How to Get an EIN for Your Campaign

Your campaign committee needs its own federal Employer Identification Number — an EIN, also called a FEIN — before it can open a bank account or complete most registrations. It is free, it takes about 15 minutes online, and it is one of the easiest wins of your first two weeks.

Why the committee needs its own number

The EIN is the committee's tax identity, separate from yours. Your bank will require it to open the campaign account, registration forms ask for it, and it keeps your personal Social Security number out of campaign paperwork entirely.

Never run campaign finances under your personal SSN. Campaign money must stay legally and financially separate from your personal money — that separation is what makes clean reporting possible, and it protects you personally if a filing is ever questioned.

How to apply — free, about 15 minutes

1. Go to the IRS online EIN assistant at IRS.gov. The online tool is available on weekdays; apply directly on irs.gov and nowhere else.
2. When asked for the entity type, a campaign committee is a political organization.
3. Name a responsible party — usually your treasurer. The IRS requires that person's name and taxpayer identification number for the application itself.
4. Submit. You receive your EIN immediately on screen, followed by a confirmation letter (the CP 575). Save both — your bank will ask for the letter.

If the online assistant will not work for your situation, you can file Form SS-4 by fax or mail instead; it is slower but reaches the same result.

Skip the paid EIN websites

Search results for "get an EIN" are crowded with third-party sites that charge a fee to file this free application for you. Some look convincingly official. They add nothing except cost and a middleman holding your treasurer's personal information. The only site you need is irs.gov, and the IRS never charges for an EIN.

Where the number goes next

Your new EIN goes on your bank paperwork and your statement of organization, and it goes straight into your PolitiFast onboarding — the Compliance chapter of the onboarding wizard asks for your committee's legal name and FEIN. Enter it exactly as it appears on your CP 575 letter. Consistency across the IRS, your registration, your bank, and PolitiFast matters more than it looks; Registering with the FEC or Your State explains why mismatched details cause trouble later.

A note before you act

This guide is practical general guidance, not legal advice. Election law varies by state and changes often — confirm requirements with the FEC, your state election authority, or an election-law attorney.