Your bank, a lender or a vendor asks for proof of your employer identification number, and the IRS business account you planned to use no longer lets you in. This short video explains one reason for that, the yearly revalidation of account access, and the three official ways the IRS lists to confirm an EIN. It is information, not tax advice.
Read the full guide: How to verify your EIN online
Why access to the account can lapse
The IRS says the Designated Official, the person with full access to a business's account, must revalidate that role every year to keep access to Business Tax Account.
For partnerships, the revalidation period is six weeks starting October 15. For all other entities, it is six weeks starting June 15. The Designated Official gets a notification inside the account during that period.
If the role is not revalidated, the Designated Official has to request access to the account again. Registering as a Designated Official ends with a PIN sent by mail, and the role is active only after signing in with it.
Three ways to confirm an EIN
The IRS page on the employer identification number lists three ways to confirm an EIN. The first is to request an Entity transcript.
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Learn About Our ServicesThe second is new. The Business Tax Account page, updated October 16, 2026, says you can now download your EIN verification notice from your account. The CP575 notice is under Tax Records and can be used instead of the CP575A-J notice series and Letter 147C.
The third is to call the IRS Business and Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933, Monday to Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. local time, and ask for Letter 147C, EIN Previously Assigned.
Who can use the account
Business Tax Account is available to partnerships that file Form 1065, and a Designated Official can register for full access to the partnership's account.
It is not yet available for LLCs that file as sole proprietors on Schedule C or Schedule F (Form 1040). For them, the Entity transcript and Letter 147C remain the ways to confirm an EIN. Use the phone number listed on irs.gov, not one from an unexpected email, text or call.
One tip to keep access
An account can have more than one Designated Official. The IRS says this keeps access going if one of them dies or leaves the business. Our suggestion: if someone else in the business is eligible, have them register too, before you need it. People a Designated Official lets into the account, called Designated Users, have their own check every January and June.
This page is information, not legal or tax advice.