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How to get your ITIN or EIN fast.
A plain-English guide for people who live outside the U.S.: which number you need, what to prepare, how to apply, and the mistakes that slow people down.
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Four pages. Nothing you have to guess.
“Fast” here means avoiding the mistakes that cause delays. The IRS sets the timeline, and no guide can promise you a date.
Which number you need
A quick decision guide and side-by-side comparison, so you pick the right one before you start.
A document checklist
Why your passport can stand on its own, what goes in the W-7 package, and why certified is not the same as notarized.
Three ways to apply, and your passport
Mail it to the IRS, visit an IRS office in the U.S., or use a Certifying Acceptance Agent so your original passport stays with you.
An EIN without an SSN or ITIN
How to apply from outside the U.S. by phone, fax or mail, and the line of the SS-4 that people get wrong.
The mistakes that cause delays
Eight common errors, each with a fix, so your application is complete the first time.
Written from IRS.gov, with the sources listed.
Every rule in the guide comes from the IRS’s own pages and form instructions, and the last page lists them. Nolly.com is a Toronto company that the IRS lists as an acceptance agent in Canada.
Nolly.com is a private company, not the IRS. The guide is general information, not tax advice.
See our listing on IRS.gov