How long it takes to get an EIN depends almost entirely on which application method you use, not on anything specific to your business. Apply online through the IRS and you can have your EIN before you close the browser tab. Apply by fax, mail, or phone instead, and the timeline stretches from a few business days to roughly a month.
Not every applicant qualifies for the fast option, though. Without a US Social Security Number or ITIN, or with a business whose principal location is outside the US, the online tool is off the table entirely, not just slower.
This piece covers what the IRS itself states about processing time for each of the four methods. If you haven't filed Form SS-4 yet, how to get an EIN walks through the application itself; this piece picks up from there.
Fastest option: Apply online directly through the IRS and, if approved, your EIN is issued immediately in the same session. No waiting on the mail or a callback.
No SSN or ITIN? The online tool isn't available to you, even if your company is a US entity with a US address and a US-based team. You'll apply by fax or mail instead, or by phone too if your business is also based outside the US, and the IRS doesn't publish a specific turnaround time for the phone route.
Plan around the method, not just the form: Form SS-4 is identical no matter how you apply. What changes is the channel: online is minutes, fax is about 4 business days, mail is about 4 weeks.
How long it takes to get an EIN, by application method
Method | Who can use it | Typical processing time | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
Online (IRS EIN Assistant) | Responsible party with a valid SSN or ITIN; entity formed in the US or a US territory; principal business location in the US or a US territory | Immediate, same session | Must be completed in one sitting. The session expires after 15 minutes of inactivity and can't be saved partway through. |
Fax | Anyone, including applicants without an SSN or ITIN | About 4 business days | Only if you include a return fax number on Form SS-4. The IRS no longer mails back a notated copy of the form. |
Anyone | Approximately 4 weeks | The slowest of the IRS's published methods. High inventory at the IRS can push this longer. | |
Phone (international applicants only) | Businesses whose principal place of business is outside the US | No specific turnaround published by the IRS | Available Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time, at 267-941-1099. The only option for applicants who can't use the online tool. |
Figures above reflect the IRS's published guidance as of September 2026.
One rule applies across every method: you can apply for only one EIN per responsible party, per day, whether you go online, by phone, by mail, or by fax. The same four methods and timelines apply whether you're applying for an LLC, a trust, or an estate.
If you're a typical US-based applicant, start with the online section below. If you don't have an SSN or ITIN, or your company's principal location is outside the US, skip ahead to the no-SSN section instead.
Why the online option is fastest (and who it excludes)
The IRS's online EIN Assistant issues an EIN the moment your application is approved. No letter, no callback, no fax cover sheet. That speed comes with a real eligibility gate, though:
The responsible party needs a valid SSN or ITIN.
The entity has to be formed or created in the US or a US territory.
The business's principal location has to be in the US or a US territory.
Miss any one of those and the online tool isn't an option, regardless of how quickly you'd otherwise qualify. There's also a practical constraint even for eligible applicants: the application has to be completed in a single sitting. It can't be saved and resumed, and it times out after 15 minutes of inactivity.
What slows down fax and mail applications
Fax and mail applicants submit the same Form SS-4 as everyone else. The difference is what happens after you send it.
By fax, the IRS states it will fax an EIN cover sheet back in about 4 business days, but only if you included a return fax number on the form. Skip that field and there's nothing for the IRS to send your EIN back to quickly.
By mail, the IRS states you'll get your EIN in approximately 4 weeks. That's the published figure, not a worst case. The IRS itself notes that high inventory levels can push processing beyond that, so a mailed application arriving during a busy season can run longer than 4 weeks.
A couple of other things can slow either method down:
An incomplete field on Form SS-4
A responsible party name that doesn't match IRS records
An illegible fax transmission
A rejected or bounced application means starting the clock over, so it's worth a second look at your SS-4 before you send it, even though none of this is unique to EIN applications.
If you don't have an SSN or ITIN
The online tool has three separate requirements, and missing any one of them takes it off the table: a valid SSN or ITIN for the responsible party, US or US-territory formation for the entity, and a US or US-territory principal business location.
