How to Find Your ITIN If You Have Lost It
There is no online lookup, and no website can retrieve it for you. But the number is almost certainly already in your own paperwork — and if it is not, the IRS will confirm it once it knows who you are.
Every rule on this page is cited to an IRS source, linked where it is used. Last read against those sources September 9, 2026.
Your ITIN is printed on your CP565 notice — the letter that assigned it. If that is gone, look next at your own copy of any federal tax return you filed with it, then at your tax preparer's records. If none of those survive, call the IRS on 800-829-1040 from inside the United States or 267-941-1000 from outside (not a toll-free number) and confirm it after identity questions. A Form 1099 is a cross-check at best — recipient copies may show only the last four digits — and a W-2 is not a source at all, because employers are told not to use an ITIN for employee identification. There is no online ITIN lookup, and any site offering one cannot deliver it.
Key takeaways
- CP565 first, then your own copy of a filed return. Those two find it for most people, and both carry the number in full.
- Do not go looking on a W-2. Employers are instructed not to use an ITIN for employee identification, so it should not be there — and a 1099 may show only the last four digits.
- There is no lookup portal. The IRS confirms a number to you, after verifying who you are — never to a third party, and never through a website.
- A leading 9 rules out an SSN — it does not rule an ITIN in.The 9 series also carries ATINs and the IRS's own internal numbers, so check the middle pair too.
- A CP567 means no number was ever issued. If that is the notice you have, you are not looking for a lost number — the application was rejected.
- Finding it is not the same as it being valid. Check the three-year rule before you file with it.
Where the number is, in order of likelihood
Work down this list in order. It is ordered by how reliable the source is, not by how easy it is to reach, because a number half-remembered from the wrong document costs more than a phone call.
| Where to look | What you are looking for | How reliable |
|---|---|---|
| Your CP565 notice | The IRS notice that assigned the number, with the number printed on it. Often filed with a passport or immigration papers rather than with tax records. | Definitive |
| A federal tax return you filed with it | The taxpayer identification field at the top of any Form 1040 or 1040-NR you filed. Your own copy carries the number in full. | Very likely |
| Your tax preparer's records | Anyone who prepared a return using the number holds it. An email is usually all it takes, and a preparer with a valid authorisation on file can also discuss the account with the IRS. | Very likely |
| The IRS itself — by phone, at a Taxpayer Assistance Center, or from a transcript or online account where available | The IRS will confirm the number to you once you have established who you are. It will not disclose it to a third party, which is why no website can do this for you. | Definitive, after identity checks |
| A Form 1099 issued to you | Secondary at best. Recipient copies are permitted to mask the first five digits, so a 1099 may confirm the last four and no more. The payer's own file copy carries the full number where your copy does not. | Partial — often truncated |
| Bank or lender paperwork | Account-opening documents and mortgage files often record the number supplied at the time. | Possible |
Source: IRS — General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3, read September 9, 2026.
Is this number even an ITIN?
A common version of “I lost my ITIN” is actually “I have a nine-digit number and I do not know what it is.” That one is easy to settle.
- An ITIN is written 9XX-XX-XXXX and always begins with 9.
- The fourth and fifth digits fall inside published ranges: 50-65, 70-88, 90-92, 94-99.
- A leading 9 rules out a Social Security number — the Social Security Administration has never issued an SSN beginning with 9 — but it does not by itself establish that the number is an ITIN. The 9 series is shared with other IRS-assigned numbers, so the first digit alone is only half a test.
- Middle digits 93 are an ATIN, an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number: a temporary number for a child placed for adoption in the United States whose adoptive parents cannot yet get an SSN for them. It is not an ITIN, and 93 sits deliberately outside the ITIN ranges above.
- The IRS also assigns internal numbers of its own in the 9 series — an IRSN, given when it has to process a return for someone with no taxpayer number. It is not something you apply for and not a number to file under going forward, but if one was ever assigned to you it is declared on Form W-7.
- An EIN is also nine digits but is written differently, as two digits then seven, and it belongs to a business rather than a person.
Source: IRS Publication 4757 — Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN), read September 8, 2026.
More on the distinction, including what each number lets you do, is on ITIN vs SSN.
