Getting an EIN without an SSN - free, directly from the IRS

Verified August 2026 · 6 min read

Let's start with the fact the upsell industry obscures: the IRS does not charge for an EIN. Anyone who sells you an "EIN service" for $50-250 is charging for filling in one form and waiting on hold. That can be worth it for convenience - but it should be an informed choice, not a trap.

Why you can't use the online tool

The IRS online EIN assistant requires the responsible party to have an SSN or ITIN. As a non-resident owner you typically have neither - and you don't need one. You simply use the paper/phone routes instead, writing "Foreign" on the SSN line of the form.

The process

  1. Fill in Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number). Key lines for a foreign-owned single-member LLC: the LLC's US address (your registered agent's address usually works), entity type "Disregarded entity - sole member is a foreign person", and line 7b: write "Foreign" instead of an SSN/ITIN.
  2. Choose your route:
    • Phone (fastest for international applicants): call the IRS international EIN line, +1 267-941-1099 (not toll-free), Mon-Fri US Eastern business hours, with your completed SS-4 in front of you. You can receive the EIN on the call.
    • Fax: fax the SS-4 to the IRS international fax line; the EIN typically comes back in about a week when you include a return fax number. Online fax services work fine.
    • Mail: works, but budget 4-8+ weeks. Last resort.
  3. Keep the CP 575 confirmation letter - banks and payment processors will ask for it, and the IRS only issues the original once.

When paying a service makes sense

If calling a US government agency during Eastern-time office hours from your timezone sounds miserable, or you want formation + EIN handled as one package, paying a formation service to do it is reasonable - Northwest charges about $50 as an add-on, doola bundles it. Just know what you're paying for: convenience, not access.

Common failure modes: applying before the LLC is actually approved by the state; using a residential foreign address where a US mailing address was expected by your bank later; and losing the CP 575. Get the LLC approved first, then apply, then archive everything.
Some links on this site are affiliate links - disclosure. Nothing here is legal or tax advice. IRS procedures and phone lines can change; confirm on irs.gov.