Format a bulk TIN file

Learn how to format your file for successful bulk TIN verification.

Your bulk check file must meet the following specifications:

File type: .txt (text file)
Delimiter: Semicolons (;)
Maximum entries: For best processing results, break up files containing over 500,000 lines.

Your file must include four columns in this exact order:


Column	Description	Criteria
TIN Type (required)	The taxpayer identification number type	1 for Employer Identification Number (EIN), 2 for Social Security Number (SSN), or 3 for Unknown TIN type
TIN Number (required)	The taxpayer identification number	Exactly nine digits with no hyphens or spaces. For example: 183421111 (not 183-42-1111). Invalid numbers are rejected, including repeating or sequential digits and any TIN less than 1000000.
Name (required)	The taxpayer's name	Maximum 70 characters. For individuals: "First Name Last Name" format. For businesses: Full business name. Names are automatically converted to uppercase during processing.
Account/Reference Number (optional)	Your own identifier for tracking results	Maximum 128 characters. Use for account numbers, customer IDs, and similar identifiers.

CAUTION:

Lines beginning with # are treated as comments and are ignored during processing.
Blank lines will cause an error.
The same TIN or name can't be included twice in the same file.

Create your file in Excel with the following columns: TIN Type, TIN Number, Name, and Account Number.

Example spreadsheet layout:

TIN Type TIN Number Name Account Number
2 183421111 Matthew Mulberry 89765
1 562611111 Acme Incorporated
In your spreadsheet application, select File > Save As and select CSV (Comma delimited) format.
Open the CSV file in a text editor such as Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac).
Use the Find and Replace function to change all commas to semicolons.
1. In the Find field, enter a comma (,).
2. In the Replace field, enter a semicolon (;).
3. Select Replace All.
Save the file and change the extension to .txt.
Open your .txt file to confirm it is formatted correctly.

TIN Type	TIN Number	Name	Account Number
2	183421111	Matthew Mulberry	89765
1	562611111	Acme Incorporated

Each line should show values separated by semicolons as shown in the following examples.

Minimal example with only the three required columns:

2;183421111;Matthew Mulberry

1;562611111;Acme Incorporated

2;987654321;Jane Smith

Complete example including optional reference numbers:

2;183421111;Matthew Mulberry;ACCT-89765

1;562611111;Acme Incorporated;VENDOR-001

2;987654321;Jane Smith;CUST-12345

2;183421111;Matthew Mulberry;89765

1;562611111;Acme Incorporated;

Upload your file for bulk TIN matching.

For troubleshooting help, read Bulk file validation errors.

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