The employee I’d number is only seven digits long

[DoninGA]

The federal EIN or Payer's TIN must be 9 digits in the format xx-xxxxxxx

If your form does not have a 9 digit number for the Employer Identification Number (EIN) then contact the payer for a corrected form.

If this is for a state payer's ID it can be any type of entry, alpha-numeric.