ITIN number format and examples

The ITIN format: 9XX-XX-XXXX

An ITIN has nine digits, grouped 3-2-4 with hyphens, exactly like a Social Security number. The IRS describes it as a 9-digit number beginning with the number 9.

IRS publications show the pattern with X’s rather than real digits. Publication 1915 uses 9XX-7X-XXXX as its example, and Publication 4757 uses 9XX-8X-XXXX. That’s the only kind of example worth using, and it’s the kind this page sticks to.

Here’s what each part of the number can tell you:

Valid ITIN middle-digit ranges

The fourth and fifth digits of an ITIN fall in one of four ranges: 50 to 65, 70 to 88, 90 to 92, or 94 to 99. Both Publication 1915 (Rev. December 2025) and Publication 4757 (Rev. June 2026) give these ranges, and Publication 4757 describes them as the ranges for all valid ITINs.

So a number that starts with 9 but has 66 to 69, 89 or 93 as its fourth and fifth digits doesn’t match an ITIN as the IRS describes it. Neither does one where that pair is below 50.

The ranges are useful for catching a typo. If you’ve copied your ITIN onto a form and the middle pair reads 67, check it against your IRS letter before you send anything.

They can’t prove a number is genuine, though. A number that fits the pattern may never have been issued, or may belong to someone else, and the format can’t tell you which. If a number on an official IRS letter doesn’t seem to fit, trust the letter and ask the IRS rather than assuming it’s wrong.

ITIN vs SSN vs EIN formats side by side

All three are nine digits long. The hyphens and the first digits are what give them away.

To tell them apart:

1. Count the hyphens. An EIN has one, after the first two digits. An ITIN and an SSN both have two.
2. Check the first digit. In the 3-2-4 layout, a number starting with 9 is an ITIN, not an SSN. The SSA says it doesn’t assign SSNs whose first three digits are 900 to 999.
3. If there are no hyphens, check the source. Nine digits on their own won’t always tell you which kind of number you’re looking at, so look at which document it came from.

The first three digits of an SSN no longer say anything about where it was issued. The SSA stopped assigning them by geography on June 25, 2011. ITIN vs SSN covers the other differences between the two numbers.

Where your ITIN appears

Your ITIN is on the CP565 notice the IRS mailed you when it assigned the number. Publication 1915 calls it an assignment letter. You don’t need to reply to it, but keep a copy with your tax records.

You’ll also find your ITIN:

• On US tax returns you’ve filed, in the box for your SSN. The IRS tells ITIN holders to enter the ITIN wherever the return asks for an SSN.
• On any Form W-8BEN you’ve given a payer, on line 5. See our W-8BEN guide.
• On Forms 1042-S that payers send you. Your copy may show only the last four digits, masked as XXX-XX- and then the four digits. The IRS lets payers shorten the number on your copy, but not on the copy they file with the IRS.

If you can’t find the number, call the IRS at 800-829-1040 from the US, or 267-941-1000 from abroad (not toll-free). Our guides on the CP565 notice and finding a lost ITIN go into more detail.

There’s no ITIN card anymore

The IRS stopped issuing ITIN cards in January 2004. Cards issued before then are still considered valid, but anyone who has received an ITIN since has a letter, not a card.

Neither the card nor the letter is an ID document. The IRS says an ITIN doesn’t serve as identification outside the federal tax system. It also doesn’t authorize work in the US or change anyone’s immigration status. What is an ITIN? covers what the number can and can’t do.

Why you shouldn’t use a sample ITIN

Don’t put an example or made-up ITIN on a real form. Any number that fits the pattern could belong to a real person, and nothing about the format tells you whether it has been issued.

• On a tax return, the number is how the IRS connects the return to you. The Form 1040 instructions warn that an incorrect or missing SSN can increase your tax, reduce your refund or delay it, and your ITIN goes in that same box.
• On Form W-8BEN, you sign under penalties of perjury that the information on the form is true, correct and complete.
• While you wait for an ITIN, leave the SSN area blank on the return you send with Form W-7. The IRS assigns the ITIN to that return when it processes your application.

If you need an ITIN and don’t have one yet, how to apply for an ITIN walks through the process. TheITINapp can also prepare and submit the Form W-7 for you.