The federal EIN, state by state.
The EIN is a federal number. The IRS issues it, and the application does not change when you cross a state line. What changes is everything around it: the entity it attaches to was formed under one state's rules, and the moment you need the number depends on what you are doing and where. Pick your state for that half of the answer.
Four things your state changes around it.
The application itself is the same wherever you sit. What differs is the entity underneath it, the point at which you need the number, and the filings on either side of it. These four set the order.
Entity first, number second
The EIN attaches to a legal entity, so the state filing comes first and the application follows it. Done the other way round, you are asking a federal agency to identify a business that does not yet exist on any state register.
When you actually need one
Opening a business bank account, running payroll, applying for credit in the company's name: each of those asks for the number, and they arrive in a different order for different businesses. Your state page covers when it typically comes up there.
What the application asks for
The legal name exactly as your state recorded it, the entity type you filed, the business address, and the details of the person applying. If the name on the application and the name on the register disagree, the mismatch surfaces later, usually at a bank.
EIN, not your SSN
Applications that take a Social Security number put the account on your personal file. The EIN is what lets the business build a file of its own, which is the entire reason for keeping the two apart in the first place.
One federal number, and a state record it has to agree with. Start with the state.
Pick your state.
Each state page covers when a business there typically needs the number, what the application asks for, what to have in front of you before starting, and the errors that send people back to the beginning.
A clean handoff, in four steps.
The application is short. Almost all of the trouble happens before it, in the details it borrows from your state record, so that is where the work starts.
Confirm the entity exists
The state filing has to be accepted first. The name on your state record is the name the application has to carry, character for character, including the entity marker at the end of it.
Collect what it asks for
Legal name, entity type, address and the details of the person applying. These come from the record we already hold rather than from you typing them out a second time.
Submit the application
The application goes to the IRS with the entity details as filed. Nothing in it is state-specific, which is precisely why the state work has to be finished before it starts.
Put the number to work
Bank account, payroll if you run one, and any credit application in the business name. The number goes into your record so the next filing can quote it without a search.
The application takes minutes. The record behind it takes the care.
The rest of Secretary of State directory.
Every one of these is built the same way: a national explainer above its state pages. They are the filings that sit closest to this one.
Secretary of State
The Secretary of State, state by state
All 51 states → HubSecretary of State annual report
The annual report, state by state
All 51 states → HubArticles of Amendment
Articles of amendment, state by state
All 51 states → HubBusiness license
Business license requirements, state by state
All 51 states → HubSecretary of State business search
Secretary of State business search, state by state
All 51 states → HubSecretary of State Certificate of Good Standing
Certificate of Good Standing, state by state
All 51 states → HubEntity conversion
Entity conversion, state by state
All 51 states → HubSecretary of State DBA
Secretary of State DBA, state by state
All 51 states →The full index lives on Secretary of State directory.
The questions people ask before they apply.
Is the EIN issued by my state?
No. The EIN is federal and comes from the IRS. Your state issues the entity record: the formation filing, the register entry and the reports that keep it current. They are separate systems that reference each other, which is why a business ends up with a state file and a federal number that have to agree with each other on the same legal name.
Should I apply before or after forming the company?
After. The number attaches to an entity, so the entity has to exist on the state register first and carry the name you intend to use. Applying earlier means applying either as an individual or on behalf of something the state has not recorded yet, and unpicking that afterwards takes more time than waiting for the formation to be accepted.
What do I need in front of me to apply?
The legal name exactly as the state recorded it, the entity type you filed, the business address and the details of the person making the application. If the name was corrected during filing, use the corrected version. A mismatch between the application and the register is the error most likely to surface later, usually when a bank tries to reconcile the two.
What is the EIN actually used for?
It identifies the business on anything that is not personal to you: the business bank account, payroll if you run one, credit applications in the company's name, and federal returns filed by the entity. Wherever a form has room for a taxpayer number and the business is the party involved, the EIN is the number that belongs in it.
Can I just use my Social Security number?
Some applications will accept it, and that is exactly the problem. An account opened against a Social Security number sits on your personal file, so the borrowing, the history and the exposure stay yours rather than the company's. The EIN is what lets the business carry a file of its own, which is why the number is usually worth having early rather than eventually.
Does the EIN cover my state obligations?
No. It identifies the business federally and does nothing else. The formation filing, the recurring report, the registered agent on the record and any registration in a second state are separate obligations that stay with the state holding the record. The EIN is one line on those forms rather than a substitute for filing them.
Keep going, in order.
Secretary of State directory
Every hub in secretary of state directory, in one place.
Open the index → IndexAll 51 state guides
Every filing a business does, organised by jurisdiction.
Open the index → ServiceCompliance calendar
Every deadline that touches your entity, watched.
Track deadlines → ServiceTalk to a specialist
A person who files these every day, not a call centre.
Get in touch →