Lost Your EIN Letter? How to Get an IRS 147C Verification Letter

Confirmation letter vs verification letter

People call these by a dozen names: EIN letter, FEIN confirmation letter, tax ID confirmation letter, SS-4 confirmation letter, federal tax ID verification letter, proof of EIN. They all mean one of the two documents below.

What the CP 575 contains, line by line, and where your copy went is in the CP 575 guide. The rest of this page is about getting whichever letter you can. Whether a digital CP 575 from an IRS Business Tax Account can replace both, and why a 147C is not mailed in an EIN’s first 30 days, is in the EIN confirmation letter guide.

Getting the confirmation letter for a new EIN

The CP 575 is produced at the moment the IRS assigns the number, and how it reaches you depends on how the application went in.

• Online. The final screen offers the CP 575 as a PDF. Save it before closing anything: the IRS does not mail a copy to online applicants who chose the PDF, and the link does not come back.
• Fax. The IRS faxes back a cover sheet with the EIN to the return fax number on the SS-4; it no longer returns the SS-4 with the number written on it. Leave the fax number off and the confirmation goes by post instead, which the IRS manual puts at about two weeks.
• Mail. The notice arrives by post, about four weeks after you mailed the SS-4.
• Through us. We receive the CP 575 from the IRS and put it on your order’s tracking page the day it is issued, with the EIN emailed to you.

Can I get a copy of my original EIN confirmation letter?

No, and nobody can. The IRS says the original CP 575 cannot be duplicated or recreated, which is the part most people arrive here not knowing. Businesses that can use an IRS Business Tax Account can download a digital CP 575 instead; for everyone else, what replaces it is the 147C verification letter, which states the same two facts, your EIN and your legal name, on IRS letterhead. If a clerk insists on the original CP 575 for an EIN issued years ago, the 147C is what their own compliance manual lists. Ask them to check.

The five places your EIN is already written down

1. The CP 575 letter, the confirmation issued when the EIN was created. Online applicants downloaded it as a PDF: search email and downloads for “CP 575,” “EIN confirmation,” or the entity name plus “IRS.” (If we filed for you, it is on your order’s tracking page.)
2. Business bank paperwork. The bank captured the EIN at account opening. It is often visible in online banking under account details or documents, and if not, a teller can read it to an authorized signer in one call.
3. Any past federal business return: Form 1120, 1120-S, 1065, or a Schedule C filed with an EIN. It prints at the top of page one. Your accountant or tax software has these even if you do not.
4. Payroll and contractor filings. W-2s and W-3s you issued, quarterly 941s, and 1099s all carry it, as does your payroll provider’s dashboard. Gusto, ADP, and QuickBooks Payroll all display it in settings.
5. License and registration paperwork: state and local business licenses, sales tax registrations, credit applications, and business insurance policies typically required it.

Not sure the number you found is an EIN and not a state filing number? The EIN format guide shows what one looks like.

How to get an EIN verification letter (147C): the exact call

1. Call the Business and Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. your local time. The IRS says waits are shorter Wednesday to Friday.
2. Say: “I have misplaced my EIN and need a 147C verification letter.” Only an authorized person (sole owner, partner, corporate officer, trustee) can receive it. A bookkeeper or assistant without authority on file will be refused.
3. Have ready for identity verification: the entity’s exact legal name, the address the IRS has on file (from the original application or the last return), your name and title, and your SSN or ITIN details. Mismatched addresses are the most common reason these calls fail. If you moved and never told the IRS, expect friction.
4. Choose fax delivery if you possibly can. With a fax number ready (an online fax service counts), the agent sends the 147C during the call. By mail, the IRS manual tells agents to quote 10 to 14 business days. The IRS will never email it; any emailed EIN letter is a scam, full stop.

Which letter do banks want?

Either. A bank asking for “your EIN letter,” “IRS confirmation” or “proof of EIN” means the CP 575 or a 147C. Same legal weight; both are the IRS stating the number and the name. A screenshot of the online application’s final screen sometimes passes at account opening and is routinely refused by lenders and payment processors, so save the PDF itself. A prior tax return with the number on it is occasionally accepted as a fallback; an email, a state filing or a W-9 never is.

Can you look an EIN up online?

Not your own. The IRS provides no self service lookup, and third party EIN finder sites are scraping public filings or guessing. The only genuine public directories: SEC EDGAR for public companies (EINs appear in annual filings) and the IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search for nonprofits. Private company EINs are not published anywhere legitimate, which is exactly why the phone call and the 147C process exist. The EIN lookup guide covers the public cases.

Do not apply for a second EIN. Seriously.

A misplaced EIN is a five minute phone call. A duplicate EIN is a mess: the original stays permanently attached to your entity, banks and the IRS end up with split records, and unwinding the confusion takes letters and months. A new EIN is only correct for a genuinely new or restructured entity; the new EIN scenario table lists which.

Quick answers

Is an EIN confirmation letter the same as an EIN verification letter?

No, but they prove the same thing. The confirmation letter is the CP 575, issued once when the EIN is assigned. The verification letter is the 147C, issued on request when the CP 575 is lost. Both show the EIN and the legal name on IRS letterhead, and banks, lenders and payroll providers accept either.

How do I get an EIN confirmation letter from the IRS?

For a new EIN, it comes with the number: as a PDF at the end of the online application, by fax if you applied by fax, by post if you applied by mail, or on your order page if a service filed for you. For an existing EIN, the IRS does not reissue the CP 575; you call 1-800-829-4933 and ask for a 147C verification letter instead.

How fast can I have a 147C letter?

During the call, if you have a fax number ready. The IRS agent sends the 147C by fax while you are on the line. By mail, the IRS manual tells agents to quote 10 to 14 business days. The IRS never emails it.

Can my accountant request the 147C?

Yes, with a Form 2848 power of attorney or a Form 8821 tax information authorization on file. Without one, the IRS will only talk to an owner, partner, officer, trustee or executor.

My EIN letter shows the wrong address. Is that a problem?

Update it with Form 8822-B, the same form you must file within 60 days when the responsible party changes. A mismatched address is the usual reason a 147C call fails identity verification. The change guide covers the form.

Is the EIN still valid if the company sat inactive for years?

Yes. EINs never expire and are never reassigned. An entity revived after dormancy uses its original number.