How to Look Up a Nonprofit's EIN Number (3 Free Methods)
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Every tax-exempt organization in the United States has an Employer Identification Number (EIN), a unique nine-digit number assigned by the IRS. Think of it as a Social Security number for organizations.
You might need a nonprofit’s EIN to verify their tax-exempt status before making a donation, complete a grant application, file paperwork that references a partner organization, or do due diligence research.
Whatever the reason, looking up an EIN is straightforward once you know where to look.
What is an EIN?
An EIN (Employer Identification Number) is a nine-digit number formatted as XX-XXXXXXX. The IRS assigns one to every organization that applies for tax-exempt status. It’s sometimes called a Tax Identification Number (TIN) or Federal Tax ID.
The EIN is public information. There’s no reason an organization should refuse to share it, and there are several free ways to look it up yourself.
Method 1: Search on 501see
The fastest approach. 501see lets you search across 1.8M+ tax-exempt organizations by name, state, or category. Every organization profile shows the EIN prominently, along with financial data, officer information, and more.
Type the organization’s name into the search bar and you’ll see the EIN in the results alongside revenue, officer compensation, and other data from their most recent 990 filings — without downloading PDFs or navigating IRS forms.
Method 2: IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS)
The IRS Tax Exempt Organization Search (TEOS) is the official government source for tax-exempt organization data. You can search by organization name, EIN, city, state, or country.
Here’s how to use it:
- Go to apps.irs.gov/app/eos/
- Search by organization name or location
- Select the correct organization from the results
- The EIN appears on the organization’s detail page along with their exempt status and ruling date
What TEOS does well: It’s the authoritative source for confirming exempt status. It also lets you download raw XML data files and access scanned 990 images for bulk or archival research.
What TEOS is missing: TEOS shows you the EIN and exempt status, but little else. There’s no financial data, no officer compensation, no grant history. The search interface is also limited — no filters by category or revenue range, and results can be slow. For a simple EIN lookup it works; for anything deeper you’ll need another tool.
TEOS vs. 501see: a quick comparison
| TEOS | 501see | |
|---|---|---|
| EIN lookup | Yes | Yes |
| Tax-exempt status confirmation | Yes | Yes |
| Financial data (revenue, expenses) | No | Yes |
| Officer compensation | No | Yes |
| Grant history | No | Yes |
| Filter by NTEE category or state | Limited | Yes |
| Free | Yes | Yes |
For a pure EIN lookup, either works. If you also want financial context alongside the EIN — what the organization spends, what its executives earn, whether it awards grants — 501see surfaces all of that in the same search.
Method 3: ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer
ProPublica Nonprofit Explorer is a free tool that indexes the full text of electronically filed 990s. It’s useful when you’re searching for a less common organization or want to download the original filing PDF.
Search by name and the EIN appears on the organization’s profile page. ProPublica also lets you download raw 990 XML, which is useful if you need source documents for your own analysis.
Common issues
The organization has a common name. If you search for “Community Foundation” you’ll get hundreds of results. Narrow your search by adding the city or state. On 501see, you can filter by state and category to zero in on the right one.
The organization recently changed its name. The IRS database may still show the old name. Try searching by the previous name, or by city and state if you know those.
The organization is very new. It can take several months for a newly approved tax-exempt organization to appear in IRS databases. If the organization just received its determination letter, it may not be searchable yet.
You found the EIN but want to verify it’s legitimate. Cross-reference on IRS TEOS to confirm exempt status. If an organization claims to be tax-exempt but doesn’t appear in the IRS database, that’s a red flag.
You’re finding multiple matches with the same name. Some organizations have affiliated entities — a foundation and an operating charity may share a name but have different EINs. Check the full legal name and address on the detail page to confirm which entity you need.
What you can do with an EIN
Once you have the EIN, you can:
- Verify tax-exempt status. Confirm the organization is recognized as tax-exempt by the IRS before you donate
- Look up 990 filings. Use the EIN to find the organization’s annual tax returns, which contain detailed financial information
- Research financials. On 501see, searching by EIN takes you directly to the organization’s profile with revenue, expenses, officer compensation, and grant data
- Complete grant applications. Many grant applications require you to list partner organization EINs
- Track grantmaking. In grant data, recipients are often identified by EIN rather than name — having the EIN lets you cross-reference across multiple databases
Finding a nonprofit’s EIN takes about 30 seconds with the right tool. The data is public; you just need to know where to look.
Search nonprofit EINs on 501see, free, no account required.