Two flavors of 109
Real system errors vs. silent mismatches
A genuine system 109 clears in 30 minutes. A 109 that recurs after one retry usually means a background mismatch with another IRS system (CAF, SSA cross-reference) — escalate to fax.
Operating hours
The IRS online assistant is not 24/7
Mon–Fri, 7am–10pm Eastern. Outside those hours you'll see code 110 — a website-side block, not a record problem. Don't escalate code 110; just come back during the window.
Expectation-setting
Only the IRS issues EINs. No service — formation operator, attorney, CPA, or EIN-resolution shop — issues EINs. What they sell is the labor of refiling SS-4 on your behalf, not a different outcome.
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