Catalogue — REF A-1…E-2

REF B-3

Shelf B — ELIGIBILITY & APPLICATION

pp. 1–6 · 12 min · Verified 5 Nov 2026

Form SS-4, annotated line by line

Every non-online route to an EIN carries the same sheet of paper. This entry reproduces Form SS-4 as a specimen plate and annotates each material line in the Margin — the flagship artefact of the second edition.

Verified on November 5, 2026 against the Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) and the IRS page “Employer identification number”, cited in full at the foot of this entry.

Read the plate top to bottom, as the IRS reads it. Each red pin on the plate resolves to the Margin note of the same number.8 Three lines decide most of this library's cases: line 1 fixes the name every record must match; lines 7a–7b name the true responsible party and treat the no-U.S.-number case; line 4 fixes the address every IRS letter will use.

Document — Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2019)Plate B-3·1

Application for Employer Identification Number · OMB No. 1545-0003

1Legal name of entity (or individual) for whom the EIN is being requested
SPECIMEN ENTITY LLC1

2Trade name of business (if different from name on line 1)
—2

3Executor, administrator, trustee, “care of” name
—3

4a–bMailing address and city, state, and ZIP code (if foreign, see instructions)
— (address of record)4

5a–bStreet address (if different) (Do not enter a PO box), and city, state, and ZIP code
—5

6County and state where principal business is located
—6

7aName of responsible party
THE INDIVIDUAL WHO OWNS OR CONTROLS THE ENTITY7

7bSSN, ITIN, or EIN
FOREIGN — see Margin n.88

8aIs this application for a limited liability company (LLC) (or a foreign equivalent)?
YES — 1 MEMBER9

8bIf 8a is “Yes,” enter the number of LLC members
110

8cIf 8a is “Yes,” was the LLC organized in the United States?
YES11

9aType of entity (check only one box)
OTHER — DISREGARDED ENTITY12

9bIf a corporation, name the state or foreign country where incorporated
—13

10Reason for applying (check only one box)
STARTED NEW BUSINESS / BANKING PURPOSE, AS APPLIES14

11Date business started or acquired (month, day, year)
—15

SignSignature of applicant — sign name and title, and date
SIGNED BY THE APPLICANT — THIRD-PARTY DESIGNEE BLOCK BELOW, IF USED16

Specimen — Not an IRS document · Sample entries are illustrative

§ 1 —How to use this entry

Complete the form from the current IRS PDF, not from this plate: the plate is a specimen for study, labelled as such, and the live form and its instructions govern. Where an annotation and the instructions differ, the instructions are right and the annotation will be corrected in the Errata log.

§ 2 —The three lines that decide the case

Line 1 is a transcription task, not a drafting task: copy the legal name from the formation document character for character. Line 7a names a person, truthfully (REF B-1). Line 7b is where foreign applicants most often stall: the instructions provide for the responsible party who has no SSN or ITIN and is ineligible to obtain one, and the application then travels by fax, mail, or the international phone line (REF B-2) rather than online.

§ 3 —What happens to the sheet

By fax, the completed, signed SS-4 goes to the number the instructions assign to the applicant's situation, with a return fax number on the form; the IRS's stated timeframe is about four business days. By mail, it goes to the Cincinnati address the instructions name, with a stated timeframe of approximately four weeks. The number that comes back arrives on Notice CP 575 (REF C-1) — keep it; it is issued once.

General information only, not tax advice. Where this page and an IRS source differ, the IRS source governs.

§Sources

IRS, Instructions for Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) — https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iss4 — consulted 2026-11-05.
IRS, “Employer identification number” — https://www.irs.gov/businesses/employer-identification-number — consulted 2026-11-05.

Verified

5 NOV 2026

Against IRS source

SOURCE Instructions for Form SS-4
REVISION Rev. December 2025
AT https://www.irs.gov/instructions/iss4
NEXT RE-VERIFICATION DUE: 5 FEB 2027
ERRATA LOG →

Annotations

n.1 Line 1 — legal name. The entity's legal name exactly as it appears on the formation document. This name, as the IRS records it, becomes the name on the CP 575 and the name every later filing is matched against (REF C-2).

n.2 Line 2 — trade name. Only if the business operates under a different name. A trade name never replaces the line 1 legal name in IRS records.

n.3 Line 3 — care of. For an executor, administrator, or trustee name where the form calls for one; most LLC applicants leave it as the instructions direct.

n.4 Lines 4a–4b — mailing address. This becomes the address of record: the CP 575 is mailed here, and later IRS notices follow it. A wrong or stale address here is the defect REF C-2 exists to correct. For a foreign address, the instructions direct the applicant to enter the city, province or state, postal code, and the full country name — not an abbreviation.

n.5 Lines 5a–5b — street address. If different from the mailing address. The form states the street address may not be a P.O. box.

n.6 Line 6 — county and state of principal business. Where the principal business is located; for an applicant with no U.S. location, the instructions address the foreign case — read them for the exact entry.

n.7 Line 7a — responsible party. The individual who ultimately owns or controls the entity — never a nominee, never another company (government entities excepted). The full treatment is REF B-1.

n.8 Line 7b — the party's number. Where the responsible party has no SSN or ITIN and is ineligible to obtain one, the SS-4 instructions address this line for exactly that case; the line is not simply left blank. The current instructions govern the exact entry — this annotation states that the case is provided for, and deliberately does not paraphrase the entry.

n.9 Line 8a — LLC? Answer for the entity as formed. A single-member foreign-owned LLC answers yes and gives one member on line 8b.

n.10 Line 8b — number of members. Counted as the state formation records it. This figure and line 9a together set how the IRS first classifies the entity.

n.11 Line 8c — organised in the United States? For a state-formed LLC, yes — formation under a state's law is what makes the applicant a U.S. entity with a foreign owner, not a foreign entity.

n.12 Line 9a — type of entity. Check one box only. A disregarded single-member LLC follows the instructions' direction for its case rather than inventing a category.

n.13 Line 9b — state or country of incorporation. Completed for corporations; an LLC's formation state already appears through lines 6 and 8c.

n.14 Line 10 — reason for applying. Check one box: started a new business, banking purpose, changed type of organisation, or another reason the form lists. The reason does not change the number issued.

n.15 Line 11 — date started or acquired. The date the business started or was acquired, in the form's month, day, year order.

n.16 Signature and designee. Below line 11 the form carries the applicant's signature and the optional third-party designee block: a designee may receive the EIN and answer questions about this application only, and is not the responsible party (REF B-1 § 4).

Cross-references

See also REF B-1 — lines 7a–7b in depth
See also REF B-2 — where the completed sheet is sent
See also REF C-1 — the notice the sheet produces

Errata

No errata recorded for this entry.