Can you get an EIN for your US company without a Social Security number while you live in Turkey? Yes. The IRS online application will not take you, so you fill in Form SS-4, the paper EIN application, and send it by fax or mail, or call the IRS line for international applicants. By fax the number usually arrives in about 4 business days.
Bu rehberin Türkçesi: SSN olmadan EIN nasıl alınır? Form SS-4 ile adım adım
Why the online application turns you away
The IRS online tool works only when all of these are true: the company was formed in the US, its principal place of business is in the US, and the responsible party has an SSN or ITIN. A founder in Turkey usually fails the second test even with an ITIN, because the business is run from Turkey. The IRS also says plainly that you never have to pay it a fee for an EIN.
Before you fill in the form
- Form the company first. The IRS asks you to register the entity with the state before you apply. If you have not picked a state yet, read Which US state should you form your company in? and How to form a US LLC from Turkey.
- Write the name the way IRS systems accept it. Only letters, numbers, hyphens and the & sign are allowed, so “Jones.Com” becomes “Jones Dot Com”, a slash becomes a hyphen and apostrophes are dropped.
- Use one method and wait. The IRS issues only one EIN per responsible party per day across online, phone, fax and mail, and asks you to use one method per company so you do not end up with two EINs.
Form SS-4 line by line
Download Form SS-4 (Rev. December 2025) and follow the IRS line instructions. For a one-owner LLC owned by someone in Turkey, the lines that matter look like this:
| Line | What to enter |
|---|---|
| 1 | The LLC’s legal name exactly as on the state filing, LLC included |
| 4a to 5b | Mailing and street address. A foreign address needs city, province, postal code and the full country name, not an abbreviation. No P.O. box on line 5. |
| 6 | County and state where the business is located |
| 7a and 7b | Your full name. On 7b, your SSN or ITIN, or “foreign” if you have neither and do not qualify for one |
| 8a to 8c | LLC: Yes, and the number of members (1) |
| 9a | Other: “Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity-Form 5472” |
| 10 | Other: “Foreign-owned U.S. disregarded entity filing Form 5472”. One box only. |
| 11 | The date the business began in the US |
| 13 to 15 | Expected employees, zero included. With none, skip 14 and write N/A on 15. |
| 16 and 17 | One principal activity box, then a short description of the business |
| 18 | Has this entity ever received an EIN? Usually No |
Few owners know this: “foreign” on line 7b is for a responsible party who has no SSN or ITIN and is not eligible for one. If you already hold an ITIN, enter it. The responsible party must be a real person who owns or controls the company, and the IRS says nominees are not authorized to apply. If you need an ITIN for a personal US return, our office prepares the ITIN application.
The wording on lines 9a and 10 tells the IRS the company will file Form 5472 every year, the information return for a US LLC wholly owned by a foreign person. The penalty for not filing it is $25,000. Our Form 5472 guide explains what goes on it.
Fax, mail or phone
| Method | Where | When the EIN arrives |
|---|---|---|
| Fax | 304-707-9471 from outside the US, 855-215-1627 from inside the US. Open 24 hours, 7 days. | Generally within 4 business days, by return fax |
| Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999 | About 4 weeks. The IRS says to apply 4 to 5 weeks before you need it. | |
| Phone | 267-941-1099 (not toll-free), Monday to Friday, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time | During the call |
These numbers come from the Instructions for Form SS-4 revised in December 2025, which moved the fax numbers and addresses into the fax and mail sections. The IRS warns that fax numbers can change without notice, so check them on the day you send. Put a fax number on the form where the IRS can send the EIN back.
Few owners know this: the phone line’s hours fall in the afternoon and night in Turkey, from 1 p.m. to 6 a.m. the next morning while the US is on daylight time, and from 2 p.m. to 7 a.m. after the clocks change in November. Have the completed SS-4 in front of you, because the agent works from it, and if asked, fax or mail the signed form within 24 hours.
Third Party Designee, CP 575 and Letter 147C
The Third Party Designee box at the bottom of the form lets you name a person, such as your accountant, to answer the IRS’s questions and receive the EIN. It counts only if you sign the form, and it ends once the EIN is released. If the designee’s address or phone number matches yours, the IRS says the application must go by fax or mail.
The EIN reaches the designee by fax or phone, but the official EIN notice, the CP 575, is mailed to the company at the mailing address on line 4a. Keep it safe: the IRS says the original CP 575 notice cannot be duplicated or recreated, and a bank may ask for it to confirm your EIN. Our guide to opening a US business bank account from Turkey lists what else banks commonly ask for.
If the letter or the number is lost, call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. US local time, and ask for Letter 147C, “EIN Previously Assigned”. The IRS verifies your identity first. You can use the new EIN at once to open a bank account, but allow up to 2 weeks before e-filing or paying electronically.
Mistakes that delay an application
- Applying before the state has approved the company
- A legal name with dots, slashes or other symbols the IRS cannot take
- Line 7b left blank, or “foreign” written when you already have an ITIN
- Two boxes, or N/A, on line 10
- An unsigned form, which also cancels the Third Party Designee authorization
- No return fax number, so the IRS cannot fax the EIN back
- Sending the same company by fax and by mail, which can create two EINs
How our office helps
Ozfield prepares your Form SS-4 line by line, files it with the IRS and gets the EIN for you, even when the owner has no SSN. EIN alone is $100, or it comes with our $500 setup package that covers formation, the EIN and the rest of what you need to open the company. Our office files the Form 5472 that follows it every year. Selling online? Our guide to setting up a US e-commerce company from Turkey puts the EIN in the context of the full setup.
Our team works in English and Turkish, by phone or video. See Turkish-speaking CPA in the USA or call Ozfield Insurance & Tax Services at 773-536-9272.
Published October 11, 2026. Last reviewed October 11, 2026. Tax rules and figures change, so call our office before acting on this for your own situation: 773-536-9272.
