Form SS-4 is the application you file to get an EIN, the nine-digit number written as XX-XXXXXXX that your company needs in order to open a bank account, hire employees and file tax returns. Most of the form is simple. You write the company name, the state, the type of entity and the date you started.
Then the form asks for something different. Line 7a wants the name of one individual, and line 7b wants that person's taxpayer identification number. The IRS calls this individual the responsible party. There is one slot, not a list, and the IRS will not accept an empty one.
Two things go wrong here. Founders who live in the United States often put down whoever handled the paperwork, such as an accountant or a formation company. Founders who live abroad often stop at line 7b, decide that they cannot fill it in without a Social Security number, and conclude that an EIN is closed to them. Both readings are wrong, and this page explains why.
What the rule actually asks for
The IRS defines the term on its page Responsible Parties and Nominees. A responsible party is:
"someone who owns, controls or exercises effective control over a business, nonprofit or other legal entity and directly or indirectly manages its funds and assets."
Read the definition slowly. It contains two requirements, and both are about control. The person controls the entity, and the person manages the entity's money and property. Nothing in the definition mentions citizenship, residence, a visa, or a Social Security number. Someone in Seoul who owns 100% of a Wyoming LLC meets the definition. A lawyer in New York who filed the papers for that LLC does not.
The same IRS page adds two rules. The responsible party must be a person, not an entity; the only exception is for government entities. And nominees are excluded: "Nominees can't apply for an EIN and shouldn't be listed on Form SS-4." The IRS defines a nominee as someone given limited authority to act for the entity during its formation, with little or no control over its assets. That is what a formation service is offering when a member of its staff volunteers to be named for you. A registered agent, a lawyer or an accountant is in the same position for a different reason: none of them owns the company, controls it or manages its money, so none of them meets the definition on line 7a, whatever they signed.
Line 7b then asks for that person's SSN, ITIN or EIN. In practice, since the responsible party has to be an individual, that means a Social Security number (SSN) or an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN). Here is the part most guides get wrong. If the responsible party does not have either number and is not eligible to obtain one, line 7b is not left empty. The instructions to Form SS-4 tell you to enter "Foreign" or "N/A" there.
Two more rules attach to the responsible party, and both matter later.
First, the IRS limits EIN issuance to one per responsible party per day. The instructions to Form SS-4 state that this limit "is applicable to all requests for EINs whether online, telephone, fax, or mail." Filing on paper does not get you around it. If you are setting up three companies with yourself named on all three, you cannot get three EINs in one day by any route.
Second, when the responsible party changes, you have to tell the IRS. The form is Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party, and the IRS gives you 60 days to file it.
🇺🇸 If the IRS counts you as a U.S. person
You are almost always the responsible party for your own company. Write your name on line 7a and your SSN on line 7b. If you hold an ITIN rather than an SSN, use the ITIN.
The online EIN application is open to you if two things are true at once: the principal place of business is in the United States or a U.S. territory, and the responsible party has an SSN or an ITIN. When you qualify, the IRS issues the number at the end of the session.
Three practical points follow from the rules above.
- If you are forming several companies at once, plan around the limit of one EIN per responsible party per day, which applies to online, phone, fax and mail applications alike. Naming a different person on each application only works if that person genuinely controls that company. Naming a co-founder who has no involvement in a company is exactly what the nominee rule forbids.
- If you sell the company, bring in a new managing member, or hand over control of the bank accounts, the responsible party has changed. File Form 8822-B within 60 days. If you skip it, the IRS keeps sending notices to the person who used to run the company, and those notices are the ones that carry deadlines.
- Naming yourself on line 7a is an identification step. It tells the IRS who speaks for the entity and who to contact. It is a separate question from whether you are personally liable for the company's debts, which is decided by state law and by how you actually run the company, not by Form SS-4.
🌏 If it does not
The definition does not change for you. If you own and control the LLC and you decide what happens to its money, you are the responsible party, and your name goes on line 7a. Living outside the United States does not disqualify you, and no rule asks you to find an American to stand in your place.
Line 7b is the only place where your form looks different. If you have no SSN and no ITIN, and you are not eligible to obtain either, you write "Foreign" or "N/A". That is the whole of it.
This has a consequence worth stating plainly, because it saves weeks. You do not need an ITIN before you apply for an EIN. A foreign individual can be named as the responsible party without one. The IRS asks you to allow seven weeks to hear back on an ITIN application, and 9 to 11 weeks if you applied from overseas or during the January 15 to April 30 filing season. Applying from overseas is the normal case in this lane, so 9 to 11 weeks is the number to plan on. Founders who apply for the ITIN first, and wait for it before touching Form SS-4, spend those months for nothing.
