Form SS-4, prepared and checked
Legal name exactly as filed, a real controlling person as responsible party, line 7b marked Foreign. A second specialist reviews it before it leaves.
EIN Application Service
An EIN for your US company, without an SSN
Without a Social Security number there is no online application. We prepare Form SS-4 with line 7b marked Foreign, fax it to the IRS once, and scan the confirmation letter the day it reaches your address.
What our EIN service includes
One application, filed the way the IRS accepts it from a founder with no SSN. Not a form-filling tool.
One clean fax to the IRS
Sent once, from a logged fax line, with the transmission receipt stored. A second application while the first is queued creates an IRS hold, so we never re-send.
The letter lands at your address
The IRS sends the confirmation to your mailbox with us. We scan it the same day and file it beside your Articles and Operating Agreement.
How long does it take to get an EIN without an SSN?
Without an SSN or ITIN, an EIN takes about 2.5 to 3 months by fax and 3 to 3.5 months by mail. The IRS quotes four business days for fax, but its international queue runs longer. A founder with an SSN or ITIN can apply online and get the number in minutes.
| Route | How long | What that means |
|---|---|---|
| IRS online tool | Minutes | Only for a responsible party with an SSN or ITIN. |
| Form SS-4 by mail | 3 to 3.5 months | The IRS says about four weeks. International queues do not. |
| Form SS-4 by fax | 2.5 to 3 months | The IRS says about four business days. This is the route we use. |
A provider advertising an EIN in two weeks is describing the IRS on a good day. We put the realistic window in writing when you order, and check in with you at weeks six and twelve.
How to get an EIN as a non-resident
Form the company
Articles filed in Wyoming or Delaware with a registered agent. The IRS will not issue an EIN to an entity that does not exist yet.
We prepare the SS-4
The same day the state approves. Line 7b marked Foreign, your VMH address as the mailing address, and us named as designee so the IRS can send the number to us.
You sign, we fax once
One transmission from a logged fax line. You get the receipt and a written window: 2.5 to 3 months, IRS dependent.
The number arrives
By fax-back or by letter to your mailbox. Scanned the same day, filed in your document pack, and the bank introduction starts.
What the EIN service does not cover
Read this before you buy. It is the part most providers leave out.
It is not an ITIN
An EIN identifies the company. A personal tax number is Form W-7, a different process, and you do not need one to get an EIN. Do not put a virtual mailbox on a W-7 either.
It is not faster than the IRS
We do not sell expedited EINs. The queue belongs to the IRS, and a second application while the first is pending makes it longer, not shorter.
It is not tax advice
A foreign-owned single-member LLC has annual filing duties of its own, Form 5472 among them. We refer you to a CPA. We do not prepare returns.
No BOI filing is bundled, because none is owed. FinCEN ended beneficial-ownership reporting for US-formed companies in August 2026. Banks still verify every owner at account opening, and that is a separate check. Read the EIN guide
FAQs
Questions about the EIN
What the number is, how the IRS issues it to a non-resident, and what we cannot speed up.
Yes. The IRS online tool needs a responsible party with an SSN or ITIN, so a non-resident applies on paper instead: Form SS-4 with line 7b marked Foreign, sent by fax or mail. You do not need an ITIN first.
By fax, 2.5 to 3 months in practice, although the IRS states about four business days. By mail, 3 to 3.5 months. We put the realistic window in writing at order time and check in at weeks six and twelve.
As the mailing address on line 4, yes. The IRS accepts a mailbox there and sends the confirmation letter to it. Line 5 asks for a physical location, and a mailbox is not one. We tell you what belongs on that line for your plan before we file.
No. FinCEN ended beneficial-ownership reporting for US-formed companies in August 2026, so a non-resident who forms a US LLC has nothing to file. We do not sell it. Your bank will still verify every owner at account opening.
At eight weeks we call the IRS international line as your designee with the fax receipt. At twelve weeks we lay out the options with you. We do not send a second application unless the IRS confirms it has no record of the first, because a duplicate creates a hold.
EIN for non-US founders: the long answers
Last reviewed
What is an EIN, and why can a non-resident not apply online?
An Employer Identification Number is the nine-digit federal tax number of a company. Banks, payment platforms and marketplaces ask for it before they open an account, and the IRS uses it on every notice it sends the company. It cannot be requested until the company exists, and nothing after it can proceed until it arrives.
The online application checks the responsible party against an SSN or ITIN, and a founder outside the United States usually has neither. The paper route is Form SS-4 with line 7b marked Foreign, sent by fax or mail to the IRS international unit. That is the route we file, and it is the reason the timeline is measured in months. The full guide walks through the form line by line.
EIN vs ITIN: which one do you need?
An EIN is the tax number of the company. An ITIN is a personal tax number for someone who needs one and cannot get an SSN. A non-resident founder forming a US LLC needs the EIN, and the IRS does not require an ITIN to issue it.
An ITIN is requested on Form W-7, usually together with a US tax return, and it matters only when you personally have a US filing obligation. Whether you do is a question for a CPA. If you already hold an ITIN, it goes on line 7b of the SS-4 and you can apply for the EIN online in minutes instead of waiting for the paper route.
Which address goes on Form SS-4?
Two lines ask for one. Line 4 is the mailing address, and the IRS accepts a mailbox there: it is where the confirmation letter and every later notice will be sent. Line 5 is the physical location, and the instructions say not to enter a PO box.
A virtual mailbox is a mailing presence, not a place of business, so on line 5 we use the address that is true for your plan: a leased office suite if you hold one with us, otherwise your real address abroad, which the IRS accepts. Styling a mailbox as a suite to look physical is the shortcut we refuse, because a bank will later compare that line against what it knows about the address. How the office address works.