IRS EIN Reference Numbers 110, 112 and 113: Technical Errors, Not Yours

What each number tends to mean

The IRS does not document these codes. What follows is what we see on the applications we handle.

• 110. Most often appears after a long pause on one screen. The tool times out sessions quietly, and the submission then fails with 110 rather than a clean “session expired” message.
• 112. Appears in clusters, typically on weekday mornings and at the start of the month, when the tool is busy. It is the closest thing the IRS has to a “try again later”.
• 113. A general failure with no pattern we can name. Treat it exactly like 109.

What to do, in order

1. Do not resubmit right away

Rapid retries are how a technical error turns into a 105 lockout, which then costs you a day.

2. Check whether an EIN was actually issued

Occasionally the number is assigned before the confirmation screen fails. If your next attempt returns a 114, that is what happened: the EIN exists and you recover it rather than reapply.

3. Try once more, later, in one sitting

Have every answer ready before you start so no screen sits idle, and try at a quieter hour. One more attempt is reasonable. A third is where the lockout risk starts.

4. Switch to fax

A faxed Form SS-4 is processed by a person and is not subject to the tool’s failures or its daily limit. It takes a few business days rather than minutes, but it ends the loop. How the fax route works.

What not to do

Do not change your answers to make the error go away. A technical code is not a hint that something in the form is wrong, and an application that finally goes through with a different entity type or a different responsible party has produced an EIN that is wrong in a way the IRS will not notice for you.

Quick answers

Is it my browser or my connection?

Almost never. The tool works in every current browser. If you want to rule it out, use a different device once; if the code repeats, it is the IRS.

Will the IRS phone line help?

The business line can tell you whether an EIN was issued to you. It cannot push a stuck online application through, and for applicants inside the United States it does not take applications by phone.

What does 109 mean, then?

The same family, and the most common of the four. The 109 guide covers it, and the full list of reference numbers covers everything else.