EIN Reference Number 101: What It Means and How to Fix It

Arizona LLC Law · Tax Issues · Forming LLCs

IRS EIN Reference Number 101: The Warning Every New LLC & Corporation Owner Needs

The Internal Revenue Service lets you apply for an employer identification number through an online EIN assistant and get the number at the end of a five to ten minute data entry session. Your company needs an EIN to open a bank account, file federal tax returns, hire employees and complete a Form W-9 for customers. See our EIN online wizard video that walks through the application screen by screen.

 

Usually the wizard works exactly as advertised. Sometimes it does not, and the way it fails catches new business owners completely off guard — often on the very day they were planning to walk into a bank or close on a property.

What Reference Number 101 Actually Means

When the online assistant hits a name conflict it does not say "name conflict." It displays this message:

"We are unable to provide you with an EIN. We apologize for the inconvenience, but based on the information provided we are unable to provide you with an EIN through this online assistant. Please call 1-800-829-4933 for assistance. When outside the US, call 267-941-1099. TTY/TDD: 1-800-829-4059. Please have your information readily available, and mention reference number 101."

Reference number 101 is the most common error the online assistant produces. In the overwhelming majority of cases it means the IRS computer compared the name you typed against every entity name in its national database and found one it considers the same or confusingly similar.

 

A smaller number of 101 errors have nothing to do with the company name at all. If the assistant stops you on the identity screen — before you have entered any business information — the conflict is tied to the responsible party personally, not to the entity. A forgotten sole proprietorship EIN issued years ago, a misspelled name in IRS records, or an SS-4 you already faxed and are still waiting on will all produce the same 101. The remedy is different in that situation: call the IRS rather than fax a second application.

Why Your State-Approved Name Still Triggers a 101

New Arizona business owners find this maddening, and the reason is simple. The Arizona Corporation Commission only checks your proposed name against entities registered in Arizona. The IRS checks against entities in all fifty states plus every trust, estate and sole proprietorship EIN it has ever issued.

 

So "Desert Ridge Properties LLC" can sail through the Arizona Corporation Commission because no Arizona company uses it, then hit a wall at the IRS because a Florida company registered something close enough twenty years ago. Generic names built from common words — Sunrise, Summit, Premier, Elite, Apex, Legacy, Blue Sky, plus a common noun — are the ones that fail most often.

How to Fix a 101: Form SS-4 by Fax or Mail

Once the online assistant issues a 101 for a name conflict, it will keep issuing it. Trying again in a different browser, on a different day, or from a different computer does not help. The application has to be reviewed by a human being, and the only two ways to get it in front of one are fax and mail.

Step 1 — Complete Form SS-4

Download the current Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number, and fill it out completely. Line 1 is the exact legal name of the entity as it appears on your filed Articles of Organization. Line 7a and 7b are the responsible party's name and Social Security number or ITIN.

Step 2 — Attach proof the company exists

Include a copy of your approved Articles of Organization, Certificate of Organization or Certificate of Formation. This is the single most useful thing you can do to speed up the manual review, because it lets the IRS employee confirm your entity is real and legally distinct from the one that triggered the conflict.

Step 3 — Send it and include a return fax number

If the responsible party…	Fax Form SS-4 to	Or mail to
Has a legal residence, principal office or principal agency in one of the 50 states or D.C.	855-641-6935	Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999
Has no legal residence, principal office or principal agency in any state	855-215-1627 (from inside the U.S.) or 304-707-9471 (from outside the U.S.)	Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999

Put a working return fax number on the form. The IRS faxes the assigned EIN back, and applications without a return fax number get routed to the much slower mail queue. If you do not own a fax machine, any of the online fax services will do — you can cancel the subscription once the EIN arrives.

How Long It Really Takes

The IRS publishes a four business day turnaround for faxed SS-4 applications and roughly four weeks for mailed ones. Those are the published numbers.

 

Reality has been different for years. When we call the IRS after a client gets a 101, we have been told to expect 45 days. During heavy backlogs, applicants have waited two to three months. Plan around the worst case, not the published case, especially if a real estate closing, a bank account opening or a payroll start date depends on the number.

 

If more than 45 business days pass with no response, call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933 and ask two questions: whether an EIN has been assigned, and if so, whether they will issue an EIN verification letter (Form 147C). The 147C letter serves the same purpose as the CP 575 confirmation notice for banks, lenders and customers requesting a W-9, and an agent can generate it on the phone.

