There is no EIN lookup by state: the IRS issues every EIN, and no state register, whether Ohio's, Georgia's or Illinois's, turns a company name into one. So a lookup works only if the company has had to print its number in a public document. If it has, the number is findable in minutes; if it has not, there is no index to search. This page sets out which records carry it.
How to look up EIN number filings: securities filings carry it on the cover
Any company registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission prints its employer identification number on the cover page of its periodic filings, in the block with the state of incorporation and the principal executive offices. It is labeled as the IRS employer identification number. This is the most reliable public source that exists for the companies it covers, and it covers only companies with registered securities.
EIN number lookup in Ohio and Georgia
The Ohio Secretary of State's Business Search and the Georgia Secretary of State's business search are where an Ohio or Georgia entity is registered, and both are free to search by business name. What they give you is the state's own record: the entity's name, its state file or control number, its status and its registered agent. Neither shows a federal EIN, because the state does not issue it. Use them to confirm the company exists and is in good standing, then look for the EIN in its securities filings or, for a non-profit, its exempt organization records.
EIN lookup in Illinois and North Carolina
The same is true of the Illinois Secretary of State's business entity search and the North Carolina Secretary of State's business registration search, and of the registers in Missouri, Louisiana and Tennessee: each finds an entity by name or by the state's own number, and none returns an EIN. Louisiana's search, for example, takes an entity name, a charter number, a trade registration number, or an officer or agent name. If you already hold an EIN and want the company behind it, Maryland's business entity search and the Texas Comptroller's franchise tax search accept one.
Exempt organizations are published by design
A tax-exempt organization's employer identification number is public, because exempt status itself is public and donors need to identify the organization they are giving to. The number appears in the organization's annual information return and in the published lists of exempt organizations. If the entity you are checking is a charity, a foundation or a non-profit corporation, this route usually works.
Doing several at once, and where it stops
There is no bulk source that maps names to federal numbers across all US companies. What can be done at scale is the state layer: several states publish their entire business register as a downloadable dataset, so entity names, file numbers, statuses and agents can be matched in bulk. That gives you identification and standing for every entity in the state, without the federal number. It is the honest ceiling on this task.
Questions people ask about look up EIN
Where is the most reliable public EIN?
The cover page of a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, for any company that files them. It is labeled as the IRS employer identification number.
Can I look up EIN numbers for many companies at once?
Not federally. Some states publish their whole business register as a dataset, which gives names, file numbers, statuses and agents in bulk, but not federal numbers.
Is a paid EIN lookup service worth it?
It can only resell what is already public. If the company has never disclosed its number, no service has it either.
Is there a separate EIN lookup for each state?
No. The IRS issues every EIN, so the state a company is registered in changes nothing about where its number is public. A few state systems take an EIN as a search key, among them Maryland's business entity search and the Texas Comptroller's franchise tax account status search, which helps when you already hold the number and want the company behind it.
Is there a Virginia or Arizona EIN number lookup?
No. The Virginia State Corporation Commission's entity search and the Arizona Corporation Commission's eCorp search find a company by name or by the state's own entity number, as Indiana's INBiz search does. None of them publishes a federal EIN.
Sources
- Employer ID numbers, Internal Revenue Service
- Franchise Tax Account Status search, Texas Comptroller
- Business Entity Search, Maryland Business Express
- Business Search, Ohio Secretary of State
- Business search, Georgia Secretary of State
- Business entity search, Illinois Secretary of State
- Commercial search, Louisiana Secretary of State