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If you live outside the U.S. and need a U.S. tax ID, the first worry is usually the same: do I have to post my passport to the IRS and hope it comes back? You don’t have to. Here is how the three routes work, what each one asks of you and how long the whole thing takes.
What an ITIN is
An ITIN is a 9-digit number the IRS issues if you need a U.S. taxpayer identification number for federal tax purposes but aren’t eligible for a Social Security number.
You apply for one with Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number.
Who needs one
The IRS puts it simply: you need an ITIN if you have a federal tax purpose and you aren’t eligible for an SSN. Form W-7 asks you to pick the reason, and the main ones are:
- A non-resident alien filing a U.S. federal tax return
- A non-resident alien who needs an ITIN to claim a tax treaty benefit
- A U.S. resident alien, based on days in the U.S., filing a federal return
- The dependent or spouse of a U.S. citizen or resident alien
- The dependent or spouse of a non-resident alien who holds a U.S. visa
There are a few more reasons on the form, such as non-resident students, professors and researchers. If yours isn’t obvious, the W-7 instructions list every case.
The three ways to verify your identity
Whichever route you choose, the IRS needs to see proof of who you are and that you are a foreign person. You can apply in one of three ways.
Mail it to the IRS
Send Form W-7, your tax return and your original documents, or certified copies from the issuing agency, to the IRS in Austin, Texas. The IRS returns your documents to the address on line 2 of your Form W-7 within 60 days.
Works from anywhereVisit an IRS center, by appointment
At a Taxpayer Assistance Center with ITIN services, an IRS employee reviews your original documents and your Form W-7, and hands the documents back at the end of the appointment. Appointments can take several weeks to get.
Free · you must be in the U.S.Use a Certifying Acceptance Agent
A CAA is authorized by the IRS to help with Form W-7. The agent authenticates your documents, gives them back right away and sends your application to the IRS. The IRS lets the agent do the interview by video call.
In the U.S. or abroad · fees varyIf you live abroad, the second route only works while you are in the U.S., which leaves mailing your documents or going through an agent. Nolly.com is this kind of agent, and appears on the IRS’s list of acceptance agents in Canada.
Agents can authenticate every identity document for the main applicant and spouse except foreign military ID cards. For dependents, they can authenticate only the passport and the civil birth certificate.
What you need
- Form W-7. The application itself.
- A U.S. federal tax return. Form 1040 or 1040-NR, attached to the front of Form W-7, unless you meet one of the IRS’s exceptions. File them together on or before the due date of the return.
- Proof of identity and foreign status. A valid passport on its own is enough. Without one, you need at least two other documents, and at least one must have your photo.
Documents have to be originals or certified copies. A certified copy is one that the original issuing agency provides and certifies as an exact copy, with its official stamped seal. A copy you have notarized yourself isn’t accepted. Dependents have extra rules: a passport without a U.S. entry date doesn’t stand alone for certain dependents.
How long it takes
The IRS asks you to allow 7 weeks for it to tell you the status of your application. It can take 9 to 11 weeks if you apply from overseas, or between January 15 and April 30, which is tax season.
What it costs
The IRS doesn’t charge a fee for an ITIN. At a Taxpayer Assistance Center you apply for free. Acceptance agents set their own fees, so they vary from one agent to the next.
Nolly.com’s fee is $199 for a standard application and $265 for priority. It pays for the work of preparing your Form W-7, interviewing you by video and submitting the application. None of it goes to the IRS. See pricing for what each plan includes.
Questions
No. Mailing is one of three ways to apply. You can also use an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center in the U.S., or a Certifying Acceptance Agent in the U.S. or abroad. The IRS says original documents, or certified copies from the issuing agency, are accepted.
No. A certified copy is one the original issuing agency provides and certifies as an exact copy, with an official stamped seal. The IRS does not accept notarized copies, apart from narrow exceptions for U.S. military families.
Yes. If you mail them, the IRS returns them to the address on line 2 of your Form W-7 within 60 days. A Taxpayer Assistance Center returns them at the end of your appointment, and an acceptance agent returns them immediately.
Usually, yes. The IRS asks you to include a U.S. federal tax return with Form W-7 unless you meet one of its exceptions.
It can. If an ITIN isn’t used on a U.S. federal tax return for three consecutive tax years, it expires on December 31 after the third year of non-use.
Sources
Every statement about the IRS above comes from these IRS.gov pages. Nolly.com’s prices come from our own price list.
- Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN)What an ITIN is, who needs one, and the 7-week and 9–11-week timing.
- How to apply for an ITINThe three ways to apply, what the package contains, the 60-day return of documents, and that a Taxpayer Assistance Center is free.
- Instructions for Form W-7The reasons for applying, the tax-return requirement, original or certified documents, and the passport rule.
- ITIN supporting documentsThe passport as a stand-alone document, what a certified copy is, and that notarized copies are not accepted.
- Obtaining an ITIN from abroadApplying by mail, in person in the U.S., or through a Certifying Acceptance Agent in the U.S. or abroad.
- IRS Taxpayer Assistance Centers providing in-person ITIN document reviewAppointments, the booking number, and documents returned at the end of the appointment.
- ITIN Acceptance Agent ProgramWhat a Certifying Acceptance Agent can authenticate, and that the interview can be done by video conference.
- Acceptance Agent Program (fees and return of documents)What an agent does, that documents are returned immediately, and that agents’ fees vary.
- Acceptance agents – CanadaThe IRS listing that includes Nolly Services Inc d/b/a Nolly.com.
- Renew an ITINWhen an unused ITIN expires.
Checked against IRS.gov on October 1, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Nolly Services Inc is a private company and is not part of the IRS.
Published October 1, 2026. General information, not tax advice. Nolly Services Inc is a private company and is not part of the IRS.
