How are business name control codes determined?

How are business name control codes determined?
Updated December 05, 2016 -- For Administrators and Employees
The IRS creates business name control codes using the first four letters of a company's legal name as listed on Form SS-4, Application for Employer Identification Number. Zenefits uses the same rules, but determines these codes based on the information administrators provide in their company profile.

Here's how to determine a company's name code using the same rules as the IRS:

• Omit blank spaces in the name. Blank spaces are allowed only at the end of the code.

  Name	Control Code
  New Horizons	NEWH
  7th Street Inc.	7THS

• Remove invalid characters. Name control codes can contain only numbers (0-9), capital letters (A-Z), hyphens (-), or Ampersands (&). If there’s an invalid character in the name, drop it from the company's name and include the next valid character (if any).

  Name	Control Code
  OAK! Tree Supply	OAKT
  P+P Industrial	PPIN

• Remove DBA ("doing business as") and the DBA name, if used. DBA names are not part of the company's legal name.
• Take the first valid four characters of the company's name.
  • If there are fewer then four, simply use them as the code.
  • If the business name begins with "The", include it in the name code only when it's followed by a single word. For example:

    Name	Control Code
    The Willow Company	WILL
    The Hawthorn	THEH

For more examples of valid business name control codes, see this table.