Free tool
Look Up a Company EIN
Type an EIN and the check reports whether the number is the right shape and whether the prefix is one the US tax authority uses. It states the limit: an EIN is not published against a company in any register we can read, so this cannot tell you who the number belongs to. It tells you where to look instead.
- 5 free checks a day
- No account and no API key
- Checked instantly in your browser
The result appears here. Nothing is stored, and the allowance is per visitor per day.
Example result
Nine digits, with a prefix the US tax authority uses
- Nine digits
- Yes
- Prefix 12 assigned
- Yes, Andover
- Verdict
- Well formed
- Business behind it
- Not knowable from an EIN
This is a format example, written to show the check working. It is not a real business, and the check cannot tell you whether any particular EIN was ever issued.
A real check above replaces this example.
What the check reads
- Nine digits
- Spaces and hyphens are stripped before the count. A number with letters in it fails, because an EIN has no letters.
- The prefix
- The first two digits are checked against the ranges the US tax authority assigns to its processing offices. A number outside every range has never been issued.
- What this does not check
- Whether the number was ever issued, to whom, and whether the business is still trading. None of that is in a public source we can read.
- Individual taxpayer numbers
- An ITIN, an SSN and an EIN share a nine-digit shape but mean different things. This check is written for an EIN and does not claim to validate the others.
Where the answer comes from
- IRS, apply for an EIN
The US tax authority, which issues an EIN and explains what one is for.
- IRS Internal Revenue Manual 3.11.180
The office code ranges the IRS assigns. The check reads the first two digits against this list.
Worked examples
Example inputs and the results they return.
Nine digits, with a prefix the US tax authority uses
- Nine digits
- Yes
- Prefix 12 assigned
- Yes, Andover
- Verdict
- Well formed
- Business behind it
- Not knowable from an EIN
This is a format example, written to show the check working. It is not a real business, and the check cannot tell you whether any particular EIN was ever issued.
Nine digits, with a prefix the US tax authority never assigns
- Nine digits
- Yes
- Prefix 07 assigned
- No
- Verdict
- Not an issued EIN
- Reason
- The assigned ranges skip 07
The ranges run 01 to 06 and then 10 to 16, so 07 is in the gap. A discarded or mistyped number usually fails here.
One digit short
- Digits
- 8
- Needed
- 9
- Verdict
- Not an EIN
The most common mistake is a dropped digit, usually at the start, where the leading zero is easy to lose.
FAQ