Can a minor get an EIN?

Yes, and most kid businesses do not need one.

An EIN is a federal tax identification number for a business. The IRS issues them free, the application is short, and there is no age floor that stops a minor's business from having one.

The reason most kid businesses skip it is that a sole proprietor with no employees can simply use their Social Security number instead. If your kid mows lawns and has hired nobody, that is the situation, and an EIN adds a number without changing anything.

Three situations make it genuinely useful.

A bank wants one. This is the most common reason families end up applying. A bank opening a business account will often ask for an EIN even when the IRS does not require one.

Somebody gets hired. Once your kid pays an employee, an EIN is required, along with a great deal else that is worth talking to an accountant about first.

Keeping a Social Security number off paperwork. If your kid is handing a tax form to a customer, an EIN means their SSN is not circulating. For a teenager doing business with people around the neighborhood, that is a reasonable thing to want.

There is a practical wrinkle. The IRS application asks for a responsible party with a valid taxpayer ID, and applying is a piece of paperwork rather than a decision a fourteen year old will handle alone. This is squarely in the category of help that is genuinely help: the wall is administrative rather than a thing they are supposed to be learning.

Getting an EIN does not create a company, change how the business is taxed, or provide any liability protection. It is an identifier. The structure question is separate.

This is a starting point rather than a ruling. Verify current requirements with the IRS or an accountant.