Two clocks run when you form a company from abroad. The state's is short. The IRS's is long, because EIN applications from founders without a Social Security Number are processed by hand. The bank account and payment processors wait on the IRS, so plan around that one.
The timeline
Step
Wyoming
Delaware
Who sets the pace
Name check
While you order
While you order
Us
State approval
The same day it is filed
Two to three weeks
The state
State approval, expedited
The same day, filed ahead of our next batch
The next business day
Us in Wyoming; the state in Delaware
EIN, ordinary route
20 to 30 business days
20 to 30 business days
The IRS
EIN, expedited route
One to two weeks
One to two weeks
The IRS
Operating agreement signed
The day it's sent to you
The day it's sent to you
You
Bank account, after the EIN
A few business days
A few business days
The bank
Stripe or PayPal, after the bank
A few days to a few weeks
A few days to a few weeks
The processor
What to expect
A Wyoming company exists within a few days of your order. The EIN follows four to six weeks later on the ordinary route, or one to two weeks later with the expedited EIN, and the bank account opens within about a week of that. In all, expect six to eight weeks to a company with a bank account, or three to four with the expedited EIN. In Delaware, add the state's two to three weeks unless you pay for its next-day service. Payment processors then run their own review.
What slows it down
- A name that's already taken. The filing is rejected and has to go in again under a new name.
- Applying for the EIN twice. A second application while the first is pending can produce two numbers, and untangling them takes a long time.
- Applying for the EIN before the state approves the company. The IRS can reject it, or issue a number to a company that doesn't exist yet.
- Documents that don't match. A name spelled two ways, or an address that differs between the articles and the operating agreement, sends a bank application to review.
- IRS backlogs, which grow in the spring filing season and around US holidays.
What speeds it up
- Expedited filing: $75 in Wyoming, where we file yours ahead of our next batch, or $110 plus Delaware's $50 fee for its next-day service. Premium includes it.
- The expedited EIN, $199 on any plan. We file the day your company exists and chase the IRS ourselves, and the number normally arrives in one to two weeks.
- Having your answers ready before you order: every owner's full name as their passport prints it, their home address and a sentence about the business.
- Applying to the bank the day the EIN arrives, with your documents already in your documents.