The fastest way to get an EIN is the IRS online portal, which issues the number the same business day to a responsible party holding a US SSN or ITIN. Non-residents without either use Form SS-4 by fax, which takes 4-6 weeks. This Anonymousllc.co reference covers the same-day online method, the fax fallback, the responsible-party rule, and the limits that slow an application - plus how the $99 EIN service works.
The fastest way to get an EIN is the IRS online portal, which issues the number immediately - the same business day - to a responsible party who holds a US SSN or ITIN. Non-residents without an SSN or ITIN use Form SS-4 by fax, which takes 4-6 weeks with no expedited option. The online route is the only same-day method the IRS offers. Anonymousllc.co's $99 EIN service runs the online portal for US-resident responsible parties and the fax channel for non-residents, delivering the CP-575 confirmation over WhatsApp.
A same-day EIN is available to any responsible party with a valid US SSN or ITIN filing through the online portal from a US IP address. Non-residents with neither an SSN nor an ITIN cannot use the same-day route and file by fax instead. The responsible party does not have to be a US citizen - a US resident with an ITIN qualifies for the online method. What the online portal cannot process is an applicant with no US taxpayer number, which routes to the 4-6 week fax SS-4 track.
The online application at irs.gov takes 10-15 minutes and issues the EIN immediately at the end of the session, with the CP-575 confirmation downloadable as a PDF. It requires a responsible party with a valid US SSN or ITIN and a US IP address, and it is open Monday to Friday, 7 AM to 10 PM ET. The session cannot be saved and resumed - it must be finished in one sitting before the 15-minute inactivity timeout. Anonymousllc.co runs this method as third-party designee for US-resident customers, turning the EIN around the same business day after intake.
Non-residents file Form SS-4 by fax to (855) 641-6935 (domestic) or (304) 707-9471 (international), listing a passport-based foreign tax ID as responsible party on Line 7b. The IRS returns the EIN by fax or mail in 4-6 weeks; there is no expedited option. No SSN, ITIN, or US visit is required for the fax route. Anonymousllc.co prepares and submits the SS-4, tracks the IRS response window, and follows up if no reply arrives by week 5. Mercury and Relay accept the formation documents to open banking in parallel in most cases.
Form SS-4 Line 7a requires a responsible party - a real human with effective control over the LLC and a valid SSN, ITIN, or foreign tax ID. The IRS validates an SSN or ITIN against its records during the online application and rejects a mismatch, which drops the application to the fax track. A nominee, the registered agent, or a corporate entity cannot be named as responsible party. Naming the actual owner is what keeps the online method fast; a mismatch is the most common cause of a rejected same-day application.
Three portal limits slow a same-day EIN: one EIN per responsible party per day, a 15-minute inactivity timeout that cannot be resumed, and a US-IP-address requirement that blocks non-residents at verification. Each pushes the applicant to wait or switch to fax. A fourth limiter is timing - the IRS pulls from state Secretary of State records, so the online portal only recognizes an LLC after the state has transmitted its approval. Anonymousllc.co sequences the EIN application after state acceptance to avoid a rejection.
Anonymousllc.co's EIN service is $99 standalone and is included at no extra cost in every formation package - Anonymous LLC $397 all-in, Wyoming $397, New Mexico $347, Delaware $407, Nevada $722. The IRS charges nothing for an EIN; the $99 covers preparation, submission, follow-up, and CP-575 delivery. For US residents on the online track, the EIN arrives the same business day, and follows 5-7 days after the state accepts the filing inside the 5-10 day formation window. For non-residents on the fax track, it arrives in 4-6 weeks. The EIN then unlocks bank applications, with approval landing 8-10 days after the EIN issues.
Form SS-4 asks for the LLC's legal name and mailing address, the registered-agent or business address, the responsible party's name and taxpayer number (Line 7a/7b), the entity type, the number of members, and the reason for applying. Both the online portal and the fax route collect the same core fields. The responsible party on Line 7a is the field that decides the channel - a US SSN or ITIN routes to the same-day online portal, while a passport-based foreign tax ID on Line 7b routes to the 4-6 week fax track. Anonymousllc.co completes the SS-4 from the intake details before submitting.
A US business bank account requires the EIN, so the EIN is the gate to banking. Once it issues, Anonymousllc.co submits applications to its 4-5 partner banks - Mercury, Relay, and Bluevine among them - with approval running near 90% and landing 8-10 days after the EIN. For US residents on the same-day online track, banking starts the same week. For non-residents on the 4-6 week fax track, Mercury and Relay accept the formation documents to begin the application in parallel in most cases. The EIN also unlocks Stripe and PayPal Business.
The delays that push an EIN past same-day are applying before the state has approved the LLC, naming a nominee or the registered agent as responsible party, letting the online session time out, and applying from a non-US IP address. Each forces a restart or a switch to the 4-6 week fax track. Conflating the EIN with an ITIN is a separate error - the EIN identifies the LLC, the ITIN identifies a person. Anonymousllc.co's intake collects the actual responsible-party identity and files after state acceptance to keep the online method same-day.
Anonymousllc.co runs the EIN as third-party designee: for US residents it uses the online portal for a same-business-day EIN, and for non-residents it prepares and faxes Form SS-4 and tracks the 4-6 week window. The CP-575 confirmation is delivered over WhatsApp. The service includes one free re-submission if the first application is rejected. US residents receive the CP-575 the same business day; non-residents receive it 4-6 weeks after the fax SS-4. If a confirmation is ever lost, a 147C letter from the IRS reissues the same EIN without a new application. Related EIN and formation references are linked in the Related Resources block.
Government, regulator, and primary-source documents underpinning this page.
5-minute WhatsApp intake. 5-10 day turnaround.