How to Look Up a Company's EIN (and When You Can't)

What an EIN is

An Employer Identification Number is the nine-digit number the IRS gives a business, trust, estate or nonprofit so it can file returns and pay employees. It’s written like 12-3456789. Banks ask for it when you open a business account, clients ask for it on a W-9, and payroll can’t run without it.

It isn’t secret the way a Social Security number is. Companies put it on W-2s, 1099s and public filings. But it isn’t published as a searchable list either, and the IRS doesn’t offer a public EIN lookup. That’s why “EIN lookup” searches mostly end in frustration.

So the real question isn’t “where’s the database” but “which document has it”.

Finding your own EIN

If it’s your own company’s number you’ve lost, work down this list. One of the first three usually works.

1. The IRS notice from when you applied. The IRS calls it the CP575. It’s now a digital notice you get through your IRS Business Tax Account. If you applied years ago, search your files, email and downloads for “CP575” or “EIN”.
2. Your bank. The bank that holds your business account has the number on file, and it’s on the account paperwork.
3. A past tax return. The EIN is at the top of Form 1120, 1120-S or 1065, and on Schedule C if you put one there.
4. Payroll records. Form 941, W-2s and state unemployment filings all carry it.
5. Call the IRS. The Business and Specialty Tax Line is 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. The IRS will verify your identity and give you the number over the phone if you’re authorized to get it. Expect a wait.

If you never actually got an EIN, apply directly at irs.gov. It’s free and takes minutes.

Finding another company’s EIN

This depends on whether the company is public, a nonprofit, or private.

Public companies. The cover page of a 10-K, 10-Q or 8-K on SEC EDGAR shows the “I.R.S. Employer Identification No.” Search the company on EDGAR, open a recent filing, and it’s in the first few lines.

Private companies. There’s no public source. The practical routes:

• Ask. If you’re paying them, a W-9 is a normal request and they’ll send it.
• Look at a document they’ve already sent you. A W-9 or 1099 from them will have it, and some invoices and contracts do too.
• Check the state registry. Most states don’t collect EINs, but Florida’s Sunbiz shows the FEI/EIN on a company’s record if the company gave it.

Sole proprietors. Many don’t have an EIN and use their Social Security number instead. Don’t ask for an SSN by email. Use a W-9 and a secure way to send it.

Nonprofits

Nonprofits are the easy case. The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search lets you search by organization name or EIN, and it also shows Form 990 returns, determination letters and the list of organizations that lost their exemption.

Paid lookup services

Plenty of websites sell “EIN lookups”. They pull from the same public sources listed above, sometimes with commercial data added, and charge for it. For a one-off need they’re rarely worth it.

If what you really need is to confirm that a vendor’s EIN matches its name, that’s what the IRS’s TIN Matching program does. It’s only open to payers who file information returns like 1099s, and their authorized agents, and you need an IRS account to use it. For vendor onboarding at volume, it answers the question that matters (“does this EIN match this company?”) better than any lookup site.

Some of these sites look official. None of them is the IRS. Treat any site that suggests otherwise with suspicion.