- 1). Contact your vendor, talk to the accounting or credit department and ask for the federal EIN. Check the vendor's website, since the "About Us" section sometimes contains the FEIN number.
- 2). Review all of the documents received from your vendor, including invoices, and W-2, W-9 or 1099 tax documents. These will contain the number.
- 3). Look up the vendor's Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. Public companies print the FEIN on their 10-Ks, 20-Fs and other filings. These documents can be acquired free through the SEC's EDGAR database.
- 4). Search the company's annual report, secretary of state (SOS) incorporation papers or federal tax lien records if the company has filed for bankruptcy. Searches for tax lien and SOS records will require a database service, which can also give you the federal EIN directly.
- 5). Search for a vendor's FEIN using an online database such as FEINsearch.com, KnowX.com or REALSearch.com, especially if you need to verify a large list of companies. Each site will ask you to enter basic business information to receive the FEIN number.
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