How long does Firstbase take to form my company and get my EIN?

There are two clocks running, and it helps to separate them. The first is state formation, where Firstbase files your LLC or C-Corp with Delaware or Wyoming. This part is generally fast, often a handful of business days, and expedited filing can shorten it further. Once the state approves, your company legally exists and your formation documents are generated.

The second clock is the EIN, and this is where timelines diverge sharply. If you have an SSN, the IRS issues an EIN online almost immediately, so your whole setup can be done within days. If you are a non-resident without an SSN, Firstbase files by fax or mail, and the IRS quotes about 4 business days for fax (when you supply a return fax number) or about 4 weeks by mail. In practice, non-resident EINs commonly take several weeks whoever files them.

The honest headline: the EIN wait for non-residents is an IRS bottleneck, not a Firstbase delay. No provider can make the IRS move faster than its own processing, so treat any promise of a same-week non-resident EIN with skepticism. What a good service does is file it correctly the first time, because a rejected application, usually from a small error, is what turns a few weeks into a few months.

Plan around this rather than being surprised by it. Downstream steps that need the EIN, opening a US bank account and setting up Stripe, cannot start until the EIN letter arrives, so a non-resident should budget several weeks from start to a fully operational stack. A US resident with an SSN can realistically be operational in a week or so.

Best-outcome tip: submit accurate details up front (legal name, responsible party, address) to avoid a re-file, choose expedited filing if speed matters, and if you are a non-resident, start now rather than waiting, since the IRS clock only begins once the application is in. Getting formation moving early means the EIN is often ready by the time you are set to apply for banking.