How to Get an EIN as a US Citizen or Resident

Before You Start

• Wait until the state has approved your LLC. The IRS asks for the legal name and formation state exactly as approved.
• Have your SSN or ITIN ready. The person applying must be the "responsible party": the owner or someone who controls the company, not a formation agent.
• Know the LLC's US mailing address and its county and state of formation.
• Decide the number of members, and whether you want the default tax treatment (a single-member LLC is disregarded; a multi-member LLC is a partnership). Do not tick corporation or S-corporation unless you have taken advice.

The Online Application, Screen by Screen

Go to irs.gov and search for "apply for an EIN online". The assistant runs during US business hours, roughly 7am to 10pm Eastern, Monday to Friday, and times out after fifteen minutes of inactivity, so have everything ready.

• Legal structure: choose Limited Liability Company, then the number of members and the state of formation.
• Why you are applying: "Started a new business" for a fresh formation.
• Responsible party: your name and SSN or ITIN. One responsible party can obtain only one EIN per day online.
• Addresses: the LLC's physical and mailing address. A registered agent address is acceptable for mailing; the IRS sends its letters here.
• Details: the legal name, the formation date, the closing month of the accounting year (normally December), and whether you expect employees in the next twelve months.
• What the business does: pick the closest category, or "Other" with a few words. "Trading and holding digital assets" is fine for a crypto LLC.
• Confirmation: choose to receive the letter online. Download the PDF immediately; the IRS does not keep it available afterwards.

The Letter Everyone Asks For

The PDF you download is the CP 575, the official confirmation of your EIN. Banks, payment processors and exchanges ask for it when you open accounts in the company's name. Save it with your Articles and operating agreement. If you lose it, the IRS can send a replacement confirmation (letter 147C) on request by phone, which takes a couple of weeks.

Rules That Catch People Out

• The EIN is tied to the company, not to you. If you form a second LLC it needs its own EIN.
• A formation agent cannot be the responsible party. If someone else applies for you, they must be a third-party designee acting on your signed authorisation, with you named as responsible party.
• Changing the responsible party later is done with Form 8822-B, within 60 days of the change.
• If the assistant rejects the application with a reference number, do not simply retry: the usual causes are a name mismatch with the state's record or an address the IRS cannot validate. Fix the cause, then reapply, or fall back to Form SS-4 by fax.

After the EIN

With the EIN in hand you can open the bank account, register with payment providers and set up accounting. The yearly obligations that follow, state annual report, registered agent, federal returns, are in our US LLC compliance checklist. If you live outside the United States, read the foreign founder version of this guide instead: without an SSN the online route is closed and the process is different.

If You Would Rather We Did It

Our EIN Application service is $149: we prepare and submit the application as your designee and send you the confirmation letter. It is in the client portal under Order a service. EIN assistance, the steps above with your details filled in and a team to ask, is included in every US formation at no charge.

This guide is general information about US procedures as generally understood in 2026. It is not legal or tax advice, the IRS and the states change their forms and fees, and your own position depends on facts we have not seen. Check the current official instructions, or ask us, before you file.