RULING — LINE 1
1 · LEGAL NAME — SPECIMEN HOLDINGS LLC
Legal name of the entity
Exactly as on the Articles of Organization / Certificate of Formation.
EXHIBIT — THE FORM, ANNOTATED · FORM SS-4 (REV. DECEMBER 2025), LINE BY LINE FOR THE NO-SSN CASE · ONE FORM, FILED ON PAPER
The Form, Annotated
Below is what each part asks for when the owner is a foreign person with no SSN and no ITIN, following the IRS's own instructions — not a filing service's habits.
Sources: Instructions for Form SS-4 (IRS) and IRS — Employer Identification Number. Verify against the current revision before you file; the IRS revises this form. The recreations on this page show Rev. December 2025.
Before line 1: two rules that decide everything
- Form the entity first. The IRS instructs applicants creating a legal entity to register it with the state before applying for an EIN. An SS-4 for an entity that does not yet exist cannot be processed as filed.
- Copy the legal name exactly. Line 1 must match the name on the formation documents character for character in substance — the IRS allows only letters, numbers, hyphens and ampersands in its systems, and spells out how symbols are handled. A shortened or re-punctuated name is the most common stall on the Returned wall.
Form SS-4
Application for Employer Identification Number
Application for Employer Identification Number
OMB No. 1545-0003
Rev. December 2025
Cat. No. 16055N
Rev. December 2025
Cat. No. 16055N
1
Legal name of entitySPECIMEN HOLDINGS LLC
2
Trade name—
3
Care of name—
4a–5b
Mailing / street addressesAS ON FORMATION DOCUMENTS
6
County and stateWYOMING
7a
Name of responsible partyA. SPECIMEN — INDIVIDUAL
7b
SSN, ITIN, or EINFOREIGN
8a–c
LLC? Members? U.S.-organized?YES · 1 · YES
9a
Type of entityOTHER — FOREIGN-OWNED DISREGARDED ENTITY
10
Reason for applyingSTARTED NEW BUSINESS
11–12
Start date / closing monthFORMATION DATE / DECEMBER
13–17
Employees, liabilities, activity0 EMPLOYEES — AS THE ENTITY ACTUALLY IS
SPECIMEN — RECREATION OF FORM SS-4 FOR A FICTIONAL ENTITY. NOT A FILED FORM.
RULING — LINE 2
2 · TRADE NAME — —
Trade name (DBA), if different
Leave blank if the entity trades under its legal name.
RULING — LINE 3
3 · CARE OF — —
Executor / administrator / trustee / “care of” name
Usually blank for an operating LLC.
RULING — LINE 4a–5b
4a–5b · ADDRESSES — AS ON FORMATION DOCUMENTS
Mailing and street addresses
The address where the CP 575 should reach you or your registered agent. Foreign addresses are accepted on the international route — write them completely.
RULING — LINE 6
6 · COUNTY AND STATE — WYOMING
County and state of principal business
The state of formation / principal activity, per the instructions.
RULING — LINE 7a
7a · RESPONSIBLE PARTY — A. SPECIMEN (INDIVIDUAL)
Name of responsible party
An individual — the person who ultimately owns or controls the entity and its funds. Not the LLC itself, and not a nominee: the IRS states nominees are not authorized to apply. Choosing that individual when there are several owners is worked at Case D-02 — the multi-member LLC.
RULING — LINE 7b · THE WHOLE CASE
7b · SSN / ITIN / EIN — FOREIGN
Responsible party's SSN, ITIN, or EIN
Enter “Foreign.” The SS-4 instructions direct applicants whose responsible party does not have and is not eligible for an SSN or ITIN to write “Foreign” (shown as “foreign” or N/A in IRS guidance summaries). Never leave it blank, and never borrow another person's number.
Examiner note — THIS LINE IS THE WHOLE CASE. Worked end to end for the flagship facts at Case D-01 — neither SSN nor ITIN, single-member LLC.
RULING — LINE 8a–8c
8a–c · LLC — YES · 1 MEMBER · U.S.
Is this a limited liability company?
Yes for an LLC; state the number of members and the state of organization. Member count drives the default tax classification — and later, which annual information return applies.
RULING — LINE 9a
9a · TYPE — OTHER: FOREIGN-OWNED DISREGARDED ENTITY
Type of entity
For a foreign-owned single-member LLC, the instructions direct: check “Other” and write the foreign-owned disregarded-entity wording given in the current instructions. Read the current revision's exact wording before writing — this line is revised.
RULING — LINE 10
10 · REASON — STARTED NEW BUSINESS
Reason for applying
“Started new business” for a newly formed entity, with the type of business stated.
RULING — LINE 11–12
11–12 · START DATE / CLOSING MONTH — FORMATION DATE / DECEMBER
Date business started; closing month
Formation date; December for a calendar-year entity unless you have chosen otherwise.
RULING — LINE 13–17
13–17 · EMPLOYEES / ACTIVITY — 0 EMPLOYEES, AS THE ENTITY IS
Employees, tax liabilities, first wage date, principal activity
Answer for the entity as it actually is. Zero employees is a valid, common answer for a holding or online-business LLC.
RULING — THIRD-PARTY DESIGNEE
Authorizes a named person to receive the EIN
Complete this only if a designee is actually filing for you — under EIN Complete, this is how our fulfiller is authorized. A designee is not the responsible party; do not put the designee on line 7a.
RULING — SIGNATURE
Signature of the responsible party (or authorized person)
Sign and date, with a telephone number the IRS can reach. On the fax route, an unsigned SS-4 is a stalled SS-4.
Submitting it: the international routes
Phone (international applicants): 267-941-1099, not toll-free, Monday–Friday 6 a.m.–11 p.m. Eastern — complete the SS-4 first; the caller must be authorized to receive the EIN and answer questions about the form. Fax: 304-707-9471 from outside the U.S. or 855-215-1627 from within it. Mail: Internal Revenue Service, Attn: EIN International Operation, Cincinnati, OH 45999. One EIN per responsible party per day, by any route. All numbers: IRS — Employer Identification Number.
Examiner note — Doing this yourself is a legitimate choice. The EIN is free from the IRS and everything above is the whole method. EIN Complete exists for owners who would rather the filing, the documentation, and the chasing were someone else's job — it does not exist because the route is secret.