Fax Cover Sheet for IRS Form SS-4
Pre-filled with the IRS EIN Operation and the fax line that applies to you. Put your own fax number on it: the IRS faxes your EIN back to the number on the form and on this cover.
Your SS-4 cover sheet
The IRS is filled in. Add your name and, above all, your own fax number.
Match the "Applicant's fax number" field on the form.
No fax machine? Send it from here with this cover attached. 10 pages free every month, no credit card.
When does the IRS fax your EIN back?
The IRS faxes your EIN back to the number on your SS-4, usually within a couple of weeks and occasionally longer than a month. That fax-back is the EIN assignment notice, not the CP 575 confirmation letter, which the IRS mails separately. Measured from real EIN fax-backs to FaxTerra users (n=230).
See full IRS response-time dataWhere the IRS sends your EIN
The IRS faxes the EIN notice to the number in the form's "Applicant's fax number" field, in the signature block. Write the same number on the "Reply fax" line of this cover sheet. A fax number you can receive on is the whole point: the IRS states no other delivery method or timeframe for a faxed application that gives no fax number, so without one nothing is promised.
If you do not have a fax number, a FaxTerra plan from $4.99/month gives you one with an inbox, or a one-time 90-day number costs $14.99 with no subscription. The reply lands in your inbox and you get an email when it arrives.
Which IRS fax line to use
The IRS routes Form SS-4 by where the business, office or agency is located, or by legal residence for an individual applicant, not by the nationality or citizenship of the applicant. The page states the international condition as having no legal residence, principal place of business, or principal office or agency in any state.
- Domestic (50 states + DC): (855) 641-6935
- International, faxing from within the US: (855) 215-1627
- International, faxing from outside the US: (304) 707-9471
The picker above fills the matching line into the cover sheet. All three lines accept faxes 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What to put on the cover sheet
- To: Internal Revenue Service, EIN Operation, already filled in.
- Fax: the IRS line that applies to you, from the picker.
- From: the applicant's name, or the responsible party named on the form.
- Reply fax: your own fax number, the same one as in the form's "Applicant's fax number" field.
- Pages: every page you are sending, counting this cover.
- Re: the form, already filled in.
- Message: what you need done. The prefilled line asks for the EIN by fax; edit it if you are sending more than the form.
Sending it without a fax machine
Upload the completed SS-4 as a PDF, turn on the cover page, and type the same fields; the cover counts as one page, and every account has 10 free pages a month to US numbers. The full walkthrough, including what the IRS sends back and what it is not, is in how to fax Form SS-4 to the IRS. When you send from a FaxTerra number, your inbox labels a fax from a known IRS line, and you can add a check-in that emails you once if nothing has arrived after three weeks: see faxing the IRS about an EIN.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a cover sheet to fax Form SS-4?
A cover sheet is standard practice for any fax and helps here: it repeats your return fax number and says what is attached. Whether or not you add one, the IRS faxes the EIN to the number in the form's "Applicant's fax number" field, so fill that field in either way.
What fax number do I put on the cover sheet?
Two numbers. In the Fax field, the IRS line that applies to you: (855) 641-6935 when your business or residence is in a state or DC, and one of the two international lines otherwise. On the Reply fax line, your own fax number, matching the form.
How long until the IRS faxes the EIN back?
The IRS's published target is 4 business days. Measured across real fax-backs to FaxTerra numbers, about 2 weeks is typical, and 89% arrive within three weeks; a minority run past a month. The full distribution is on our measured IRS response-time data page.
Can the EIN come back to a fax number that is not mine?
The EIN notice goes wherever the number leads, so use a number you can read faxes from and will still have in a few weeks. A shared office machine works if someone will hand you the page; a number that rotates or expires does not.
Does the cover sheet count as a page?
Yes. On a machine it is one more sheet through the feeder; sent from FaxTerra, an optional cover page adds one page to the count, inside the 10 free pages every account has each month.
Official Sources
Full guide: How to fax Form SS-4 to the IRS
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