How you file is the other difference. The online application requires an SSN or an ITIN for the responsible party, and it requires the principal place of business to be in the United States or a U.S. territory. If either condition fails, the online tool is closed to you and there is no way around it. You submit the paper Form SS-4 by fax or by mail instead. The IRS also lists a phone route for applicants outside the United States.
One warning about formation services. Some of them offer to put their own name, or a staff member's name, on line 7a so that the application "goes through faster." That is the nominee arrangement the IRS says should not appear on Form SS-4. It also means the IRS believes someone else controls your company, and that the person the IRS contacts about your company is not you.
Where the two lanes split
Most of this page is the same for both groups. The definition is the same, the ban on nominees is the same, and the 60-day change rule is the same. Only two rows below actually differ.
| Item | 🇺🇸 U.S. person | 🌏 Not a U.S. person |
|---|---|---|
| Who has to be named | The individual who owns or controls the company and manages its money. It must be a person, not an entity | Same |
| Can a registered agent or formation service be named | No. They do not meet the definition, and nominees may not be listed | Same |
| What goes on line 7b | Your SSN, or your ITIN | Your SSN or ITIN if you have one. If you have neither and cannot obtain one, "Foreign" or "N/A" |
| Can line 7b be left blank | No | No |
| Do you need an ITIN first | Not applicable, you have an SSN | No. The EIN does not require one |
| How you file | Online, if the business is based in the U.S. Number issued in the session | Paper Form SS-4 by fax or mail. The IRS also lists a phone route from abroad |
| EINs per day | One per responsible party, by any route | One per responsible party, by any route |
| If the responsible party changes | Form 8822-B within 60 days | Same |
Common mistakes
🇺🇸 If the IRS counts you as a U.S. person
- Naming the accountant or lawyer who prepared the filing. They do not own the company and do not manage its funds, so they do not meet the definition.
- Trying to get EINs for several companies in one day, and being stopped by the limit of one per responsible party per day. Switching to fax or mail does not help; the limit covers every route.
- Selling the company or handing over the bank accounts and never filing Form 8822-B. The IRS keeps writing to the previous responsible party, and the letters that matter are the ones with deadlines.
🌏 If it does not
- Applying for an ITIN first and waiting seven weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks from overseas, before starting the EIN application. The EIN does not require an ITIN.
- Leaving line 7b blank because you have no number to put there. A blank is not accepted. "Foreign" is.
- Letting a formation service list one of its own people as the responsible party. The IRS says nominees should not be listed on Form SS-4, and it leaves the IRS contacting a stranger about your company.
- Trying the online application, getting rejected, and concluding that a non-resident cannot get an EIN. The online tool is closed to you. The paper Form SS-4 is not.
FAQ
Who should I name as the responsible party for my single-member LLC?
Yourself. You own the company, you control it, and you manage its money, so you meet the IRS definition. There is no reason to look for anyone else.
I have no SSN and no ITIN. Can I still get an EIN?
Yes. If the responsible party does not have either number and is not eligible to obtain one, you write "Foreign" or "N/A" on line 7b of Form SS-4. What you cannot do is leave the line empty.
Can my registered agent, lawyer or formation company be the responsible party?
No, unless they actually own or control the company and manage its money, which they do not. The IRS also states that nominees cannot apply for an EIN and should not be listed on Form SS-4.
Do I need an ITIN before I apply for an EIN?
No. A foreign individual can be named as the responsible party without an ITIN. The IRS asks you to allow seven weeks for an ITIN application, and 9 to 11 weeks if you applied from overseas or during the January 15 to April 30 filing season, so applying for it first delays the EIN for no reason.
Can I use the online EIN application?
Only if the principal place of business is in the United States or a U.S. territory and the responsible party has an SSN or an ITIN. If either condition fails, you file the paper Form SS-4 by fax or by mail. The IRS also lists a phone route for applicants outside the United States.
How many EINs can I get in one day?
One, per responsible party. The instructions to Form SS-4 say the limit applies to every request, "whether online, telephone, fax, or mail." If you need EINs for several companies and you are the responsible party for all of them, you cannot get them all on the same day.
What happens when the responsible party changes?
You file Form 8822-B, Change of Address or Responsible Party, within 60 days. This applies when control of the company moves to someone else, for example after a sale or after a new managing member takes over the accounts.
Does naming myself as responsible party make me personally liable for company debts?
That is a different question. Line 7a tells the IRS who controls the entity and who it can contact about the entity. Personal liability for company debts is decided by state law and by how you actually run the company, not by what you wrote on Form SS-4.