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EIN verification

IRS Letter 147C: how to get an EIN verification letter

Letter 147C is the IRS’s confirmation of the legal name and Employer Identification Number it has on file for a business. You request it by phone, and it is the document a payer, a bank, a payroll provider or a Medicare enrollment contractor asks for when the original EIN notice (CP 575) is lost. It is also the only thing that satisfies a Second B-Notice for an EIN.

Who this is for business owners who need proof of their EIN, and payers who have asked for oneUpdated September 22, 2026Sources IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line; Publication 1281
In this guide
  1. What Letter 147C is
  2. How to request one
  3. Who can request it
  4. When you need it
  5. Letter 147C and the Second B-Notice
  6. Questions people ask

What Letter 147C is

When the IRS assigns an EIN it mails a one-time notice, CP 575, showing the legal name, the EIN and the address on file. The IRS does not reissue a CP 575. If the notice is lost, or the business name has since changed, the replacement is Letter 147C, an EIN verification letter that restates the name and number currently on the IRS master file. The two documents carry the same information and are accepted interchangeably by almost everyone who asks for “proof of EIN.”

The name on the 147C matters as much as the number. It is the exact legal name the IRS matches against on every 1099, and it is what belongs on line 1 of the W-9. A business that has been using a trade name or a slightly different spelling often discovers the discrepancy only when the 147C arrives.

How to request one

  1. Call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time. Expect a wait; early in the day and mid-week is faster.
  2. Choose the EIN options and ask for an EIN verification letter, Letter 147C.
  3. Answer the identity questions: the business name, address, the EIN if you know it, the type of entity, and your name and role.
  4. Ask for it by fax if you have a fax number or an e-fax service; the agent can usually send it during the call. Otherwise it is mailed to the address of record, typically within 10 to 14 days.

There is no online request. The IRS does not email the letter, and no third-party service can obtain one for you, though a service or accountant can call on your behalf with a power of attorney.

If you only need to confirm an EIN you already have, and not a document, the IRS agent can also confirm the number and name over the phone once you pass the identity questions.

Who can request it

The IRS will only issue a 147C to someone authorized for the entity: a sole proprietor, a partner, a corporate officer, a trustee or executor, or a person holding a power of attorney (Form 2848) or tax information authorization (Form 8821) on file. An employee without one of those roles, or a customer who wants to verify a vendor’s EIN, cannot get it. Payers verify a vendor’s name and EIN through IRS TIN matching instead.

When you need it

  • Opening a bank or merchant account when the bank asks for the CP 575 and you no longer have it.
  • Payroll and PEO onboarding. Most providers require a CP 575 or 147C before they will file under your EIN.
  • Medicare enrollment (PECOS) and Medicaid provider applications, which require IRS documentation of the legal name and TIN.
  • State registrations, licenses and grant applications that ask for IRS proof of the EIN.
  • Responding to a Second B-Notice from a customer who pays you, covered next.
  • After a name change, to confirm the IRS has recorded the new legal name before you put it on a W-9.

Letter 147C and the Second B-Notice

When the IRS tells a payer twice within three years that a payee’s name and TIN don’t match, the payer must send a Second B-Notice, and a new W-9 is not enough to stop backup withholding. Publication 1281 requires the payee to send proof from the agency that issued the number: a copy of the Social Security card for an SSN, or Letter 147C for an EIN. The payer has to receive it within 30 business days of the notice date or begin withholding 24%. If you received a Second B-Notice, call the IRS the same day; the mail option will not make the deadline, so ask for fax. The page for payees who received a B-Notice walks through the whole response.

For payers: a 147C dated after the CP2100 is what your file should show for a Second B-Notice payee. Keep the copy with the solicitation record; it is what supports the reasonable-cause statement if a 972CG follows.

Questions people ask

Can I get a 147C online through my IRS account?

No. The Business Tax Account shows some entity information, but the verification letter itself is issued only by phone request, by fax or mail.

Does the 147C show my EIN in full?

Yes. Both the CP 575 and the 147C show the complete nine-digit number and the legal name.

My 147C shows a name I don’t use anymore. What now?

The IRS has not recorded the change. A corporation or partnership reports a name change on its next return (or by letter to the IRS); a sole proprietor writes to the IRS office where they file. Until it is processed, use the name on the 147C on your W-9 so 1099s match.

I’m a sole proprietor with an EIN. Whose name will it show?

Yours, as the individual, possibly with the business name after it. That is why line 1 of your W-9 must be your name, not the business. See which name goes on the W-9.

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