EIN Confirmation Letter: CP 575, Letter 147C or the Digital CP 575?

The three letters side by side

People call these by a dozen names: EIN letter, EIN confirmation, EIN verification letter, proof of EIN, tax ID letter. Each of them means one of the three documents below.

Checked against IRS.gov and the Internal Revenue Manual on November 1, 2026.

What the CP 575 shows, line by line, and where your copy went is in the CP 575 guide. The exact call for a 147C, word for word, is in the 147C letter guide. This page is about which of the three you can get.

Which one you can get

You just applied

• Online. The IRS tells online applicants to print the EIN confirmation letter for their records, and the SS-4 instructions say the option to view, print and save it comes at the end of the session. Save the PDF before you close the window. The IRS manual says that when an applicant chose to print the notice online, the CP 575 that would normally be generated is not mailed.
• Fax. The IRS faxes back a cover sheet with the EIN on it. Its EIN page says it no longer returns the Form SS-4 with the number written on it. The fax guide covers what to do if nothing comes back.
• Mail. The SS-4 instructions say the EIN arrives by mail in about 4 weeks.
• Someone filed for you as designee. The SS-4 instructions say the EIN is released to the designee by the method they used, and the EIN notice is mailed to the taxpayer. If we filed for you, what the IRS sent us is on your order’s tracking page.

The original is gone

• Your business files a partnership, S corporation or C corporation return, or is a tax-exempt organization. Business Tax Account is open to these filers, and the digital CP 575 is the quickest replacement for whoever holds the business’s full access (the IRS calls that person the Designated Official).
• Your LLC files on Schedule C or Schedule F, which is how a single-member LLC with default tax treatment files. The IRS says Business Tax Account isn’t yet available for LLCs that file as sole proprietors this way, so the route is a 147C by phone.
• You only need the number, not a letter. It is probably already written on a bank document, a past return or a payroll filing. The 147C guide lists where to look first.

The IRS’s EIN page lists a third way to confirm an EIN as well: an entity transcript. Banks rarely ask for one, but it exists.

The 30-day rule: why the first month is different

For the first 30 days after an EIN is assigned, the IRS treats the CP 575 as on its way. The manual tells phone agents not to mail a 147C if the EIN was assigned in the last 30 days, or if a 147C was mailed in the last 30 days. A new owner who calls in the first weeks because the bank wants a letter now can be told to wait.

There is an exception worth knowing. If you applied online and could not save or print the notice at the end, say exactly that. For that case the manual tells agents to give you the EIN and offer a 147C by mail or fax.

What banks and lenders accept

A bank asking for “your EIN letter” or “proof of EIN” wants one of the three documents above. The IRS says banks and other institutions accept the digital CP 575 as written proof of an entity’s EIN, and the 147C is the letter the IRS sends to confirm an existing EIN when the original is lost. Two things trip people up:

• The name has to match. The letter shows the legal name the IRS holds. If it differs from the name on the bank application, fix the record rather than looking for another letter; the guide to changing an EIN’s name or address covers how.
• A brand new EIN may not verify yet. The IRS manual says a new EIN can be used to pay or file straight away but is not available for name and TIN matching or other electronic uses for about two weeks. A bank whose system checks the number with the IRS can fail in that window even with the letter in hand. The bank account guide has what else the bank will ask for.

Who can ask for a 147C, and who cannot

The IRS gives the EIN, and the letter, only to someone it can tie to the business: an owner, officer, partner, trustee or executor, or a representative with a Form 2848 or Form 8821 on file. It sends the letter by fax or by mail to the address on file, which is why an out of date address is worth fixing with Form 8822-B before you need the letter.

Whoever applied for you as third-party designee cannot get it later. The SS-4 instructions say the designee’s authority ends when the EIN is assigned and released, and the IRS manual says a previously assigned EIN is not faxed back to a designee. Ask the business owner to call, or file a Form 2848 or 8821 first. The IRS phone guide has the hours and what to have ready.

Getting the digital CP 575

Sign in to Business Tax Account. The IRS says it uses the same sign-in as the Individual Online Account, through its third-party identity provider, and that the EIN verification notice is under Tax Records. The account is available for partnerships filing Form 1065, for entities filing Form 1120 or 1120-S, for tax-exempt organizations and government entities, and for sole proprietors with an SSN or ITIN, an EIN and a Schedule C or F filing. It is not yet available for LLCs that file as sole proprietors on Schedule C or Schedule F. The IRS lists the EIN verification letter among what sole proprietors and Designated Officials with full access can see; partners and shareholders with limited access are not shown as getting it.

Quick answers