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The EIN letter, and the name mismatch that stops a closing
Your EIN letter proves the exact legal name the IRS has on file. Here is what a funder checks on it, how to replace a lost CP 575, and why mismatches stall deals.
An EIN confirmation letter is the notice the IRS sends when it issues your business tax ID. It is one page, it arrives once, and most owners file it somewhere and never look at it again until a funder asks for it. Its whole value is that it states the exact legal name the federal government associates with your tax ID.
There are two versions and the difference matters. The original is a CP 575, issued when the EIN is first assigned. The IRS never reissues it. If you lost it, the replacement is a 147C letter, which contains the same information and is accepted everywhere the original would be. Nobody in commercial finance treats the 147C as second best.
Who asks for it and when
It is a verification document rather than a credit document, so it is requested for one of two reasons. Either the funder collects it on every file as part of standard know your business checks, or something in your file did not match and this is the document that resolves it. The second case is the common one, and it usually surfaces at closing, when the wire is waiting.
The mismatch that triggers it is almost always a name. Your application says one thing, your bank account says another, your Secretary of State record says a third, and the funder needs to know which name the IRS has. Read how business verification works to see where this sits in the process.
What a funder checks on it
- The legal name, character for character. This is the entire point of the document. The IRS name is compared against the name on your bank account, your state registration, your application, and your funding contract. Four documents, one name expected. LLC versus L.L.C. and Inc versus Incorporated both count as differences to an automated verification system, even though a person would not blink.
- The EIN itself. Nine digits, compared against what you entered on the application and against what appears on your business tax return. A transposed digit here can produce a failed verification that looks far more serious than a typo.
- The entity type and the return the IRS expects. The letter names the form the IRS expects you to file, such as 1120S or 1065. If the letter says one thing and you have been filing another, that is a real question and it is better answered before an underwriter asks it.
- The date the EIN was assigned. This is a soft data point for time in business, and it is worth knowing that it usually is not the number funders use. Most measure time in business from the state formation date or from the first business bank deposit, not from the EIN date.
- The address of record. An old address is not fatal, but a completely unfamiliar one can raise an identity question, particularly on a file where the operating address is already being verified.
There is a reason funders treat this so literally. Business identity fraud is real, and the standard pattern involves a lightly documented entity whose name almost matches a legitimate one. A funder cannot tell your harmless abbreviation from that pattern by looking at it, so the rule becomes mechanical: the names match or the file waits. Knowing that changes how you should react when a closer asks, because the ask is not skepticism about you personally.
The practical consequence is that the legal name should be identical in five places before you ever apply: your state registration, your EIN letter, your business bank account title, your application, and your funding contract. Owners who take fifteen minutes to line those up almost never see this document requested at all, because nothing ever triggers the check.
How to get a replacement, step by step
If the CP 575 is genuinely lost, do not send something else and hope. The 147C is free and the process is well worn.
- 01Look for the original first
Check your formation folder, the email from whoever registered the entity, and your accountant's files. Accountants and registered agents very often have a copy of the CP 575 even when the owner does not.
- 02Call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line
The number is 800-829-4933, open on weekday mornings Eastern time. Call early. Hold times are long enough that most people give up in the afternoon and lose a day.
- 03Be ready to prove you are authorized
You must be an owner, officer, partner, or someone with a filed authorization on record. Have the EIN if you know it, the legal name, the address, and your own identifying information ready before you dial.
- 04Ask specifically for a 147C letter
Say those words. The representative can send it by fax while you are on the phone, which is by far the fastest option, or mail it, which takes days. If you have any way to receive a fax, including a digital fax service, use it.
- 05Check the name before you send it on
Read the legal name on the 147C against your bank account and your state record the moment it arrives. If they disagree, you have found the real problem, and it is better to find it now than at closing.
What proves what
| Document | Does it satisfy the request |
|---|---|
| CP 575, the original IRS notice | Yes, this is the document being asked for |
| 147C letter from the IRS | Yes, fully equivalent and issued specifically as the replacement |
| Form SS-4, the application you filled out | No. You prepared it, so it proves what you asked for rather than what the IRS issued |
| A tax return showing the EIN | Sometimes accepted as secondary support, rarely as the primary proof |
| A Form W-9 you completed | No. Self prepared, same problem as the SS-4 |
| A screenshot of the EIN in your payroll software | No. It confirms what you typed into a system, not what the IRS holds |
The mistakes that cost time
- Sending the SS-4 instead of the CP 575. It is the single most common substitution and it gets refused every time, because the SS-4 is a form you filled out rather than a determination the IRS made.
- Getting a second EIN because the first one could not be found. Applying again creates a duplicate tax ID attached to the same business, which creates filing problems that outlast the funding you were chasing. Get a 147C instead.
- Using a personal social security number as the business tax ID. Sole proprietors legally can, and many funders will still ask for an EIN. Getting one online takes about fifteen minutes and removes an entire category of verification friction.
- Ignoring a name change. If you amended your entity name at the state level and never notified the IRS, the letter still shows the old name. That gap has to be explained, and explaining it under a closing deadline is worse than fixing it in advance.
- Calling the IRS at 3pm on a Friday. Practical, not profound. Call in the first hour the line is open and you will usually have the 147C in hand the same morning.
What we do with this
Exp Capital Solutions is a broker, not a lender. We do not verify your identity for a funder and we do not issue anything. What we do is compare the legal name across your application, your bank statements, your state record, and your EIN letter before a file goes out, so a name mismatch is caught in the packaging stage rather than on funding day. It is a fifteen minute check that regularly saves a week.