A bank, a payment processor, or a marketplace asks for your EIN confirmation letter. You had one, the CP 575 that arrived when the number was assigned, and now you cannot find it. The IRS will not reissue that notice. What it will issue is Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned, and for a foreign owned LLC the way you get it is a phone call. This is how that call works, who is allowed to make it, and how long each delivery route takes. Everything here comes from the IRS's own pages and its internal manual.
Why you cannot get another CP 575
The IRS is direct about this. Its CP 575 page states that the original CP575A to J series, Notice of New Employer Identification Number, cannot be duplicated or recreated. The internal procedure agrees: Internal Revenue Manual 21.7.13.3.9.2 tells assistors that when a taxpayer asks for a duplicate CP 575, they send Letter 147C instead and explain that the original notice cannot be duplicated.
Letter 147C is the document the IRS issues for exactly this purpose, and the IRS's own CP 575 page describes the written confirmation of an EIN as something banks and other institutions accept. If someone tells you they need "the CP 575 specifically" for a company that lost it, the honest answer is that no such copy exists, and the 147C is what the IRS provides in its place.
Who is allowed to request it
The manual section that governs these requests, IRM 21.7.1.4.7.1, opens with the rule: taxpayers or their authorized representative may contact the IRS to confirm an existing EIN or obtain Letter 147C. Before anything is disclosed, the assistor establishes the caller's relationship with the entity. There are three cases that matter for a foreign owned LLC.
The owner or an officer
The assistor asks for your position with the entity and checks it against the rules on who may have access to the entity's return information. A member or managing member of the LLC is the normal caller. The assistor then authenticates you personally, and if you cannot supply the EIN yourself, that identity check happens before the number is even searched for.
An authorized third party
Someone acting for you can make the call if the IRS has a Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, or a Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, on file or in hand. The manual is specific about the 8821: box 4 checked, and the form notated with the purpose, such as SS-4, EIN Application, or 147C letter. If the form is not already on the IRS's authorization file, the assistor sends it for processing. This is the route we use for clients, which is why we ask for a signed 8821 at the start of a formation rather than when a bank starts asking questions.
Not the third party designee from your SS-4
This trips up founders who used a formation service. The person named as third party designee on the original Form SS-4 had authority to obtain the new EIN and nothing more. The Instructions for Form SS-4 state that the designee's authority terminates at the time the EIN is assigned and released. The manual, in IRM 21.7.13.3.9.1, adds that the IRS will not fax or mail a 147C to a designee, because their authority does not extend to receiving mail for the taxpayer. An unauthorized caller is given two options: conference the taxpayer into the call, or have the taxpayer call personally.
The numbers to call
The IRS's EIN page gives the domestic route: the Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, TTY 800-829-4059. The IRS's business telephone contacts page lists the same line and confirms it covers EIN matters.
For callers outside the United States, the IRS's international contact page lists 267-941-1000, which is not toll free, Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time, and a fax line, 681-247-3101, for international tax account issues only. The same page lists the mailing address for international business taxpayers as Internal Revenue Service, International Accounts, Ogden, UT 84201-0038.
What to have in front of you
The assistor has two jobs: establish that you are entitled to the entity's information, and confirm you are who you say you are. The manual points to the IRS's identity proofing procedures for both, and those procedures are not published in detail. What you can prepare is the information the entity's record was built from. From our own calls, that means:
- The LLC's exact legal name as it appears on the state filing and on the original Form SS-4, including the LLC suffix.
- The EIN, if you have it anywhere. The IRS's EIN page suggests the notice you received when you applied, your bank, any agency you gave it to for a license, and past business tax returns. A Form 5472 or pro forma 1120 you filed earlier carries it. If you can supply the number, the call is shorter; if you cannot, expect the identity check before the search.
- The mailing address of record, meaning the address the IRS currently has for the entity, which is the SS-4 address unless it was changed since.
- The responsible party's details as given on the SS-4: full name and, where one existed, the SSN or ITIN. A foreign owner who wrote "foreign" on line 7b has no number to give, which is fine; the record will show that.
- Your position with the entity, ready to state plainly, such as member or managing member.
- A fax number you can receive on, if you want the letter the same day. More on that below.
