SS-4 Third Party Designee: Who Can Apply for Your EIN
Last updated November 10, 2026 · Written by the EIN Registration filing team
We are an EIN filing service. We prepare Form SS-4, file it as your designee, and email you the EIN.
Start Now →What the section does
- Lets the designee receive the EIN. The IRS can release the number to them instead of only to you.
- Lets the IRS ask them about the form. If a line is unclear, the IRS can settle it with the designee.
- Needs your signature. Without it the designation is not valid.
- Ends with the EIN. Once the number is assigned and released to the designee, the authority is over.
Who can be a designee
Anyone you choose: an EIN filing service, an accountant or tax preparer, an attorney, or another person you trust. The designee gives their own name, address and phone number on the form. Those have to be different from yours. A designee whose phone or address matches the applicant's is refused online with reference number 104.
What a designee is not
- Not the responsible party. That is the person who owns or controls the entity. See who to list as the responsible party.
- Not a power of attorney. The designation does not cover returns, payments or anything after the EIN.
- Not a way around the IRS's checks. A name conflict or a responsible party with no SSN or ITIN still means the form goes by fax, whoever files it.
When people use one
Most often after the IRS online application has refused them, or when they would rather not complete the form themselves. Can someone else file my EIN after an IRS error covers that case, and what an EIN service does and costs covers what a paid designee does.
What the IRS manual says
The IRS's own procedures for EIN applications are in Internal Revenue Manual section 21.7.13. These passages are quoted word for word.
“Apologize for any inconvenience and advise them to mail or fax a completed Form SS-4.”
IRM 21.7.13.3.4.1, Modernized Internet EIN (10-01-2026)
“Reference numbers 101 or 115 are directed to a CSR for assistance. All other reference numbers are routed to an automated message which provides instructions to correct invalid information and resubmit the application or submit Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number, by mail or fax.”
IRM 21.7.13.3.4.1, Modernized Internet EIN (10-01-2026)
The manual does not publish what each reference number means: the tables that list them are withheld from the public copy. The meanings on this page are what each number has meant on the applications we file. Source: IRM 21.7.13, Assigning Employer Identification Numbers, read November 10, 2026.
Quick answers
What is a third party designee on Form SS-4?
A person or firm the applicant authorizes, in the Third Party Designee section of Form SS-4, to receive the entity's EIN and to answer the IRS's questions about how the form was completed. The applicant has to sign the form for the authorization to count.
Can a third party designee apply for an EIN online?
Yes, when the application qualifies for the IRS online application: a responsible party with an SSN or ITIN and a business in the United States or a U.S. territory. The designee keeps a signed copy of Form SS-4 on file. When the online application refuses, the designee faxes the form.
When does a third party designee's authority end?
When the EIN is assigned and released to the designee. The designation covers that one application. It does not let the designee file returns, sign for the business or deal with the IRS on anything else.
Do I have to name a third party designee?
No. The section is optional. Someone applying for their own business leaves it blank, and filling it in with their own details causes reference number 104.
Is a third party designee the same as the responsible party?
No. The responsible party is the person who owns or controls the entity, and the form always names one. The designee is an outside helper named only if the applicant wants one.
Get Your EIN the Easy Way
Answer a few questions in about 5 minutes. Our specialists prepare your IRS Form SS-4, file it, personally handle any rejection or name conflict along the way, and get your EIN to you. We file within 30 minutes of your order during IRS hours, and your EIN typically arrives the same day.
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Related guides
- Can Someone Else File My EIN After an IRS Error? Yes, as your third party designee on Form SS-4, by fax when the online application refuses. Who can do it and what they need.
- EIN Service: What It Does and What It Costs What an EIN filing service does, what it cannot do, and what ours includes for $197.
- What Does EIN Reference Number 104 Mean? A Designee Conflict 104 means the third-party designee's address or phone is the same as the applicant's. Leave the section blank or give the designee's own details.
- EIN Responsible Party: Who to List on Form SS-4 and How to Change It The one person the IRS treats as controlling the entity. Who to list by entity type, who cannot be listed, what to do with two equal owners, and how to change it.
- 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.
- How to Apply for an EIN by Fax: SS-4 Fax Numbers and What Comes Back 855-641-6935 for the 50 states and DC, two other numbers for everyone else. What to send, how long the IRS takes, the cover sheet it faxes back, the designee signature rule, and what to do when nothing comes back.
You can also apply for an EIN directly with the IRS at irs.gov at no cost.