Reference number 103 comes up when the responsible party on your EIN application is another company rather than a person. The IRS checked the EIN and name you entered for that company, found no match, and stopped. The real fix is usually not correcting a typo. It is changing who you name as the responsible party.
What reference 103 means
You entered an existing entity as the responsible party, and the EIN and name pair you gave for it does not match IRS records. Either the number has a wrong digit, or the name is not written exactly the way the IRS registered it, down to abbreviations and the entity suffix.
The bigger problem behind the code
Since 2019 the IRS has required the responsible party on an EIN application to be an individual: the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the entity. Government entities are the main exception. So even if you fix the mismatch, an application built around a company as responsible party runs against current IRS practice.
The common setup that lands here is a US LLC owned by a holding company. The responsible party the IRS wants is the person who controls the holding company, not the holding company itself. The ownership structure does not change; the EIN application just has to name the human at the top of it.
The fix, step by step
- Name a person, not a company. On lines 7a and 7b, enter the individual who ultimately owns or controls the LLC, with their SSN or ITIN.
- If that person has an SSN or ITIN, retry online once with their details. That resolves most 103 cases.
- If they have neither, skip the online tool. It cannot validate a responsible party without a US taxpayer number. Complete Form SS-4 on paper, write foreign on line 7b, and fax it: 855-641-6935 with a US address, 304-707-9471 without one. The full process is in our guide to getting an EIN without an SSN.
- If you believe the entity details were right, verify the EIN against that company's CP 575 letter and the name character for character. Then expect to file by fax or mail anyway, because the online route is built for individual responsible parties.
- Do not resubmit repeatedly. Stacked failed attempts trigger reference 105 and a day-long lockout.
The other reference numbers
103 has siblings, and they do not share a fix. Reference 101 is a business name conflict that closes the online route for the entity. Reference 102 is a mismatch on an individual responsible party's name and number. Reference 104 is a third-party designee contact clash, 105 means too many attempts, and 109 and 110 are IRS system faults. Identify your exact code before acting on any fix.
Holding company structure and a refused EIN application?
We file SS-4s for layered ownership structures every week and know what the IRS expects on lines 7a and 7b. If you want it done rather than debugged, send us your formation documents.
Frequently asked questions
What does EIN reference number 103 mean?
It means you entered an existing company as the responsible party on the EIN application, and the EIN and name you gave for that company do not match IRS records. Either the number has a wrong digit or the name is not written the way the IRS registered it.
Can a company be the responsible party for an EIN?
Generally no. Since 2019 the IRS has required the responsible party to be an individual, the natural person who ultimately owns or controls the entity. Government entities are the main exception. Name the person behind the company, not the company.
How do I fix error 103?
Replace the entity with the individual who controls it, using that person's SSN or ITIN, and retry online once. If that person has neither number, the online tool cannot validate them; file Form SS-4 by fax with "foreign" written on line 7b.
My LLC is owned by a holding company. Who is the responsible party?
The person who ultimately controls the holding company. The IRS wants to reach a human at the top of the chain, not another entity. That person's name and SSN or ITIN go on lines 7a and 7b of Form SS-4.
Sources: IRS Instructions for Form SS-4 and IRS EIN application guidance; error code behavior cross-checked against LLC University, TRUiC, and Clerky documentation of IRS EIN reference numbers. Current as of 1 August 2026. IRS numbers, hours, and processing times change; confirm on irs.gov before filing.