How do I check if a nonprofit is a 501(c)(3)?

Look up the EIN in the IRS Exempt Organizations Business Master File — which is what this page does. Subsection 03 with an unconditional exemption status is what most federal grant programs require.

Absence is not evidence of a problem

Churches and their integrated auxiliaries are exempt without applying and are largely absent from the Business Master File. Government instrumentalities are exempt under different provisions. Newly recognized organizations take a cycle or two to appear.

None of those organizations has done anything wrong, and a tool that reports absence as failure is telling several hundred thousand compliant organizations something untrue.

Check an organization

Free, no account. Every answer carries its source and date.

This is informational only, derived from public data on the dates shown. It is not an eligibility determination, and not legal, tax, or accounting advice. Verify against the official source before relying on it.