US founders: EIN, SSN and ITIN — what you actually need

If you have set up a US company from abroad, the acronyms come fast: EIN, SSN, ITIN. They are easy to mix up, and that confusion is where a lot of onboarding stress comes from. They are three different things, and you do not necessarily need all of them.

This guide explains each term in plain language, covers what a foreign founder of a US company actually needs, and looks at how identity is verified when you have no US documents or phone number.

EIN, SSN and ITIN in plain English

These three identifiers do different jobs:

• EIN (Employer Identification Number) — a number that identifies your company. Think of it as the company's tax ID. A foreign founder can obtain one for a US entity without being a US resident.
• SSN (Social Security Number) — a personal number for individuals authorised to work in the US. Most foreign founders living abroad will not have one and are not expected to.
• ITIN (Individual Taxpayer Identification Number) — a personal tax-processing number for individuals who need to deal with US tax matters but are not eligible for an SSN.

The short version: the EIN is for the company; the SSN and ITIN are personal numbers for the individual.

Can you open with just an EIN?

The EIN identifies the company, but opening an account is never only about the company — the people behind it have to be verified too. So an EIN is part of the picture rather than the whole of it.

For a foreign founder, the company side is usually covered by the EIN and your formation documents, while your own identity is verified using your passport and proof of address from where you live. In many cases you will not need a US personal number to be identified; your foreign documents do that job.

Do you need an SSN or ITIN as a foreign founder?

Whether you need a personal US number depends on your circumstances and is partly a tax-and-filing question rather than purely an account-opening one. As general information:

• Many foreign founders never obtain an SSN, since it relates to US work authorisation they do not have.
• An ITIN may come up for US tax-filing reasons connected to the business, separate from the account itself.
• For verifying who you are, a provider can often rely on your passport and home-country proof of address rather than a US personal number.

Because the tax side is specific to your situation, it is worth confirming your own filing position with a qualified adviser rather than treating any of this as advice.

Why single-member non-resident LLCs draw extra questions

A single-member LLC owned by one non-resident is a very common startup structure, and it does tend to attract closer review. That is not a judgement on you — it is because the structure is simple to set up, widely used, and offers a reviewer little public trading record to look at.

The way through is detail, not defensiveness. Be ready to explain clearly what the business does, who the customers are, where the money comes from and goes to, and why the US entity exists. A concrete, consistent account of the business resolves most of the extra questions.

Verifying your identity remotely

You can usually complete identity checks without setting foot in the US or holding any local documents. Verification is designed to be done online, typically using your passport and a recent proof of personal address from your own country.

If you do not have a US phone number, that is generally fine — providers expect foreign founders and can verify using your existing contact details. Having clean, recent, consistent documents ready is the single biggest thing that keeps remote onboarding smooth.

Frequently asked questions