If you personally don't have an SSN or ITIN, online isn't available to you, even if your company is a US entity with a US address and a US-based team. That's a separate gate from the location-based exclusion below, which applies even to founders who do have an SSN or ITIN. Without an SSN or ITIN, you apply by fax or mail instead, using the same Form SS-4 and the same published timelines described above: about 4 business days by fax, approximately 4 weeks by mail.
If your business's principal place of business is outside the US, the online tool isn't available either, regardless of whether the responsible party has an SSN or ITIN. The IRS's own eligibility rule spells this out directly for the online application. It isn't a workaround or a technicality; it's a hard requirement. In that case, you also have the option to apply by phone at 267-941-1099, Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time. The IRS doesn't publish a specific processing time for this route the way it does for fax and mail, so plan for something that could run longer than the figures above rather than shorter.
Fax and mail are available to international applicants too, using separate fax numbers and a separate mailing address for EIN International Operations. Same form, same lack of a published turnaround for those specific addresses.
What to do while you wait for your EIN
Once your EIN is issued, most of what you'll want to do with it is available right away. You can use it immediately to open a bank account, apply for business licenses, and file a mailed tax return.
A few things do require a short wait regardless of application method: the IRS states you should allow up to 2 weeks before your EIN will pass its TIN-matching program, before you e-file a return, or before you make electronic tax deposits.
That gap is a good window to get the rest of your setup in order. Pull together your formation documents, and have your business bank account application ready to submit so you're not starting from zero once the EIN lands.
There's plenty you can do with a business bank account before your EIN even lands, while you wait.
If you incorporate through Rho, your SS-4 (EIN application) is prepared and submitted for you as part of that same flow. The Rho account itself opens in parallel with the IRS's EIN processing, not after it; transacting starts once the EIN is issued and attached to the account.
FAQs
Yes, if you apply online and your application is approved. You need a valid SSN or ITIN, an entity formed in the US or a US territory, and a principal business location in the US or a US territory. The IRS issues the EIN immediately in that same session. If you incorporate through Rho, that SS-4 filing happens as part of the same flow, so the EIN and your account move in parallel from day one.
The most common causes are a session timeout (the online tool expires after 15 minutes of inactivity), an entity type or ownership structure the online tool doesn't support, or having already applied for one EIN that day under the same responsible party. If the online tool isn't working for your situation, fax or mail are the fallback options.
Nothing. Getting an EIN directly from the IRS is free, regardless of application method. Any fee you encounter is for a third party preparing or filing the form on your behalf, not for the EIN itself.
The same amount of time it takes any other entity type. EIN timing runs on the four-method clock described above (immediate online, about 4 business days by fax, approximately 4 weeks by mail) regardless of whether you formed an LLC, a C-corp, or another entity type. Forming an LLC doesn't add or remove processing time on its own; you apply for the EIN once the LLC is officially formed with the state.
For an online application, approval and issuance happen in the same session, so you'll see your EIN on screen before you close the browser tab. For fax, the IRS faxes back a cover sheet with your EIN, provided you included a return fax number. For mail, you'll receive a confirmation letter. If a letter is lost, you can also confirm your EIN through a business tax transcript, your Business Tax Account if you're eligible, or by calling the IRS business line for a replacement letter.
LLC first. Form SS-4 asks for details about an already-existing entity, including its name, state of formation, and formation date, so the IRS expects your LLC (or other entity) to be formed before you apply. Apply for your EIN once your LLC is officially formed with the state, not before.
You can't use the IRS's online EIN tool without a valid SSN or ITIN, regardless of where your business is located. You'll apply by phone (if your principal place of business is outside the US), fax, or mail instead, using the same Form SS-4. The IRS doesn't publish a specific processing time for the phone route; fax and mail follow the same published timelines as any other applicant, about 4 business days and approximately 4 weeks respectively.