ITIN Application Service

An ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) is a nine-digit number the IRS issues to people who need a U.S. taxpayer ID for federal tax purposes but are not eligible for a Social Security number. The ITIN application is made on IRS Form W-7.

We prepare your Form W-7, check your supporting documents and submit your ITIN application to the IRS. You start online; our fee is $245 per applicant. Ein-itin.com is operated by Cohen Investment LLC, a private company. We are not the IRS and are not affiliated with any government agency.

ITIN Application at a Glance

Form	IRS Form W-7, Application for IRS Individual Taxpayer Identification Number
Who issues the ITIN	Internal Revenue Service (IRS), ITIN Operation, Austin, Texas
IRS fee	$0
Our service fee	$245 per applicant
IRS processing time	7 weeks; 9 to 11 weeks if you apply between January 15 and April 30 or from outside the U.S.
Filed online with the IRS?	No. The IRS accepts ITIN applications by mail or in person only
Main document	A valid passport, or two other documents the IRS accepts
How you receive it	IRS Notice CP565, sent by mail
Does it expire?	Yes, if it is not used on a federal tax return for 3 consecutive tax years

Source: IRS, How to apply for an ITIN and How to renew an ITIN. Checked October 2026.

Who Needs an ITIN?

You need an ITIN if you have a U.S. federal tax purpose and cannot get a Social Security number. Typical cases:

• A nonresident who must file a U.S. federal tax return
• A nonresident claiming a tax treaty benefit
• A resident alien, under the substantial presence test, who files a U.S. tax return
• The spouse or dependent of a U.S. citizen, resident alien or visa holder, when they are claimed for an allowable tax benefit
• A foreign owner of a U.S. LLC or corporation who has a U.S. filing requirement

You do not need an ITIN if you are a U.S. citizen, a green card holder, or anyone else who is eligible for a Social Security number. An ITIN is for federal tax use only: it does not give you the right to work in the U.S. and does not change your immigration status. Read more on who can apply for an ITIN.

Ways to Apply for an ITIN

The IRS does not take ITIN applications online. There are three ways to hand in Form W-7, and a filing service such as ours prepares the application for one of them.

How you apply	Cost	What happens to your documents
By mail, yourself	Free	You mail Form W-7, your tax return and your original documents, or copies certified by the agency that issued them, to the IRS ITIN Operation in Austin, Texas. The IRS returns the documents within 60 days.
In person at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center	Free	By appointment, inside the U.S. only. Staff authenticate most documents and return them at the end of the appointment.
Through a Certifying Acceptance Agent	The agent's fee	The agent authenticates most documents and returns them at the end of the appointment. For dependents, only passports and birth certificates can be authenticated this way.
With our ITIN application service	$245 per applicant	We prepare Form W-7, check it against the documents your case needs and submit the application package to the IRS.

Whichever way you choose, the IRS decides the application and the processing time is the same. More in where to apply for an ITIN in person and where to send an ITIN application.

Documents Needed for an ITIN Application

1. A completed Form W-7.
2. A U.S. federal income tax return (Form 1040 or 1040-NR), unless you qualify for one of the exceptions in the Form W-7 instructions.
3. Proof of identity and foreign status. A valid passport is the only document that proves both by itself. Without a passport you need two documents from the IRS list of 13 (for example a national ID card and a birth certificate), and at least one must carry your photo.

Documents must be originals or copies certified by the agency that issued them, and must not be expired. Dependents usually also need proof of U.S. residency. The full list is in our guide to ITIN application requirements.

ITIN Application Steps

1. Complete our online application form and pay the service fee.
2. Send us the documents we list for your case.
3. We prepare your Form W-7 and send it to you to sign.
4. The application package is submitted to the IRS.
5. The IRS reviews the application: allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks in tax season or from abroad.
6. The IRS mails Notice CP565 with your ITIN.

Applying from abroad? See how to apply for an ITIN from outside the U.S.

ITIN Application by Situation

What you attach to Form W-7 depends on why you need the number.

• You live outside the U.S. You apply the same way, but the IRS says to allow 9 to 11 weeks. See ITIN application for non-residents abroad.
• Your spouse or child needs an ITIN. Each family member needs a separate Form W-7, normally filed together with the tax return that claims them. See ITIN for a spouse.
• You have no tax return to file yet. Form W-7 can be filed without a return only under one of the listed exceptions. See applying for an ITIN without a tax return.
• You own a U.S. LLC or corporation. The company needs an EIN, and you need an ITIN if you have a U.S. tax return to file yourself. See when a non-U.S. person needs an ITIN and our EIN application service.
• You want a U.S. bank account, credit card or mortgage. Some U.S. banks and lenders accept an ITIN in place of a Social Security number. See banks that accept ITIN numbers and ITIN mortgage loans.
• You sell through Amazon or get paid through PayPal. See PayPal business account ITIN and EIN requirements.
• Your ITIN has expired. You renew it with Form W-7. See how to renew an ITIN.

How Long Does an ITIN Application Take?

The IRS says to allow 7 weeks to hear about an ITIN application, and 9 to 11 weeks if you apply during tax season (January 15 to April 30) or from overseas. There is no expedited service: nobody can pay to speed it up, and no agent can guarantee a date. If the IRS needs more information it sends Notice CP566, which adds time. If you mailed original documents, the IRS returns them within 60 days.

After You Apply: IRS Notices

The IRS answers every ITIN application by mail with one of three notices.

Notice	What it means	What to do
CP565	An ITIN was assigned to you	Nothing. Keep the notice: it is your record of the number.
CP566	The IRS needs more information or documents	Reply with what the notice asks for by the date it gives.
CP567	The application was rejected	Apply again with a new Form W-7 and complete documents.

There is no online tracker. If you have heard nothing after 7 weeks (9 to 11 in tax season or from abroad), call the IRS at 800-829-1040 from inside the U.S. or 267-941-1000 from outside. See how to check your ITIN status and how to find a lost ITIN.

What Does an ITIN Application Cost?

The IRS charges nothing. Our fee is $245 per applicant for preparing Form W-7, checking your documents and submitting the application. You can also apply free of charge by mail or at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center. People use a paid service mainly when they live abroad or want the form and documents checked before they are sent, because an incomplete application is the usual reason for a rejection.

Our refund policy in short: a full refund if you cancel within 7 days and your forms have not been prepared yet, or if the number cannot be assigned because of an error that cannot be fixed. Once your forms are prepared, or between day 7 and day 30, a $75 processing fee is kept and the rest is refunded. After 30 days, or once the number has been assigned, the fee is not refundable.

ITIN Guides

Each step of the ITIN application has its own guide in our ITIN knowledge base.

• How to apply for an ITIN number: the whole process on one page
• Can I apply for an ITIN online?: what can and cannot be done online
• ITIN application requirements: who qualifies and what the IRS asks for
• ITIN exceptions: the cases where no tax return is attached
• How long it takes to get an ITIN: IRS processing times
• How much an ITIN costs: IRS, agent and service fees
• ITIN vs SSN: what each number is for
• The complete ITIN guide: everything above in one long read

Applying for an Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) directly through the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is free of charge. The IRS does not require any payment for processing ITIN applications.