How the letter is delivered, and how long it takes
Once the EIN is located, IRM 21.7.1.4.7.1 tells the assistor to provide the verification verbally, in writing by fax, or by mail to the address of record. If it is mailed, the assistor is instructed to advise the caller to expect the letter in 10 to 14 business days. The fax option is confirmed in more than one place in the EIN manual: assistors are told to fax a 147C when a caller requests immediate written confirmation, and a separate section on reactivated accounts says that if the taxpayer or their authorized representative requests an immediate fax confirmation, to fax accordingly.
| Route | What the IRS says | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Verbal | The EIN is read to an authenticated caller on the call | IRM 21.7.1.4.7.1 |
| Fax | Sent during or after the call on request, subject to disclosure rules for faxing account information | IRM 21.7.1.4.7.1, IRM 21.7.13.3.4.1 |
| Sent to the address of record; caller told to expect it in 10 to 14 business days | IRM 21.7.1.4.7.1 |
Two exceptions to plan around. First, IRM 21.7.13.3.9.1 and 21.7.13.4.2.4 tell assistors not to send a 147C if the EIN was assigned within the last 30 days, because a CP 575 was generated then, or if a 147C was already sent within the last 30 days. If your number is brand new, wait for the CP 575 rather than asking for a replacement. Second, the mailed letter goes only to the address of record. If that address is a registered agent you no longer use, change it first with Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party, Business, available on irs.gov, or ask for fax delivery.
The online alternative, and why most foreign owned LLCs cannot use it yet
The IRS now offers a digital CP 575 inside Business Tax Account. The IRS describes it as a substitute for both the CP575A to J series and Letter 147C, and says it is accepted by banks and other institutions as written confirmation of an entity's EIN. If your company can get into that account, that is the quickest route.
Two limits, both from the IRS's own page. Business Tax Account is available to sole proprietors with an SSN or ITIN, to partnerships, to S corporations, to C corporations, and to single member LLCs that file as a corporation or partnership. The page states it is not yet available for LLCs that file as sole proprietors, which is the default position of a single member LLC. And access requires verifying your identity through the IRS's third party identity provider. A foreign owner of a disregarded single member LLC therefore usually has neither the entity type nor the sign in path, and the phone route remains the one that works.
What the letter is used for
The practical uses are the ones that sent you here: opening or unfreezing a US bank account, satisfying a payment processor's tax identity check, or replacing a CP 575 in your permanent records. The IRS's CP 575 page says to keep the notice in your permanent records and to make several copies because it is used when EIN verification is requested for business purposes. The same applies to the 147C once you have it. Scan it the day it arrives, and if you sign an ongoing compliance engagement with us, we keep a copy on file so nobody has to make this call twice.
Related reading
If the EIN itself was never issued, or you are not sure it was, start with getting an EIN without an SSN, which covers the fax application from start to finish. If a bank turned you down before you could even get to the confirmation letter, why US bank applications get declined for foreign owned LLCs covers the order things need to happen in. And if you are pulling your EIN for the annual Form 5472, that filing is where the number gets used most for a company with no US operations.
Would rather not sit on hold with the IRS?
With a signed Form 8821 we can request your Letter 147C, have it faxed to us, and forward it to your bank. It is part of what we do when we file for a client and keep the company current. Tell us what the bank asked for and we will handle the call.
Frequently asked questions
Can I get a copy of my CP 575 if I lost it?
No. The IRS states the original CP575A to J notice cannot be duplicated or recreated. On request it issues Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned, which serves the same purpose and which the IRS says banks and other institutions accept as written confirmation of an EIN.
What phone number does a foreign owner call for a 147C letter?
The IRS lists 267-941-1000 for international callers, Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time; it is not toll free. Callers inside the US use the Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time.
How long does Letter 147C take?
The IRS manual instructs assistors to provide the EIN verbally, and in writing by fax or by mail to the address of record. For mail, the assistor tells the caller to expect the letter in 10 to 14 business days. A fax can be sent on request when the caller asks for immediate written confirmation.
Can my formation service or accountant request it for me?
Only with authorization the IRS recognizes: Form 2848 or Form 8821 naming them, with the 8821's box 4 checked and the form noted for the 147C letter or SS-4. The third party designee named on your original SS-4 cannot; that authority ended when the EIN was issued.
Can I download the letter online instead?
Only if your company can use Business Tax Account, which offers a digital CP 575 that the IRS treats as a substitute for Letter 147C. The IRS says the account is not yet available for LLCs that file as sole proprietors, which covers the typical single member LLC, and it requires identity verification through the IRS's third party provider.
Sources: IRS, Understanding your CP575 notice; IRS, Employer identification number; IRS, Telephone assistance contacts for business customers; IRS, Contact my local office internationally; IRS, Business Tax Account; IRS, Instructions for Form SS-4; IRS, About Form 8822-B; IRM 21.7.1.4.7.1; IRM 21.7.13 (sections 21.7.13.3.4.1, 21.7.13.3.9.1, 21.7.13.3.9.2, 21.7.13.4.2.4, 21.7.13.4.2.6). Current as of 26 August 2026. IRS numbers, hours, and procedures change; confirm on irs.gov before calling.