Asking the IRS directly
If your own paperwork has genuinely gone, the IRS will confirm the number to you. It will not hand it over on request — you have to establish who you are first.
- Gather what you have before you callYour passport or identity document, your current and previous addresses, and anything from an old return — a year, a refund amount, a filing status. The more you can answer, the shorter the call.
- Call 800-829-1040 from inside the United StatesOr 267-941-1000 from outside it — not a toll-free number. Expect a wait, and expect it to be longest between January and April.
- Or go to a local IRS officeBy appointment, on 844-545-5640. Slower to arrange and faster once you are there, and you can bring documents rather than describe them.
- Answer the identity questionsThis is not obstruction; it is the reason no website can do this for you. The IRS will not disclose a taxpayer number to someone who cannot prove they are the taxpayer.
The three notices, decoded
People searching for a lost ITIN are frequently holding a notice and not sure what it says. There are three, and they mean very different things.
| Notice | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| CP565 | Your ITIN was assigned. This notice is where the number itself is printed. | Keep it. It is the cheapest proof of your number, and you will be asked for a copy of it the day you get a Social Security number and want the two records merged. |
| CP566 | The IRS needs more information before it can decide — usually a document that was missing, unreadable, expired, or not certified by the issuing agency. | Reply by the date on the notice with exactly what it asks for. The processing clock effectively restarts, so a fast, complete reply is worth more than a fast, partial one. |
| CP567 | The application was rejected. The IRS gives three broad reasons: you may not be eligible for an ITIN, your documents may not have been valid, or a request for more information went unanswered. | Read the reason on the notice before you re-file. A fresh application repeating the same defect gets the same answer. Confirm first that you are genuinely not eligible for an SSN. |
Source: IRS — Understanding your CP567 notice, read September 8, 2026.
If you never received a notice at all
Two quite different situations look identical from where you are standing.
| What may have happened | How to tell | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| The notice was sent to an old address | You moved during the processing window. The IRS posts the CP565 to the mailing address on the W-7, and your original documents go the same way. | Call the IRS to confirm the number and update the address. If your documents were also returned to the old address, say so on the call — that is the urgent part. |
| The application was rejected and you missed the CP567 | No number exists. Any attempt to use one will fail because there is nothing to use. | Ask the IRS what happened to the application, then re-apply addressing the reason. |
| It is still being processed | Fewer than seven weeks have passed, or fewer than eleven in filing season or from abroad. | Wait. Calling early does not accelerate anything and adds to the queue for everyone. |
You found it — but is it still valid?
Finding the number and being able to use it are two different things. Someone digging out an ITIN they have not used in years is, almost by definition, in the group most likely to have let it lapse.
December 31, 2026
Source: IRS — How to renew an ITIN, read September 8, 2026.
The full test, how to renew, and what a return filed with a lapsed number costs you are on renewal and expiration.
What does not work, though it is the first thing people try: digging out an old W-2. A Form W-2 is not a reliable place to look. The Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 tell employers not to accept an ITIN in place of a Social Security number for employee identification or for work, so an ITIN should not be appearing in the employee identification box in the first place. So the box they are hoping to read should not have contained the ITIN in the first place.
What works: the CP565 if it can be found, then their own copy of the last return they filed, then the preparer who filed it. If none of those survive, the IRS will confirm the number after identity questions — by phone, at a Taxpayer Assistance Center, or from a transcript or online account where one is available. A Form 1099 can confirm the last four digits, but recipient copies are permitted to mask the first five, so it is a cross-check rather than an answer.
What they then discover: the number appeared on none of the 2023, 2024, 2025 returns, because there were no returns. So it expires on December 31, 2026 — December 31 after the third tax year of non-use — and it has to be renewed, with the next return, before it can be used.
The right order: find the number, check it against the three-year rule, and if it has expired, prepare the return early so the renewal package can go in near the start of the season rather than in the last fortnight of it. The renewal has to travel with that return, so the return is the thing to get ready.
Keeping it safe from here
- Keep the CP565 with your passport, not with your tax files. You will need it the day you receive a Social Security number and want the records merged — see from ITIN to SSN.
- Keep a copy of every return you file. It is the most reliable backup of your own number, and useful for a great deal else.
- Update your address with the IRS when you move. Most lost notices are not lost; they are at a previous address.
