There is no online status tracker for a pending ITIN application. The IRS asks you to allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 in peak season or from abroad, and then to call: 1-800-829-1040 inside the United States or 1-267-941-1000 from overseas (Publication 1915). The decision arrives by mail as a CP565 notice assigning the number, a CP566 asking for more information, or a CP567 rejecting the application. An ITIN you already hold appears in your IRS Online Account records and on your CP565 letter.
Can I check my ITIN application status online?
No. The IRS has no web page that shows a pending W-7. Its processing status page tells you which month of receipts it is currently working on, and your IRS Online Account shows tax records for a number you already have, but nothing tracks an application in progress. Sites that offer an ITIN tracker are selling a form or a phone call, and some of them are collecting passport details. Treat any request for your documents from a non-IRS status service as a warning sign.
When should I call the IRS?
After the IRS's own window. Its ITIN page asks you to allow 7 weeks, or 9 to 11 weeks between January 15 and April 30 or when you applied from outside the United States, and to contact it if you have not received a notice in that time. Calling earlier gets you the same answer: the application is in process. Note the date the IRS received the package, not the date you posted it, and count from there.
Which number do I call, and what do I need?
Publication 1915 gives two: 1-800-829-1040, toll-free inside the United States, and 1-267-941-1000 for callers outside the country, which is not toll-free. Appointments at an IRS Taxpayer Assistance Center are booked on 1-844-545-5640. Have ready: a copy of the W-7 as filed, the date it was sent or filed, your passport number and date of birth exactly as on the form, and the mailing address you gave on line 2. Ask three things: has a notice been issued, which one, and to which address.
What do the IRS notices mean?
| Notice | Meaning | Your next step |
|---|---|---|
| CP565, Notice of ITIN Assignment | Your ITIN has been assigned; the number is on the letter | Keep it. Banks and platforms will ask to see it. Use the number on every return and form that asks. |
| CP566 | The IRS needs more information before it can decide | Send exactly what the notice asks for, to the address on the notice, within 45 days. Silence becomes a rejection. |
| CP567 | Your application was rejected, or an existing ITIN was revoked | Read the stated reason, fix it, file a complete new W-7. Mailed documents come back within 60 days. |
I received a CP566. What now?
Answer it, fast and exactly. The CP566 page says you have 45 days from the date on the notice, that the IRS rejects the application if you do not reply, and that correct documentation is unexpired, carries your photograph and shows the same name as your application. Send only what was asked for, keep proof of sending, and do not file a second W-7 in parallel.
What can the IRS tell you on the call, and what can it not?
Once the agent has verified your identity, they can tell you whether the application has been received and logged, whether a notice has been issued, which notice, the date it went out and the address it went to. They can note a change of mailing address so the next letter reaches you. They can tell you whether original documents were sent back and when.
They cannot decide the application on the phone, promise a date, or read the number to a third party who is not authorised. If the application has not been logged and the IRS's window has passed since a courier confirmed delivery, ask for the steps to confirm receipt before you consider filing again; two open files for one person slow both down.
How do I find an ITIN I already have?
- Your CP565 letter, if you kept it.
- A prior US federal tax return: the number is in the identification box.
- Your IRS Online Account, which shows tax records under the number.
- The IRS by phone, after it verifies your identity.
If the number has not been used on a return for three consecutive tax years it has expired and needs renewing before it goes on another return.
What if the letter never arrived?
Letters go to the mailing address on line 2 of the W-7. Overseas mail is slow and sometimes lost. If the IRS's window has passed, call, confirm whether a notice was issued and to which address, and ask how to obtain the number or a replacement letter. If your address changed after filing, Publication 1915 says to call the IRS about it; do not wait for a letter that is going elsewhere.
How we handle the wait
When we file, we know the date the IRS received the package and we watch the calendar against the IRS's figures. When the window passes, we follow up with the IRS on your behalf under the authorisation you sign, answer any CP566 with you, and tell you the day the CP565 lands. You do not call anyone. The service page explains what is included.