Electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) was used to study 4H- and 6H-SiC doped with P during chemical vapour deposition (CVD) growth. In 6H-SiC, three spectra with C-3v symmetry and spin S=1/2, labelled P-h, P-cl and P-c2, were detected. The g-values and the P-31 hyperfine (hf) constants were determined for P-h: g(&PAR;)=2.0046, g(&BOTTOM;)=2.0028, and A(&PAR;)=0.103 mT, A(&BOTTOM;)< 0.05 mT; for P-cl: g(&PAR;)=2.0039, g(&BOTTOM;)=2.0025, and A(&BOTTOM;)=0.615 mT, A(&BOTTOM;)=0.43 mT; for P-c2: g(&PAR;)=2.0038(5), g(&BOTTOM;)=2.0025, and A(&PAR;)=0.40 mT, A(&BOTTOM;)=0.22 mT. The hf interaction with nearest C-13 neighbours were also observed for the P-cl and P-c2 centers, confirming that in CVD grown material the shallow P donor occupies the Si site. The Ph, P-cl and P-c2 centers are assigned to the ground states of the shallow P at the hexagonal (P-h) and quasi-cubic sites (P-cl and P-c2) in 6H-SiC. hi 4H-SiC, an EPR spectrum of C-3v symmetry with a larger anisotropy in the g-values (g(&PAR;)=2.0065 and g(&BOTTOM;)=2.0006) was observed. The temperature dependence of the spectrum is similar to that of P-h in the 6H polytype. Its P-31 hyperfine constants are determined as A(&PAR;)=0.294 mT and A(&BOTTOM;)=0.21 mT.