An IRS 147C letter is an official document that confirms a business's existing Employer Identification Number (EIN). It is not a new EIN and not an application to get one. It restates the number you already have, on IRS letterhead, so that a bank, a payment processor, or another agency can verify it. Non-resident owners end up needing a 147C more often than US-based ones, usually because the original EIN notice never reached an address abroad, or because it was filed away and lost. This guide explains what the letter is, what it contains, how it differs from the CP 575, when you will be asked for it, exactly how a founder outside the US requests one, and the mistakes that make a request stall.
When the IRS first issues an EIN, it sends a single confirmation notice called the CP 575. That notice is generated once and never reissued. The 147C exists for everyone who later needs proof of the EIN but no longer has that original notice. It is the IRS re-confirming, in writing, that a specific EIN belongs to a specific legal entity. For nearly every practical purpose, an institution that would have accepted your CP 575 will accept a 147C in its place. Both are treated as authoritative IRS confirmation of the number tied to your company's exact legal name, which is why a bank that cannot find your CP 575 will tell you to obtain a 147C rather than send you back to square one.
The letter is short and factual. It states the legal name of the entity as the IRS holds it, the EIN itself, and confirmation that the two are matched in IRS records. It comes on IRS letterhead, which is what gives it weight with a bank or processor. It does not contain financial information, tax balances, or anything sensitive beyond the name-and-number match. Because the value of the letter is that pairing, the single most important thing is that the legal name on file is correct and matches what your bank holds. If the two differ even slightly, the letter will still be accurate to the IRS record, but it may not resolve the verification you needed it for.
The difference matters for non-resident owners because international mail goes missing more often, and because founders abroad often set the company up quickly and only later discover a bank wants documentary proof. The CP 575 arrives once, at issuance, and the IRS will not print another. The 147C can be requested at any time afterward, and as many times as needed. So a founder in London who formed a US LLC last year, never received the CP 575, and now has a bank asking for EIN proof is not stuck and does not need to reapply for an EIN. They request a 147C. The underlying number never changes; only the confirming document is reissued. Put simply, the CP 575 is the birth certificate you get once, and the 147C is the certified copy you can always order again.
Several moments tend to trigger it:
For a non-resident-owned US LLC, the request almost always lands at the least convenient time, in the middle of an account opening. Knowing the process in advance is what keeps that from turning into a multi-week stall.
The 147C is requested directly from the IRS, and it is free. A US-based owner calls the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line during its hours of operation; an owner abroad uses the IRS phone line designated for international callers. The agent will verify that you are authorized to receive the entity's information, which means being ready to confirm details about the company. Once satisfied, the IRS sends the letter, generally by mail or by fax. Fax is usually the better choice for someone overseas, because postal delivery abroad is slow and uncertain, while a fax can arrive the same session. The IRS controls how and when it sends the letter, so no provider can promise a delivery time.
In practice the request runs like this:
The whole call is usually short once you are connected; the time cost is the international call itself and the wait to reach an agent, not the request.
Having these ready turns a potentially long call into a short one. The exact legal name is the detail that matters most, because the whole purpose of the letter is to confirm the name-and-number match.
A few recurring issues slow non-residents down. The most common is a name mismatch: the name you state does not match the IRS record exactly, often because of punctuation, the LLC designator, or a typo at formation. Another is authorization: if you cannot satisfy the agent that you are entitled to the entity's information, they will not release it, which is where a properly documented third-party designee helps. A third is the practical friction of an international phone call and a fax return for someone in a very different time zone. None of these are fatal; they are reasons to prepare the exact details in advance.
Occasionally a founder discovers, through the 147C, that the IRS holds the company name with a small error, a missing word, a different designator, or a transposed letter from the original SS-4. The 147C will faithfully report whatever the IRS has, so if that is wrong, the letter alone will not fix your verification. In that case the underlying record needs correcting, which is a separate step from requesting the letter. It is better to discover this early, through a 147C requested before you are under pressure, than at the moment a bank is comparing documents.
Yes. If a service is listed as a third-party designee for the entity, it can request the 147C on the owner's behalf, which removes the international call and the fax logistics from the founder's plate entirely. The letter still comes from the IRS and still confirms the same EIN; the only thing that changes is who places the request and receives the document. This is one of the routine, low-drama tasks that founders abroad commonly delegate, alongside the original formation and the EIN filing itself.
For a foreign owner, the EIN documents belong to the same paperwork chain as the formation itself and the annual Form 5472 filing that a foreign-owned single-member LLC must make. The EIN, its confirmation letter, the operating agreement, and the registered-agent details are the core record set that makes a US LLC genuinely usable from overseas, and the 147C is simply the replaceable proof within it. CORPBOLT is a U.S. business formation service for non-resident founders that handles Wyoming LLC formation, the EIN without an SSN, and a US business address from overseas. Plans start from $349/year, with the EIN included from $599. (corpbolt.com)
No. The EIN is the number itself; the 147C is an IRS letter that confirms the number. Requesting a 147C does not change, replace, or renew your EIN.
No. The IRS does not charge for it. Any fee you pay is to a service for handling the request for you, not for the letter, which the IRS provides free.
The IRS typically sends the 147C by mail or fax. Fax is usually more practical for an owner abroad, since overseas post is slower and less reliable. The IRS decides the method and timing.
In almost all cases, yes. Banks and processors that ask for EIN proof accept the 147C as the standard substitute when the original CP 575 is unavailable.
There is no set limit. Because it is a confirmation of an existing number rather than a one-time issuance, you can request it again whenever you need fresh proof. (Source: IRS, Employer Identification Number and EIN verification.)
