EIN Lookup: How to Find a Business EIN

Fact-checked by the LegalGlass editorial team against primary sources · Published Aug 6, 2026 · Last updated Aug 6, 2026

To find your own EIN, check the CP 575 IRS notice from when you applied, a prior tax return, or your bank; if all fail, call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. To find another company's EIN, search a public company's filings on SEC EDGAR or a nonprofit on IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search - both free.

Quick Answer

Find your own EIN: CP 575 notice, prior tax return, bank records, or call the IRS
IRS phone: Business & Specialty Tax Line, 800-829-4933, Mon–Fri 7 a.m.–7 p.m. local
Public company's EIN: SEC EDGAR - listed on the cover of Form 10-K and other filings
Nonprofit's EIN: IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (by name) and its Form 990
Private company's EIN: Request a Form W-9 from the business
Cost: $0 - every legitimate lookup method is free
Format: 9 digits, written 12-3456789

When You'd Need to Look Up an EIN

An EIN lookup falls into two situations: finding your own business's EIN when you have lost the number, or finding another organization's EIN. An Employer Identification Number is the 9-digit federal tax ID the IRS assigns to a business or other entity, written in the format 12-3456789. Federal law under 26 U.S. Code § 6109 requires that identifying number on tax returns and information reports, so both you and the parties who pay you may need to confirm it.

You typically look up your own EIN to file a return, open or reconcile a bank account, complete a Form W-9, run payroll, or apply for a license. You look up another company's EIN to issue a Form 1099, verify a vendor, confirm a charity before donating, or complete due diligence. The method differs sharply between the two: your own EIN comes from IRS records you already hold, while a third party's EIN comes from public disclosures. This guide covers both. For background on the number itself, see what is an EIN and the EIN glossary entry.

What You'll Need Before You Start

Before an EIN lookup, gather the records that hold the number and confirm you are authorized to receive it. For your own EIN, the IRS releases the number only to a person tied to the entity, so identity verification matters more than paperwork. Pull together whatever of the following you can find, because any one of them may carry the EIN and will speed a call to the IRS:

The CP 575 EIN assignment notice, or a later CP 575-B replacement letter, if you requested one;
A prior business tax return - Form 1120, 1120-S, 1065, 941, or the Schedule C filed with a personal Form 1040;
Bank or payroll records - the EIN appears on account-opening paperwork, payroll filings, and 1099s you issued;
Your role and identifying details, so an IRS assistor can confirm you are a sole proprietor, partner, corporate officer, or trustee authorized to receive the number.

For another organization's EIN, you need only the exact legal name - not a "DBA" trade name - to search SEC EDGAR or IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search accurately, since both index the legal entity name the government has on file.

How to Find Your Own EIN (Step by Step)

To find your own EIN, work through the sources the IRS itself lists on its Employer Identification Number page, in order of speed, before calling the agency. The IRS instructs taxpayers who cannot locate an EIN to "look for it on the notice we issued when you applied for an EIN," to "contact the bank that has your business account," to "check with agencies where you've applied for state or local licenses," and to "look on past business tax returns."

Check your CP 575 EIN confirmation notice. When the IRS assigns an EIN, it issues a one-time computer-generated confirmation notice - the CP 575 - that shows the 9-digit number and the legal name on file. This is the fastest source if you kept it with your permanent records.
Check a prior business tax return. Any previously filed business return is annotated with the EIN. Look at the top of a past Form 1120, 1065, 941, or the Schedule C / Schedule SE package filed with a prior Form 1040.
Ask your bank or licensing agency. If you opened a business account, the bank has your EIN on file under its Customer Identification Program records. State and local licensing agencies where you registered with the EIN also hold it.
Call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line. If those fail, call 800-829-4933, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time (Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time). An assistor verifies your identity and provides the EIN over the phone - but only to a person authorized to receive it, such as a sole proprietor, partner, corporate officer, or trustee.

Note that the IRS does not publish an online tool to retrieve your own EIN, and it does not email or mail a duplicate CP 575. The phone line is the authoritative fallback. If you never received an EIN in the first place, do not "look it up" - apply once through how to get an EIN, and if you think you already have one but cannot find it, see our dedicated lost EIN guide.

How to Look Up Another Company's EIN

Finding another company's EIN depends on the entity type, because there is no single public federal directory of all EINs. Private companies are not required to publish their EIN, so it is not searchable the way a public company's is. Your route depends on whether the target is a publicly traded company, a tax-exempt nonprofit, or a private business.

Public company: use SEC EDGAR (below). Public companies disclose the IRS Employer Identification Number on the cover page of filings.
Nonprofit / tax-exempt: use IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (below), which lets you search by name and shows the EIN, plus the organization's Form 990.
Private company: request a Form W-9, on which the payee provides its taxpayer identification number, when you have a legitimate reason such as issuing a Form 1099. There is no public lookup for a private company's EIN.

Finding a Public Company's EIN on SEC EDGAR

SEC EDGAR is the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's Electronic Data Gathering, Analysis, and Retrieval system, which provides free public access to filings by public companies. Public companies list their "I.R.S. Employer Identification No." on the cover page of periodic reports such as Form 10-K (annual report), Form 10-Q (quarterly report), and Form 8-K (current report). To find it, use the EDGAR company search or EDGAR full-text search, which covers the full text of filings back to 2001 across more than 20 years of records.

