An EIN (Employer Identification Number) is the nine-digit number the IRS uses to identify your organization, and your nonprofit needs one before it can open a bank account, apply for tax-exempt status, run payroll, or hold credit in its own name. It is free, takes minutes to get online, and is not the same as being tax-exempt. This guide covers how to get one, how to find one you’ve lost, how to look up another organization’s number, and the warning founders learn the hard way.

TLDR

  • An EIN is your organization’s federal ID number. You need it before you can open a bank account, apply for 501(c)(3) status, run payroll, or hold credit in the organization’s name.
  • It’s free and takes minutes on IRS.gov. The IRS itself never charges for an EIN.
  • An EIN is not tax-exempt status. Confusing the two is one of the more expensive mistakes a new founder can make.
  • Don’t apply until your organization is legally formed. The IRS filing clock starts the moment you do.

What an EIN actually is

Think of an EIN as your organization’s Social Security number: a federal ID for the entity itself, not for any founder, director, or employee. The IRS requires one for tax-exempt organizations just as it does for corporations and partnerships.

That separation is what makes the number useful. Your bank account, your IRS filings, and the financial accounts your organization holds in its own name all attach to the EIN rather than to a person. Board members rotate and executive directors move on, but the EIN stays with the organization.

An EIN is not tax-exempt status

Getting an EIN takes minutes, while getting 501(c)(3) recognition is a separate application to the IRS. The EIN is a prerequisite for that application, not a substitute for it, and the IRS says so directly: “The EIN is not your tax-exempt number.”

Confusing the two gets expensive, because the document funders and grant platforms actually ask for is your IRS determination letter, the IRS’s written recognition of your exemption as of its effective date.

So the sequence for a new nonprofit is: form the organization legally, get the EIN, then apply for exemption. Starting from zero? Our guide to starting a nonprofit walks the whole path.

How to get an EIN (the quick way)

Apply directly with the IRS. Their words: “You never have to pay a fee for an EIN.” Some services will prepare or file the application for you and charge a service fee for the help, which is legitimate as long as you know that’s what you’re paying for. The form itself is free, and for most organizations it’s simple enough that paying someone to file it is like paying someone to mail a letter.

The mechanics:

  1. Apply online at IRS.gov. If your principal place of business is in the United States or U.S. territories, the online assistant issues your EIN in minutes. It runs Monday through Friday 6 a.m. to 1 a.m., Saturday 6 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday 6 p.m. to midnight, Eastern time. Yes, the IRS’s website keeps business hours. Organizations based elsewhere apply by fax, mail, or phone instead.
  2. Have your responsible party ready. The application is filed by the person in control of the entity or an authorized representative, using their Social Security number or ITIN. A third-party designee needs signed authorization.
  3. One per day. The IRS issues one EIN per responsible party per day, which matters if the same person is forming multiple entities.
  4. Save the CP575 notice. The confirmation notice the IRS issues is your original proof of the number. Banks and grant portals may ask for it, and while replacements exist (more below), keeping the original saves you the trouble.

Key takeaway: the IRS says plainly, “Don’t apply for an EIN until your organization is legally formed.” If you’re creating a state legal entity, complete that formation first, and the same logic applies to trusts and unincorporated associations. The moment you apply, the IRS presumes you’re formed and, in their words, “the clock starts running on this three-year period.” From that point, nearly all organizations must file a required return or notice each year, and missing three consecutive years triggers automatic revocation of tax-exempt status. An EIN grabbed early “to reserve the number” starts that clock just the same, months before you’re ready to file anything.

Lost your EIN? Four places to look before calling the IRS

  1. The CP575 notice the IRS issued when you applied.
  2. Your organization’s bank. The account was opened under the EIN, so they have it.
  3. Past filings, including any Form 990 or 990-EZ return, or Form 990-N notice, your organization submitted.
  4. State or local agencies where your organization applied for licenses or registrations.

