Start a Business
Getting your EIN
Your Employer Identification Number is the federal tax ID your business runs on — the bank account, payroll and every federal filing hang off it. For most U.S. founders it takes a day. Starting from abroad, the route is different. We handle both.
For U.S. founders
The fast route: online, usually same-day
If the company's responsible party — the person who controls it, usually you — has an SSN or ITIN, the EIN comes through the IRS online assistant, and it is issued immediately. We typically obtain it the same day the company is formed, so banking and payroll setup never wait on it.
The part worth getting right is not speed, it is accuracy: the responsible party must be the real owner, the entity details must match the state filing exactly, and the tax-classification answers on the application drive how the IRS treats the company from day one. Fixing a wrong answer later means correspondence with the IRS; getting it right the first time means never thinking about it again.
How it goes when we handle it
- 01
Form the entity
The EIN application asks for the legal name and formation state, so the company exists first.
- 02
Apply online
We prepare and submit the application with the responsible-party and tax-classification answers set correctly.
- 03
Same-day number
The EIN is issued immediately — you can open the bank account and set up payroll straight away.
Starting from outside the U.S.?
The non-resident route: on paper, and worth doing right
The online form isn't built for you — and almost every guide online skips that detail, which is why founders spend weeks stuck at this step. Here is the route the IRS actually publishes.
The EIN is issued to the business, not to you personally. The IRS's Instructions for Form SS-4 address the case where the responsible party does not have — and is not eligible to obtain — an SSN or ITIN, and set out how to complete line 7b in that situation. What the missing SSN changes is which application channel is open to you.
The route that works
- 01
Form the entity first
The EIN application asks for the legal name and formation state, so the company has to exist before you apply.
- 02
Complete Form SS-4
The responsible party section is where applications most often go wrong. It must name a real individual who genuinely controls the entity.
- 03
Submit by the non-online channel
Because the online assistant is only open to applicants who already hold a U.S. taxpayer ID, the application goes in on paper — by fax or by mail, to the address or fax number the IRS currently designates for your situation.
- 04
Wait, and plan around it
Processing is manual. Use the time for the operating agreement, banking preparation and working out your actual tax position.
Fax numbers and mailing addresses for international applicants are published by the IRS and do change. We confirm the current destination at the time of filing rather than relying on a number copied from a blog post — sending an SS-4 to a retired fax line is a silent, weeks-long failure.
General information, not tax advice. Talk to us about your situation before filing.
Royal Business Group is a private firm and is not affiliated with the IRS or any government agency. The IRS does not charge a fee to issue an EIN — our fee is for professional preparation and submission of the application.
Questions
What founders ask about the EIN
Almost certainly yes. You need it to open a business bank account, work with payment processors, run payroll, and file federal returns. Despite the name — Employer Identification Number — you do not need employees to need one.
If the responsible party has an SSN or ITIN, the IRS online assistant issues the EIN the same day — we typically obtain it the day the company is formed. Without a U.S. taxpayer ID the application goes in on paper, which is processed manually and takes substantially longer.
The individual who ultimately controls or directs the entity and its funds — generally the owner. It must be a natural person, not a company. Naming someone who is not genuinely in control, or paying a third party to appear as the responsible party, creates problems well beyond the EIN application.
Generally no. Almost every U.S. bank and fintech requires the EIN as part of account opening, which is why the EIN sits on the critical path for the whole setup. It is worth starting it early and doing the other preparation while it processes.
Not necessarily. The IRS's Instructions for Form SS-4 set out how to complete the responsible-party line where that person does not have — and is not eligible to obtain — an SSN or ITIN. What changes is the route: the IRS online application requires an existing U.S. taxpayer identification number, so it is not available to you, and the form must be submitted on paper. If you do already hold an SSN or ITIN, it belongs on the form.
The online EIN assistant validates the responsible party against an existing SSN, ITIN or EIN before it will issue. Without one of those, the system cannot complete the process — it is a limitation of that specific channel, not a restriction on your eligibility for an EIN.
Possibly, but for a different purpose. An ITIN is a personal taxpayer identification number, needed if you have to file a U.S. personal return or claim a treaty benefit. It is not a prerequisite for the company. Note also that a firm can prepare the application but only an IRS Certifying Acceptance Agent can certify your identity documents — we are not one — otherwise original documents go to the IRS by mail.