How to look up a company's EIN
Why most EINs aren't public
An EIN identifies a business to the IRS, and the IRS doesn't publish a directory of them. Its one searchable database, Tax Exempt Organization Search, covers tax-exempt organizations: Form 990-series returns, Form 990-N e-Postcard filings, the Publication 78 list of organizations that can receive tax-deductible contributions, the auto-revocation list, and determination letters issued on or after January 1, 2014.
State business searches don't fill the gap. Nearly every state looks companies up by name, file number, officer or registered agent, not by EIN. Florida is the exception: Sunbiz searches by name, file number, officer, agent, EIN, zip code, address and trademark. Your state's official search says which fields it takes.
Tax-exempt organizations and charities
Search [Tax Exempt Organization Search](https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/) by EIN or by name. The dash after the first two digits of the EIN is optional, names aren't case-sensitive, and results sort by city, state or zip.
This is the route for a charity, a church, a foundation or a nonprofit you're donating to or working with. It also tells you whether the organization's exempt status has been revoked.
Public companies
A company that files with the SEC prints its EIN on the cover of its reports. The Form 10-K cover page has a line for it, labelled I.R.S. Employer Identification No., next to the state of incorporation and the commission file number.
Find the filing in EDGAR, the SEC's free system. Company search finds registration statements, periodic reports and other forms by company name or ticker symbol, and full-text search covers more than 20 years of filings.
Private companies: ask for it
For a private business, asking is the method. If you pay a company and have to report what you paid, request Form W-9 from it. The form is the IRS's Request for Taxpayer Identification Number and Certification, and it exists so someone can give their correct taxpayer identification number to the person required to file an information return.
An invoice, a contract, a loan document or a certificate of insurance may also carry the number. A company has no obligation to hand its EIN to a stranger, and nothing public requires it to.
Your own EIN, if you've lost it
Look on the notice the IRS issued when you applied. Then contact the bank that holds your business account, check any agency where you applied for a state or local license, and look at your past business tax returns.
If none of that works, call the IRS at 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. The IRS verifies your identity and gives the number over the phone if you're authorized to receive it.
For something in writing, there are three ways: request an entity transcript, download a digital CP575 Employer Identification Number Verification Notice in your business tax account, or call the business and specialty tax line and ask for Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned. If you don't have an EIN at all yet, how to get an EIN has the steps.
Questions
Is there a free EIN lookup?
For tax-exempt organizations, yes: the IRS's Tax Exempt Organization Search is free and searches by EIN or name. For public companies, EDGAR is free and their EIN is on the cover of their SEC reports. There is no free lookup for a private company.
Can I find a company's EIN on a state business search?
Almost never. State searches look companies up by name, file number, officer or registered agent. Florida's Sunbiz is the exception and does take an EIN. Check which fields your state's search accepts before you try.
Is an EIN public information?
For most companies, no. The IRS publishes EINs for tax-exempt organizations, and SEC registrants put theirs on their filings. A private company's EIN stays private unless it gives the number out, which it often does on a Form W-9.
How do I get written proof of my own EIN?
Three ways, all from the IRS: request an entity transcript, download a digital CP575 verification notice in your business tax account, or call the business and specialty tax line and request Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned.
Can I look up an EIN by company name?
Only for tax-exempt organizations, through Tax Exempt Organization Search, and for SEC filers, by finding the company in EDGAR and reading the EIN off a filing's cover page. Private companies aren't in any name-to-EIN index.
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