Search the company name, open its most recent Form 10-K, and read the cover page: the EIN appears near the state of incorporation, formatted 12-3456789. If the company has not filed a 10-K recently, the same "I.R.S. Employer Identification No." line appears on the cover of its Form 10-Q and Form 8-K, so the most recent filing of any type usually works. EDGAR's full-text search is the faster path when you know the name but not the ticker - it matches the name across the body and header of filings. Because EDGAR is a government disclosure system, this information is free; you never pay a third-party "lookup" service for a public company's EIN. Only companies that file with the SEC appear here, so a private business with no SEC reporting obligation will not be in EDGAR - for that you fall back to a Form W-9 request.

Finding a Nonprofit's EIN on IRS TEOS

IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) is a free tool for finding information about tax-exempt organizations, and it displays each organization's EIN in the results. On the Tax Exempt Organization Search page you can search by organization name or EIN; a name search returns matching organizations with their 9-digit EINs. TEOS draws on Publication 78 data (organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions), Form 990 series returns, Form 990-N (e-Postcard) notices, IRS determination letters issued on or after January 1, 2014, and the automatic revocation list.

A nonprofit's Form 990 also displays the EIN in its header, and TEOS lets you open those returns directly. This makes charities the easiest non-public entity to verify: search the name, confirm the EIN, and check the organization's exempt status before donating or issuing a grant.

What an EIN Lookup Costs and How Long It Takes

Every legitimate EIN lookup is free. The IRS states on its Get an Employer Identification Number page, "You never have to pay a fee for an EIN," and both SEC EDGAR and IRS TEOS are free public tools. Any website charging to "look up" or "retrieve" an EIN is reselling public information. The table compares the main methods.

Method	Use it to find	Cost	Speed
CP 575 notice / prior return	Your own EIN	$0	Immediate (if on hand)
Bank / licensing agency	Your own EIN	$0	Same day, once reached
IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line (800-829-4933)	Your own EIN	$0	One call; verification required
SEC EDGAR	A public company's EIN	$0	Minutes
IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search	A nonprofit's EIN	$0	Minutes
Form W-9 request	A private company's EIN	$0	Depends on the payee

When You Still Can't Find the EIN

If none of the self-service sources produce your own EIN, the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line is the authoritative resolution, and calling it is free. According to the IRS telephone assistance page, business callers reach 800-829-4933 during operating hours of 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, Monday through Friday. Have your identifying details ready so the assistor can confirm you are authorized before releasing the number.

Do not apply for a second EIN because you cannot find the first - an EIN is permanent and, per IRS Publication 1635, once assigned it is never reused or reassigned, so a duplicate application creates two numbers tied to one entity and invites filing errors. This page is general information, not legal or tax advice; it explains how to locate an existing EIN and points to the primary IRS and SEC sources so you can confirm your own situation.

How to get an EIN - apply from scratch, step by step.
What is an EIN? - the number, its format, and legal basis.
How to find a lost or misplaced EIN - the recovery checklist.
How to get an EIN for an LLC.
Can you get an EIN without an SSN?
How to form an LLC - where the EIN fits in.
EIN (glossary) - the one-line definition.
Business tax - filing obligations tied to your EIN.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I look up my EIN online for free?

The IRS does not offer a public online tool to look up your own EIN. Instead, find it on your CP 575 notice, a prior tax return, or bank records, or call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 to have it read to you after identity verification.

How do I find another company's EIN?

For a public company, search SEC EDGAR, which lists the EIN on the cover of Form 10-K. For a nonprofit, search IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search by name; the EIN appears in the results and on its Form 990. For a private company, ask for a Form W-9.

Is there a fee to find an EIN?

No. Every legitimate lookup is free. The IRS states you never have to pay a fee for an EIN, SEC EDGAR is free public access, and IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search is free. Sites that charge to retrieve an EIN are reselling public information.

What is a CP 575 notice?

CP 575 is the computer-generated confirmation notice the IRS issues once when it assigns your EIN. It shows the 9-digit number and the legal name on file. Because the IRS issues it only once, keep it with your permanent records.

Can the IRS give my EIN to someone over the phone?

Only to an authorized person. When you call 800-829-4933, the assistor verifies your identity and releases the EIN only if you are a sole proprietor, partner, corporate officer, trustee, or other party authorized to receive it.

Sources

IRS - Employer Identification Number (steps to find a lost EIN: notice, bank, licensing agency, prior returns).
IRS - Telephone assistance (Business & Specialty Tax Line 800-829-4933, 7 a.m.–7 p.m. local, Mon–Fri).
IRS - Get an Employer Identification Number ("You never have to pay a fee for an EIN").
IRS - About Form SS-4 (Application for Employer Identification Number; 9-digit format 12-3456789).
IRS - About Form W-9 (payee furnishes its taxpayer identification number).
IRS - Tax Exempt Organization Search (search by name/EIN; Pub 78, Form 990, determination letters, revocation list).
IRS - Annual filing and forms (Form 990) (990 header shows the organization's EIN).
IRS - Publication 1635, Understanding Your EIN (an EIN is permanent; never reused or reassigned).
SEC - Search filings (EDGAR) (free public access to company filings).
SEC - EDGAR full-text search (full text of filings since 2001; free).
SEC - How do I use EDGAR? (searching company filings and reports).
Cornell Legal Information Institute - 26 U.S. Code § 6109, Identifying numbers (identifying number required on returns).
Cornell Legal Information Institute - 31 CFR § 1020.220 (banks collect a taxpayer identification number at account opening - why your bank holds your EIN).

LegalGlass provides general information for educational purposes and is not a law firm or a substitute for advice from a licensed attorney or tax professional. This page is information, not advice. Laws, forms, and processing times change; verify current requirements with the IRS and SEC before acting.