If none of those turn it up, call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time (Alaska and Hawaii follow Pacific time). Once the IRS verifies you’re authorized, they can issue Letter 147C, the official “EIN previously assigned” confirmation that substitutes for the original notice. Organizations with an IRS Business Tax Account can skip the call and download a digital verification notice instead.

How to look up another nonprofit’s EIN (or check your own status)

The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) is the public record. Search by organization name or EIN and you can pull:

  • Publication 78 data: organizations eligible to receive tax-deductible contributions, updated monthly. This is a common first check for donors and donor-advised funds.
  • Determination letters: the IRS’s recognition of exemption, for letters issued January 1, 2014 and later. An older organization’s letter can predate the database, so absence there doesn’t prove anything by itself.
  • Form 990 series filings: annual returns, plus the Form 990-N notices small organizations file.
  • The auto-revocation list: organizations whose exempt status was automatically revoked after three consecutive years of missed filings.

When would you use it? Verifying a fiscal sponsor before signing, checking a partner’s standing before a joint grant application, or confirming how your own organization shows up, because many funders run the same search. One caution on the revocation list: treat it as history, not a live verdict. Publication 78 data updates monthly, and an organization that was reinstated proves its current status with its most recent determination letter. If your organization appears on that list and it’s news to you, check your Publication 78 listing and your paperwork before your next grant cycle.

Where your EIN gets used

Once issued, the EIN is how institutions confirm your organization is real:

  • Banking. Banks require an EIN to open an account in the organization’s name. Without one, donations end up running through somebody’s personal account, which is a mess no treasurer wants to inherit.
  • The exemption application and IRS filings. The EIN goes on your 501(c)(3) application and the Form 990-series returns and notices you file after it. Our guide to nonprofit financial reporting requirements covers what those involve.
  • Grants and donation platforms. Grant applications, donor-advised funds, and giving platforms typically verify your organization against IRS records before money moves.
  • Payroll. It’s the “Employer” in Employer Identification Number, and hiring your first staff member requires it.
  • Credit in the organization’s name. The EIN is what lets your organization hold financial accounts as itself instead of through a founder’s personal identity.

That last one is where a lot of small nonprofits get stuck. The bank account separates the organization’s money from personal money, but the card in the drawer is still somebody’s personal card with a reimbursement pile behind it. The Charity Charge Nonprofit Business Card is built for exactly that gap. No personal guarantee: the card is underwritten to the organization, so no board member, executive director, or staff member signs personally. There’s no annual fee and no monthly platform fee, and the application asks for your organization’s legal name, EIN, and contact information, plus two consecutive fiscal years of financials. See the Nonprofit Business Card.

EIN quick answers

Does having an EIN make my organization tax-exempt?
No. The IRS states directly that the EIN is not your tax-exempt number. Exemption requires legally forming your organization and applying for recognition, and your determination letter is the proof of that recognition.

How much does an EIN cost?
Nothing from the IRS: it’s issued free, online, in minutes. Paid services that file it for you are charging a preparation fee, not an IRS fee.

Do we need a new EIN when the board or executive director changes?
No. A new EIN is generally required only when the entity’s ownership or structure changes, not when leadership does, and not for a name or location change. One caveat: if the person listed as your IRS responsible party changes, report it on Form 8822-B within 60 days.

How fast can we get one?
Applying online during operating hours, minutes. Just don’t apply before the organization is legally formed, because IRS filing obligations start from the presumption that you are.

How do I prove our EIN to a bank or funder?
The original CP575 notice, a digital verification notice from your IRS Business Tax Account, or Letter 147C from the Business & Specialty Tax Line (800-829-4933). Funders checking exempt status usually verify through TEOS as well.

Last updated August 4, 2026. IRS procedures and hours cited from IRS.gov as of that date. This guide is educational, not tax or legal advice; for decisions about your organization’s status, talk to your accountant or attorney.