TL;DR:
- A CP-575 is the notice the IRS sends after it assigns your business an Employer Identification Number (EIN). It confirms your EIN, legal business name, and federal tax filing requirements.
- Banks, payroll providers, and state tax agencies all rely on it to verify your business is real and registered.
- The IRS will not reissue a lost paper CP-575. As of July 2026, though, businesses with an IRS Business Tax Account can download a digital version instantly instead of waiting on hold for a replacement letter.
What is a CP-575 form?
A CP-575 form, more accurately called a CP-575 notice, is the letter the IRS issues once it approves your Employer Identification Number application (Form SS-4). If you've ever applied for an EIN, either online, by fax, or by mail, the CP-575 is the confirmation that follows.
It's worth clearing up a common mix-up here: a CP-575 isn't a form you fill out. You can't download a blank CP-575 PDF and complete it yourself. It's a one-time notice the IRS generates and sends to you after your EIN is approved, similar to a receipt rather than an application.
Every business that gets an EIN receives one, whether you're a solo founder setting up an LLC, a startup incorporating as a C-corp, or a nonprofit applying for tax-exempt status. If you formed your company through a service like LegalZoom or your accountant applied for your EIN on your behalf, you may not have seen this letter yourself even though it exists somewhere in your paperwork.
Why banks, payroll providers, and states all ask for it
The CP-575 matters because it's the primary way anyone outside the IRS can verify that your EIN and business name actually match IRS records. You'll typically need to produce it, or a substitute, when you:
- Open a business bank account. Most banks require an EIN confirmation letter before they'll open an account in your company's name.
- Set up payroll. Your payroll provider needs your EIN to establish federal withholding and to help you register for state payroll tax accounts, especially if you're hiring across multiple states.
- Apply for business credit, loans, or SBA financing. Lenders use it to confirm your business entity is legitimate and active.
- Register for state and local tax accounts. States use your EIN to cross-reference your business when you register for unemployment insurance, withholding, or sales tax.
If you have already completed the EIN application process, the CP-575 is the final step that turns the application into something you can actually hand to a bank or state agency.
What's on a CP-575 letter
The notice is short, usually a single page, but it packs in everything that follows your business for as long as it exists. It includes:
- Your nine-digit EIN
- Your business's legal name and any DBA on file
- The mailing address associated with your EIN
- The date the IRS assigned your EIN
- Which federal tax forms your business is required to file (for example, Form 941 for quarterly payroll taxes or Form 940 for federal unemployment tax)
- Your assigned IRS filing address
The IRS recommends keeping this notice permanently, not just until you open a bank account. If your business name, address, or responsible party ever changes, you'll need to update the IRS using Form 8822-B within 60 days, but your original EIN and the CP-575 that confirmed it stay valid for the life of the business.
How to get a copy of your CP-575 in 2026
This is where most advice on the internet is now out of date, and it's worth getting right, because the process changed this year.
The old way: call the IRS and wait for a 147C letter
For years, the only fix for a lost CP-575 was to call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933 and request a Letter 147C, a substitute EIN verification letter. The IRS would only send it by mail or fax, never email, and never instantly. Founders would routinely wait several business days, sometimes longer during filing season, just to get a piece of paper that their bank demanded before it would open an account.
The new way: download a digital CP-575 through your Business Tax Account
In July 2026, the IRS announced (Fact Sheet FS-2026-11) that businesses with an IRS Business Tax Account can now download a digital CP575 notice directly, with the same standing as a 147C letter at banks and other institutions. This is available to:
- Sole proprietors with an EIN
- S corporations and C corporations
- Partnerships and shareholders with the right identifying documentation on file
- Tax-exempt organizations
- Government entities
If your business qualifies, you can skip the phone call entirely. You log into your Business Tax Account, request the notice, and download it, no hold music required. The IRS still won't recreate the original paper CP575A through CP575J series if you've lost it, but the digital notice through Business Tax Account is designed to be the practical replacement going forward.
A note for LLCs: Business Tax Account eligibility runs off your federal tax classification, not the LLC label itself. Single-member LLCs taxed as sole proprietors, the default setup for most solo-founder LLCs filing Schedule C, aren't yet eligible for Business Tax Account access as of this writing, though the IRS has signaled that access for these entities is coming. Multi-member LLCs taxed as partnerships, or LLCs that elected S-corp or C-corp status, generally do qualify, but under those classifications rather than as LLCs. If you're not sure how your LLC is taxed, the tax forms listed on your original CP-575 will tell you.
If your business doesn't yet have Business Tax Account access, or you need the letter same-day and haven't set that up, calling for a 147C is still the fallback.
CP-575 vs. 147C: what's the difference now
A 147C letter has always been the IRS's way of reissuing EIN confirmation when the original CP-575 is lost. The core difference used to be simple: a CP-575 is what you get once, automatically, when your EIN is first approved. A 147C is what you request afterward, as a replacement, and only by phone.
With the 2026 Business Tax Account update, that line has blurred. If you have BTA access, you can now pull a digital CP575 whenever you need it instead of requesting a 147C at all. Banks and other institutions generally accept either document as proof of your EIN, since both carry the IRS's confirmation. If you're unsure which one a bank or lender wants, ask them directly. Most will accept whichever one you can produce.
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With Warp, you'll never visit a government website, negotiate with tax agencies, or pay accountants $150 per filing. Just focus on building your business while Warp handles payroll, compliance, and benefits for your team across any state or country.
Thousands of fast-growing startups trust Warp to stay compliant while they scale. If your CP-575 is buried in an old email somewhere, or you're not sure what tax accounts your business even has open, see how Warp handles it for you.
FAQ
Can I get my CP-575 online?
Not the original letter itself. If you have an IRS Business Tax Account, as of July 2026 you can download a digital CP575 notice online that carries the same standing as the original. Without Business Tax Account access, you'll need to call the IRS and request a 147C letter by mail or fax.
How do I get a copy of my EIN verification letter if I lost it?
If you have Business Tax Account access, log in and download the digital CP575 notice directly. If not, call the IRS Business & Specialty Tax Line at 1-800-829-4933 and request a 147C letter, which the IRS will send by mail or fax.
What is a CP-575 issued by the IRS?
It's the official notice the IRS sends after approving your EIN application. It confirms your EIN, legal business name, mailing address, and the federal tax forms your business needs to file going forward.
What's the difference between a CP-575 and a 147C letter?
A CP-575 is issued automatically the first time your EIN is approved. A 147C is a replacement letter you request afterward if you lose the original. As of 2026, businesses with access to Business Tax Account can download a digital CP575 instead of requesting a 147C.
Is there a downloadable CP-575 form I can fill out?
No. The CP-575 isn't a fillable form; it's a notice the IRS generates and sends to you after approving your EIN. You can't create or download a blank version to complete yourself.
What do the CP575A through CP575J variants mean?
These were suffixes the IRS used in the older paper notice series for different EIN-related correspondence. The digital CP575, available through the Business Tax Account, has largely replaced this lettered series going forward.
