CP-575 Letter: What It Means for Employers

What it means in practice

What the notice is. When the IRS assigns an EIN, its systems generate a computer notice confirming the new number. The IRS "Understanding your CP575 notice" page (reviewed 16 June 2026) tells the recipient to keep the notice in permanent records, to use the EIN on everything sent to the IRS and the Social Security Administration in connection with the business, and to make several copies, because the notice can be used whenever EIN verification is requested for business purposes. Opening a bank account is the example the page gives. This entry covers the notice itself; how an EIN is obtained, when a new one is needed and how it is used on returns are covered in our entry on the employer identification number (EIN).

Why the letters after "575". The Internal Revenue Manual (IRM 21.7.13.7.8, part of the revision effective 1 October 2026) lists the versions the EIN system generates. CP 575A goes to accounts with one or two name lines and a filing requirement for any of Forms 940, 941, 943, 944, 945, CT-1, 1042, 720 or 1120; CP 575B goes to accounts with other filing requirements. CP 575C and 575D are the same as A and B for accounts with three or more name lines. CP 575E, with language for nonprofit organizations, generates when no filing requirements are present and the entity is not a sole proprietor, single-member LLC or household employer (575F is the three-name-line version). CP 575G (and 575H) generates when no filing requirements are present and the entity is a sole proprietor, a single-member LLC or has a foreign address. CP 575I and 575J go to household employers. The suffix reflects what the IRS recorded about the entity at assignment.

What else the notice and the EIN package carry. The IRS manual says the CP 575 discusses entity classification: for paper and fax applications, the notice instructs an LLC or would-be S corporation to file Form 8832, Entity Classification Election, or Form 2553, Election by a Small Business Corporation, and IRS staff are told not to send separate correspondence on the point because the notice already covers it. Under IRM 21.7.13.7.9, Publication 15, the Employer's Tax Guide, is mailed to new EIN holders that have employment tax filing requirements, and all businesses receiving a new EIN are pre-enrolled in the Electronic Federal Tax Payment System. Publication 15 (2026) adds that a new employer that indicated a federal tax obligation will receive information about Express Enrollment in its "EIN Package" and a separate mailing with an EFTPS personal identification number. See EFTPS.

How the notice reaches you. Delivery depends on how the EIN was requested. The IRS online application page says to print the EIN confirmation letter for your records at the end of the session, and the Instructions for Form SS-4 (12/2025) describe an option to view, print and save the EIN assignment notice then. If an authorized third-party designee applies online, the IRS manual says the designee receives only the EIN at the end of the session and the CP 575 is mailed to the taxpayer. For fax applications, the IRS EIN page says the IRS faxes back a cover sheet with the EIN in about 4 business days and no longer returns a Form SS-4 notated with the EIN; for mailed Forms SS-4 the EIN arrives in approximately 4 weeks. The manual also notes that the CP 575 is issued to the mailing address on Form SS-4 lines 4a and 4b, and that the third party does not receive it.

The digital CP575 in Business Tax Account. The IRS now offers a downloadable CP575, titled Employer Identification Number Verification Notice, under Tax Records in Business Tax Account. The IRS says it is available only through that account, is accepted by banks and other institutions as written confirmation of an entity's EIN, and is the equivalent of Letter 147C. According to the Business Tax Account page (reviewed 16 October 2026), access depends on the entity and the person's role. Sole proprietors with an SSN or ITIN and an EIN who file Schedule C or Schedule F can register, but the account is not yet available to LLCs that file as sole proprietors on those schedules. For partnerships, corporations, tax-exempt organizations and government entities, full access goes to a "Designated Official"; for a corporation that person must be an officer or managing member, a current employee who received a Form W-2 for the most recent tax filing year, and authorized to legally bind the business. Designated Officials must renew the role every year to keep access.

If the notice is lost. The IRS EIN page lists 3 ways to confirm an EIN: request an entity transcript, download the digital CP575 if eligible for Business Tax Account, or call the Business and Specialty Tax Line and request Letter 147C. The IRS business transcript page says an entity transcript verifies the EIN, filing requirements and whether a business is a single-member or multiple-member LLC, and that it is free. Where the number itself has been forgotten, the EIN page suggests looking for it on the notice issued at application, asking the bank that holds the business account, checking with agencies that issued state or local licenses, and looking at past business tax returns before calling. By phone, the IRS verifies identity and gives the number only to an authorized person.