- Treat the number like an SSN. It is a taxpayer identification number and it is worth stealing. Do not send it by email or give it to anyone who cannot say why they need it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I find my ITIN number if I lost it?
Look on your CP565 notice first — that is the letter that assigned the number. If it is gone, the number appears in full on every federal tax return you filed with it, and your tax preparer will hold it if someone prepared those returns. If none of those survive, call the IRS and confirm it after answering identity questions, or ask at a Taxpayer Assistance Center or through a transcript or online account where one is available. Do not rely on a W-2: employers are instructed not to use an ITIN for employee identification, so it should not appear there. A Form 1099 can confirm the last four digits, but recipient copies may mask the first five.
Is there an online ITIN lookup?
No. There is no public ITIN lookup and no self-service portal that will show you the number. Any website offering to look up an ITIN for you is not able to do so — the IRS confirms a number only after verifying your identity directly with you, and it will not disclose one to a third party.
What phone number do I call about a lost ITIN?
Call 800-829-1040 from inside the United States, or 267-941-1000 from outside it (not a toll-free number). Have your identity documents and, if possible, an old return to hand — you will be asked questions to establish who you are before anything is confirmed.
How do I know if a number is an ITIN or a Social Security number?
An ITIN is written 9XX-XX-XXXX and always begins with 9. The fourth and fifth digits fall inside published ranges: 50-65, 70-88, 90-92, 94-99. A leading 9 rules out a Social Security number — the Social Security Administration has never issued an SSN beginning with 9 — but it does not by itself establish that the number is an ITIN. The 9 series is shared: middle digits 93 identify an Adoption Taxpayer Identification Number, and the IRS assigns its own internal numbers (an IRSN) in the same series. So check the middle pair as well as the first digit, and if the pair is 93 or falls outside every published range, confirm the number with the IRS rather than assuming.
Can I find my ITIN on an old W-2?
You should not expect to, and it is not a source to rely on. The General Instructions for Forms W-2 and W-3 tell employers not to accept an ITIN in place of a Social Security number for employee identification or for work, so an ITIN should never have gone into the employee identification box. If one did, that is something to raise with the employer rather than treat as proof of your number. Use the CP565, your own copy of a filed federal return, your preparer's records, or the IRS directly.
Will my full ITIN be printed on my 1099?
Not necessarily, so do not plan on it. Recipient copies of many information returns, including most Forms 1099, are permitted to show only the last four digits of the taxpayer identification number with the first five masked. The copy in your own file may therefore carry nothing you can recover the whole number from. Your own copy of a filed tax return, or the CP565 notice, is the more reliable place to look — and if neither survives, the IRS will confirm the number to you after identity questions.
What does the CP565 notice look like and why does it matter?
The CP565 is the IRS notice that assigns your ITIN, and the number is printed on it. It matters twice: it is the cheapest proof of your number, and the IRS asks for a copy of it the day you receive a Social Security number and want the two tax records merged. Keep it somewhere you would keep a passport.
Can my tax preparer look up my ITIN for me?
A preparer with a valid authorisation on file can discuss your account with the IRS, and if they prepared a return with the number they will have it in their own records. Absent that, the IRS will not disclose your number to someone else. The quickest route is usually your own copy of an old return.
I found my ITIN but I have not used it in years. Is it still valid?
If an ITIN isn't used on a U.S. federal tax return for any 3 consecutive tax years, it expires on December 31 after the third tax year of non-use. So check whether the number appeared on any of the last three completed tax years' federal returns. If it appeared on none of them, it has already expired, and it has to be renewed before it can be used on a return again — which means filing Form W-7 as a renewal together with your next federal tax return, unless one of the Form W-7 exceptions applies.
What if I received a CP567 instead of a CP565?
A CP567 is a rejection, not an assignment — no number was issued, which is why you cannot find one. The notice gives the reason: you may not have been eligible, your documents may not have been valid, or a request for more information went unanswered. Read the reason before applying again.
Once you have the number back
- Check whether it has expired — the three-year rule takes thirty seconds.
- 2026 federal tax calculator — the return you needed it for.
- Quarterly estimated tax planner — if the income has no withholding.
- ITIN eligibility & document checker — if a renewal package is next.