explained

The responsible party is the person who ultimately owns or controls the entity, or exercises ultimate effective control over it, including its funds and assets. Three IRS rules to know:

1. It must be a natural person (unless the applicant is a government entity). A holding company can’t be the responsible party; trace up to the human who controls it.
2. Nominees can’t apply. The IRS says a nominee who applies puts the entity’s information and privacy at risk. Your formation service or registered agent is not your responsible party.
3. Keep it current. If the responsible party changes, file Form 8822-B within 60 days. You don’t need a new EIN to change your business name, address or responsible party.

If someone else files for you, name them in the Third-Party Designee section and sign the form. Their authority ends once the EIN is assigned and released to them. One catch: if the designee’s address or phone number matches yours, the application must be mailed or faxed.

Why EIN applications stall or come back

The IRS doesn’t publish a rejection list, but its instructions point to the usual problems. Check these before you send:

• Illegal characters in the name. IRS systems accept only letters, numbers, hyphens and ampersands. Spell out or drop symbols (“Acme.ai” becomes “Acme Dot AI” or “Acme AI”), swap slashes for hyphens, and remove apostrophes.
• Address too long. Street addresses are capped at 35 characters. Use USPS abbreviations.
• Blank required lines. Line 7b, line 10 and line 17 all need an entry. Line 10 can’t say “N/A”.
• More than one application a day. EINs are limited to one per responsible party per day, across online, phone, fax and mail. Use only one method per entity, or you may end up with two EINs.
• Nominee as responsible party. Use the real owner.
• No fax number on a faxed form. The IRS can’t fax the EIN back.
• Unsigned form. A third-party designee authorization isn’t valid without your signature.
• Applying before the entity exists. File with the state first.

Worked example: when will a Toronto founder’s EIN arrive?

Priya in Toronto forms a Wyoming LLC that is approved on Monday, 2 November 2026. She wants to open a US business account as soon as possible.

• Phone: She calls on Tuesday, 3 November, during IRS hours. EIN in hand that day.
• Fax: She faxes on Tuesday, 3 November. “Generally within 4 business days” means by about Monday, 9 November (Wed, Thu, Fri, Mon).
• Mail: She posts it on 3 November. About 4 weeks puts the EIN at roughly 1 December.

Cost through the IRS in every case: $0. The gap between phone and mail is about four weeks of not being able to open an account or invoice through Stripe.

Once she has the number, the IRS says she can use it immediately to open a bank account or apply for licenses, but should allow up to 2 weeks before it works for e-filing or IRS TIN matching. Her first Form 5472 with pro forma 1120 for tax year 2026 is due 15 April 2027.

After you get the EIN

• Keep the confirmation. Banks ask for it. Mercury, for example, accepts Form CP575, Letter 147C, or a returned SS-4 from the IRS. A faxed reply comes as a cover sheet with the EIN; the EIN notice is mailed to the entity. See Mercury for non-US residents.
• Lost it? Call the Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 and request Letter 147C.
• BOI: FinCEN’s final rule of 11 August 2026 exempts US-formed companies from beneficial ownership reporting, so there’s nothing to file there. Details in our BOI explainer.
• Withholding forms: US clients may ask for a W-8BEN-E for the company. See W-8BEN vs W-8BEN-E.

Should you DIY or pay a service?

Whoever files, you sign, and you are named on line 7a. Browse the rest of the US company setup hub for the next steps.