IRS CP 575 Letter: What It Is and Where to Find Yours

What the CP 575 notice contains

• The EIN, in the format 12-3456789, printed at the top right and again in the body.
• The legal name exactly as the IRS recorded it, including any suffix such as LLC or Inc. Banks match this line to the state filing, which is why a name typo on the SS-4 causes trouble later.
• The mailing address from the application. Update it with Form 8822-B if you move, because a mismatched address is the usual reason a 147C phone call fails identity verification.
• The filing requirements the IRS expects, such as Form 1065 for a partnership or Form 941 for an employer. This list is set by what you put on the SS-4, not by what the business ends up doing, so it is worth reading once.
• A notice date and the IRS office that issued it. You may see a letter after the number, such as CP 575 A or CP 575 G; the variants differ by how the application arrived and all confirm the same thing.

Where your copy is, by how you applied

Applied online

The IRS online tool shows the EIN on screen and offers the CP 575 as a PDF on the final page. Nothing is mailed. If the PDF was saved it is in the downloads folder or the email it was forwarded to; search for “CP575,” “EIN,” or the business name. If the window was closed without saving, the notice is gone and the IRS cannot regenerate it.

Applied by fax

The IRS faxes the notice back to the number on the SS-4, typically within a few business days. Check the fax service’s inbox or archive; online fax services keep received pages for months.

Applied by mail

The notice arrives by post at the address on the SS-4, typically several weeks after mailing. It is a single sheet that looks like any other IRS letter and is easy to file with the formation paperwork and forget.

A service filed for you

The preparer received it and should have passed it on. If we filed your application, the CP 575 is on your order’s tracking page.

Never received one, or lost it?

The IRS does not reissue the CP 575. The document that replaces it is the 147C EIN verification letter, which you request by phone and can have faxed to you during the call. It carries the same two facts, the EIN and the legal name, on IRS letterhead, and banks, lenders and payroll providers accept it wherever a CP 575 is asked for. The 147C guide has the exact call, and the IRS EIN phone number page has the hours and what to have ready.

Before calling, check the five places the number is usually already written down: bank account paperwork, any past federal return, payroll filings, state registrations, and the original formation folder. The EIN lookup guide walks through each.

What banks and lenders accept

A bank asking for “your EIN letter” or “IRS confirmation” means the CP 575 or a 147C. Both work. A screenshot of the online tool’s confirmation screen sometimes works at account opening but is routinely refused by lenders and payment processors, so save the PDF itself. A bank that insists on the original CP 575 for an EIN issued years ago is asking for something that cannot exist; the 147C is what its own procedures list.

Quick answers

Is the CP 575 the same as the EIN?

No. The EIN is the number. The CP 575 is the notice that reports it. Once you know the number you can use it immediately; the notice is only evidence of it.

Does the IRS email the CP 575?

Never. The IRS does not email EIN notices under any circumstances. An emailed “CP 575” is a phishing attempt.

The name on my CP 575 is wrong. What now?

Write to the IRS at the address on the notice explaining the correction, with a copy of the state filing showing the correct name. Do not apply for a second EIN to fix a typo; that creates a duplicate number the IRS then has to close. The name change guide covers the letter.

Do I need the CP 575 to file taxes?

No. Returns only need the number. Keep the notice for banks, lenders and anyone who wants proof the number belongs to the entity.