How Letter 147C requests work. IRM 21.7.1.4.7.1 (10-01-2026) tells IRS staff to establish the caller's relationship with the entity first. A third party needs Form 2848, Power of Attorney and Declaration of Representative, or Form 8821, Tax Information Authorization, either already recorded or sent in; an unauthorized third party is told to conference in the taxpayer or have the taxpayer call. Once the caller is authenticated, the IRS can confirm the EIN verbally, by fax or by mail to the address of record, and the manual tells staff to advise callers that a mailed letter should arrive in 10 to 14 business days. Because a duplicate CP 575 cannot be produced, IRM 21.7.13.3.9.2 says staff should send Letter 147C and explain that the original notice cannot be duplicated.

Worked example 1: a notice that would not save. An owner forms an LLC, applies online, chooses the online notice, but the download fails and the browser is closed. Under IRM 21.7.13.3.4.1, the CP 575 is not mailed because the applicant chose the online copy. If the owner can give the EIN, IRS staff follow the Letter 147C procedure; if not, the caller is authenticated before the number is provided. In either case the written confirmation the owner ends up with is a Letter 147C or, if eligible, the digital CP575, not a reprint of the original.

Worked example 2: an accountant applies as designee. An accountant named as third-party designee on Form SS-4 receives the new EIN by fax. The SS-4 instructions say the designee's authority ends once the EIN is assigned and released, and the manual says the CP 575 goes to the address on the application, not to the designee. If the accountant later needs written EIN confirmation, the request falls under the Letter 147C procedure, which requires Form 2848 or Form 8821 for a third party.

Worked example 3: timing a bank request. A business needs written EIN confirmation for a bank. If it asks by phone for a mailed Letter 147C, the IRS manual's 10 to 14 business day estimate means, with no holidays, two to nearly three calendar weeks. The manual also allows faxing after authentication, and eligible Business Tax Account users can download the digital CP575.

A CP 575 you did not expect. The IRS manual says most people who receive a CP 575 for an EIN they did not request find that a third party applied for a legitimate reason. The IRS page "If you received an EIN you didn't request" (reviewed 29 October 2026) lists examples: a spouse or family member, a community club or association, an accountant, a business partner, or a bank or trust executor, for purposes such as paying for home health care or joining a partnership. If no legitimate cause is found, the page directs the recipient to Form 14039-B, Business Identity Theft Affidavit, filed online or by fax or mail as the page describes.

After the notice: keeping the record current. The CP 575 reflects the facts at assignment. The IRS says Form 8822-B is used to change the mailing or location address or the responsible party, and responsible-party changes must be reported within 60 days. Business name changes follow the IRS Business Name Change page, which varies the procedure by entity type. A name change alone does not require a new EIN, but the IRS EIN page says a change in ownership or structure generally does. An EIN cannot be cancelled; the IRS deactivates it on request, and the deactivation letter should include the EIN assignment notice if available.

Interacting federal rules for employers. Publication 15 (2026) says to use the EIN on everything sent to the IRS and SSA, not to use an SSN in place of an EIN, to have only one EIN, and to make sure the EIN on each return exactly matches the one assigned. The CP 575 is the reference copy for that number on Form 941, on Forms W-2 filed with the Social Security Administration, and for federal tax deposits. A business that takes over another employer's business must not use the prior employer's EIN.

Where states differ. States register employers separately and issue their own account numbers, and the federal EIN is usually part of that registration. As examples only: the California EDD "Get Your Information in Order" page lists the nine-digit Federal Employer Identification Number as an item needed to register, the EDD later assigns an eight-digit payroll tax account number, and the EDD says including the FEIN helps make sure state unemployment payments are credited when the employer files Form 940. New York's Form NYS-50 employer guide says the state unemployment insurance registration number is in addition to the federal EIN. Check your state agency.

Recordkeeping. The IRS treats the CP 575 as a permanent record. Publication 15 separately says to keep employment tax records, which include the EIN, for at least 4 years and have them available for IRS review.

Q: Is a CP 575 the same as Letter 147C? No. The CP 575 is issued when the EIN is assigned; Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned, confirms an existing EIN later. The IRS says the digital CP575 in Business Tax Account is accepted as the equivalent of Letter 147C.

Q: Can the IRS mail me another copy of my original CP 575? No. The IRS says the original CP575A-J notice cannot be duplicated or recreated.

Q: Does a payroll provider or accountant get the notice? Not by default. The IRS manual says a third-party designee receives only the EIN and the CP 575 goes to the taxpayer's address.

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