EIN Reference Numbers 102 Through 115

Reference 101 gets all the attention, but the online assistant produces a family of numbered errors. Here is what each one means and what to do about it.

Code	What it means	What to do
101	Name conflict or duplicate; occasionally an issue tied to the responsible party personally	File Form SS-4 by fax or mail with your Articles attached
102	Mismatch or error between the responsible party's name and SSN or ITIN	Retry once with the number entered carefully; if it repeats, file Form SS-4
103	You entered an existing company as responsible party and the EIN and name do not match IRS records	Retry with the correct EIN; if it repeats, file Form SS-4
104	A third party designee entered contact information identical to the company's address or phone	Reapply using the designee's own address and phone number
105	Too many online attempts using the same SSN, ITIN or EIN	Wait 24 hours and try again; if it repeats, file Form SS-4
106	A single member LLC with employees has no sole proprietorship EIN on file	Call the IRS at 800-829-4933
107	A single member LLC with employees has more than one sole proprietorship EIN	Call the IRS at 800-829-4933
109, 110, 112, 113	Technical problems or heavy load on the IRS system, not a problem with your data	Wait 24 hours and reapply online
114	The responsible party already received an EIN today	Wait 24 hours and reapply online
115	The IRS date-of-death check returned a match for the responsible party	Call the IRS; expect to provide documentation

Only codes 101 and 115 route you to a live customer service representative when you call. Every other code sends you to a recorded message telling you to correct your information and resubmit.

Opening a Bank Account While You Wait

A single member LLC, or an LLC owned only by a married couple as community property, is a disregarded entity for federal income tax purposes. Its income is reported on the member's Form 1040. Because of that, some banks will open the LLC's account using the Social Security number of a member instead of an EIN.

 

Policies vary widely, and many banks now insist on an EIN regardless of tax classification. Call the branch manager before you drive over. If your bank will not budge, ask whether they will open the account on a conditional basis and add the EIN when it arrives.

 

A multi-member LLC that is not owned solely by a married couple, and any corporation, must have its own EIN. There is no SSN workaround.

How to Avoid a 101 Before You Form Your Company

The best time to solve this problem is before you file anything. Once you get a 101, you have exactly two options: accept the delay, or dissolve and refile under a different name and pay the filing fees twice.

Pick a name no other company in America is likely to have

The more distinctive the name, the lower the odds of a conflict. Practical ways to make a name unique:

• Add a personal or family surname — "Ortiz Ridgeline Holdings LLC" instead of "Ridgeline Holdings LLC."
• Add a specific geographic identifier that is not already a national brand — a street, a neighborhood, a landmark.
• Use three distinctive words rather than two generic ones.
• Use a coined or invented word. Nothing conflicts with a word that did not exist last week.
• Avoid the high-collision vocabulary: Premier, Elite, Apex, Summit, Legacy, Sunrise, Blue Sky, Diamond, Platinum, Advantage, Solutions, Enterprises, Ventures, Group, Holdings.

Search beyond Arizona before you commit

Run your proposed name through the Arizona Corporation Commission entity search, then check the USPTO trademark database and a plain internet search for the name plus "LLC" and "Inc." If similar companies turn up in other states, expect trouble at the IRS.

Weigh the tradeoff honestly

If you must have the number immediately, you have two choices: go with your preferred name and gamble that the application clears, or choose a name so distinctive that no other company in the country could plausibly share it. There is no third option that produces a same-day EIN with a conflict-prone name.

Responsible Party Rules That Trip People Up

The IRS limits every responsible party to one EIN per day, across all application methods. If you are forming a series of LLCs to hold rental properties — a structure we discuss in How Many LLCs Should I Form for My Properties? — you cannot get five EINs on Monday. You need five separate days.

 

The responsible party must be a natural person who actually controls, manages or directs the entity and its funds, and that person must have an SSN or ITIN. Since 2018 the IRS has not allowed an entity to serve as the responsible party on a new EIN application, which means a parent LLC cannot be listed as the responsible party for its subsidiary.

 

When the responsible party changes — a member sells out, a manager is replaced, a member dies — you must notify the IRS within 60 days on Form 8822-B. See our article on notifying the IRS of responsible party changes. This one gets ignored constantly and it matters, because IRS notices go to the person listed.

