What is EIN (Employer Identification Number)?
A 9-digit federal tax identifier issued by the IRS to US businesses, formatted NN-NNNNNNN. It is separate from a state entity or file number: the EIN identifies the taxpayer federally, while the state register identifies the legal entity. EINs are not published in a free public directory, so they normally come from the company or from IRS exempt-organization data.
See EIN (Employer Identification Number) in Action
Related Terms
DUNS Number
A 9-digit identifier assigned by Dun & Bradstreet to individual business locations, widely required by US federal contracting, procurement systems and credit checks. Unlike a registry number it is issued by a private company rather than a government register, so it is not evidence of legal incorporation and can exist for an unregistered branch.
Company Registration Number
The permanent identifier a national business register assigns to a legal entity when it is incorporated — a Companies House number in the UK, an SIREN in France, a CVR in Denmark, an organisasjonsnummer in Norway. It never changes when the company is renamed, which makes it the safest key for storing, matching or monitoring a company record.
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