IRS EIN Reference Numbers 102 and 103: Responsible Party Mismatch
Last updated September 3, 2026 · Written by the EIN Registration filing team
Stuck on a 102 or 103? We file by the route a person reviews, with the responsible party's details as the IRS holds them, and email you the EIN.
Start Now →What the IRS is checking
The online application takes the responsible party’s name and taxpayer number and validates them against the records the IRS holds, which for an SSN come from the Social Security Administration. It is a match on the name string as well as the number. The check is exact in ways people do not expect, and it says nothing about the entity you are forming.
The usual causes
- A different surname on file. A marriage or divorce that was never reported to Social Security. The SSA still has the old name, and the application has the new one.
- Middle names, initials and hyphens. Entering “Mary Ann Smith-Jones” when the card says “Mary A Smith Jones”. Use the name exactly as the Social Security card or ITIN letter shows it.
- A transposed digit. Simple, and common when copying from memory.
- A brand new SSN or ITIN. Numbers issued within the last few weeks may not yet be in the database the EIN tool checks.
- An expired or deactivated ITIN. ITINs unused for several years expire, and older ranges have been retired in batches. An expired ITIN fails validation. EIN with an ITIN.
- Naming the wrong person. An accountant or an agent entered as responsible party, whose number then fails against the name of the actual owner, or vice versa.
What to do
1. Check the name against the source document
Not from memory. The Social Security card, or the CP 565 ITIN assignment letter. Enter the name in the same form, with the same spacing and the same middle name or initial.
2. Retry once
One careful retry with the corrected name is worth making, because a typo is the single most common cause. A 102 or 103 does not count toward the one-EIN-per-day rule, since no EIN was issued.
3. If it fails again, fax
Do not keep retrying; that is how a 105 lockout happens. A faxed SS-4 is reviewed by a person who can resolve a near-match that the automated check cannot. Include a return fax number and expect roughly four business days.
4. Fix the underlying record if there is one
If the cause is a name change never reported to Social Security, it will keep causing problems on every form. Update the SSA record with Form SS-5. If the cause is an expired ITIN, renew it on Form W-7.
Quick answers
Is 102 different from 103?
Both are responsible party validation failures. Some applicants report 102 as the name mismatch and 103 as the number mismatch, but the fix is the same for both: verify against the source document and retry once.
Can I just use a different responsible party?
Only if that person actually controls the entity. The responsible party is a legal statement, not a workaround for a validation error.
Did the application get submitted?
No. A reference number means it stopped before an EIN was issued. There is nothing to cancel or duplicate.
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Related guides
- IRS Error 101 (EIN Reference Number 101): How to Fix It Error 101 is a business name conflict the online application cannot resolve. What it means and the two ways past it.
- IRS EIN Online Application Not Working? Every Cause and Fix Closed hours, session timeouts, the one per day rule, browser traps and the reference numbers, in the order to check them. Plus the method that does not depend on the website at all.
- Can You Get an EIN With an ITIN? Yes. An ITIN works as the responsible party's number on Form SS-4. Which application methods accept it, which do not, and what to do when you have neither an SSN nor an ITIN.
- Form SS-4 Instructions, Line by Line Every line on the EIN application and what actually goes in it, with the entity-specific traps: Line 9a, Line 10, the responsible party, and the date the IRS wants.
Sources
EIN Registration is an independent document preparation and filing service and is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency. You can also apply for an EIN directly with the IRS at irs.gov at no cost.