 

One more practical point: the online assistant times out after 15 minutes of inactivity and cannot be saved and resumed. Gather everything — legal name, address, formation date, responsible party SSN, expected number of employees, tax classification — before you start. And save or print the CP 575 confirmation notice the moment it appears. The IRS will not reissue it, only a 147C letter.

Do Not Pay a Website for a Free EIN

An EIN costs nothing. The IRS charges no fee for any application method — online, fax or mail.

 

Search "apply for EIN" and the paid results at the top are private companies with official-looking sites that charge $150 to $300 to type your information into the same free IRS form. Some people do not discover the charge until the final screen. Look at the domain: if it does not end in irs.gov, it is not the IRS. The same warning applies to the entity formation industry generally — see Don't Pay a Non-Lawyer More than an Arizona LLC Attorney to Form an Arizona LLC and Beware the Nevada LLC / Incorporation Scam.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does EIN reference number 101 mean?

EIN reference number 101 means the IRS online EIN assistant found a business name in its nationwide records that is the same as or too similar to the name on your application, so it stopped the application and referred you to a customer service representative. Less often, a 101 shown on the identity screen means the issue relates to the responsible party's own records rather than the company name.

Is reference number 101 a rejection of my EIN application?

No. It is not a denial and it does not affect the legal existence of your LLC or corporation. It means the IRS cannot issue the EIN through the automated online system and requires a human employee to review the application.

How do I fix EIN reference number 101?

Complete IRS Form SS-4, attach a copy of your approved Articles of Organization or Certificate of Formation, and fax it to 855-641-6935 if the responsible party is located in one of the 50 states or the District of Columbia. Include a return fax number so the IRS can send the EIN back to you.

What is the IRS fax number for Form SS-4?

Domestic applicants fax Form SS-4 to 855-641-6935. Applicants with no legal residence, principal office or principal agency in any state fax to 855-215-1627 from inside the United States or 304-707-9471 from outside the United States.

How long does it take to get an EIN after faxing Form SS-4?

The IRS publishes a four business day turnaround for faxed applications and about four weeks for mailed applications. In practice, applications flagged with reference number 101 have taken 45 days or longer, and during backlogs some applicants have waited two to three months.

Can I open a bank account without an EIN?

Sometimes. A single member LLC, or an LLC owned only by a married couple as community property, is a disregarded entity, and some banks will open its account using a member's Social Security number. Many banks require an EIN regardless, so call your bank before relying on this. A multi-member LLC that is not owned solely by a married couple, and every corporation, must have an EIN.

How do I avoid getting reference number 101?

Choose a company name distinctive enough that no other business in the United States is likely to share it. Add a surname, a specific geographic identifier or a coined word, use three distinctive words rather than two generic ones, and avoid high-collision vocabulary such as Premier, Elite, Summit, Apex and Legacy. Search beyond the Arizona Corporation Commission database before you file, because the IRS checks all 50 states.

How many EINs can one person get in a day?

One. The IRS limits each responsible party to a single EIN per day across all application methods, including online, fax, mail and telephone. Getting EINs for five new LLCs takes five separate days.

Do I have to pay a company to get an EIN?

No. The IRS never charges a fee for an EIN through any application method. Websites that charge $150 to $300 are private companies submitting the same free IRS form. If the web address does not end in irs.gov, it is not the IRS.

What is a 147C letter?

Form 147C is an EIN verification letter the IRS issues when you have lost the original CP 575 confirmation notice or need proof of your EIN before the notice arrives. Request it by calling the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 800-829-4933. Banks, lenders and customers requesting a Form W-9 accept it in place of the CP 575.

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We Get the EIN With Our Silver & Gold LLC Formation Packages

I have formed more than 10,000 Arizona limited liability companies since 1979. Every one of our Silver and Gold LLC packages includes obtaining the LLC's EIN, and we screen proposed names for conflict risk before we file the Articles of Organization — which is the only point at which a 101 problem is cheap to solve.

 

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Related reading

• Do I Put My LLC's Name on Line 1 of an IRS Form W-9?
• Businesses with an EIN Must Notify the IRS of Responsible Party Changes
• Did You File My LLC as a Partnership?
• 15 Common Arizona LLC Mistakes
• All Arizona LLC Law Articles

This article is general information about federal EIN procedures and is not legal or tax advice. IRS fax numbers, mailing addresses and processing times change; verify current information at irs.gov before filing. Reading this article does not create an attorney-client relationship with KEYTLaw, LLC.