You do not need an LLC, a corporation or an EIN to get a business phone number. If you work for yourself under your own name, you are a sole proprietor, and that is enough to get a number, take calls on it and register it for business texting in the United States.
Getting the number
A phone number is not tied to a legal entity. Business phone services ask for your name, an email address and a way to pay if the plan is paid, and some ask for nothing more than the mobile number you already have. Calls work as soon as the number is yours.
Texting customers from it
Texting is where the question usually comes from. In the United States, a business that texts from an ordinary ten-digit number through an app has to be registered with the mobile carriers, and the form asks who the business is. There is a registration type made for exactly this case, called sole proprietor, and it does not need an EIN.
A sole proprietor registration typically asks for:
- Your legal first and last name
- Your address
- A mobile number and an email address where you can be reached, used to confirm it is really you
- The name you do business under, if you have one
- A sentence about what you will text people, with an example or two
There is more about how this works, what it costs and how long it takes in the business texting registration guide.
When an EIN is worth having
A sole proprietor registration is made for low volumes: one number, and a modest number of texts a day. That covers most people who work for themselves. If you send a great many texts, want several numbers texting under one business, or have employees, the standard registration for businesses with an EIN allows more. An EIN is free from the IRS and you do not need to form an LLC to get one.
How it works on Neuron
Neuron is built for people who work for themselves, and you can sign up as a sole proprietor with the mobile number you already have. Registration for texting is part of setting up your line, so you are taken through it there and do not have to go and find the forms. The line is free to start.
Frequently asked questions
Can a sole proprietor get a business phone number?
Yes. A phone number is not tied to a legal entity, and US business texting has a sole proprietor registration that does not need an EIN.
Do I need an EIN to text customers?
Not as a sole proprietor at low volume. The sole proprietor registration uses your name, address and contact details. An EIN is needed for the standard business registration, which allows more numbers and more texts.
Do I need a business licence or a DBA?
Not to get the number. Whether your trade or your city requires a licence or a registered business name is a separate question for your state and local rules.
