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Can I get an EIN without a Social Security number?

EINNon-US foundersFormation

Yes. A founder with no Social Security number or ITIN can still get an EIN for a US company, and does not need to obtain either first. What you lose is the online application, which checks the responsible party's number against IRS records and will not proceed without one. The alternatives are phone, fax and post, using the paper Form SS-4.

Phone is the fastest by a wide margin. The IRS international line is 267-941-1099, Monday to Friday, 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Eastern. It is not toll free. The person calling must be authorized to receive the number and able to answer every question on the SS-4, so fill the form in before dialing and have it in front of you. On the SS-4 itself, where it asks for the responsible party's number, the form's own instructions say to write foreign or N/A rather than leave it blank. If the call goes through, you leave with the number.

Fax is next: send the completed SS-4 to 855-215-1627 from inside the US or 304-707-9471 from outside, and the IRS replies in about four business days. Post goes to the IRS at Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999, and takes around four weeks. Use one route only. Applying twice by different methods is how companies end up with two EINs.

Do not borrow a number

The tempting shortcut is to put a US friend, a co-founder, a lawyer or a formation agent down as the responsible party so the online tool works. The IRS forbids this. The responsible party has to be the person who actually owns or controls the company, and the IRS says plainly that nominees cannot apply for an EIN and should not be listed on the form. Whoever is named is who the IRS treats as the person in charge of the company and writes to about it, which is not a favor to ask of a friend.

Arabella files EINs at irs.gov, which is the route that needs a Social Security number or ITIN. If you have neither, the phone call is one only you can make. Our step-by-step guide walks through it, including what to have in front of you before you dial.

Written by the lawyers who built Arabella. This is legal information, not legal advice for your situation, and reading it does not make us your lawyers. For a real dispute or a high-stakes decision, talk to a licensed attorney. More questions.