How to Become an Enrolled Agent: Step by Step
An enrolled agent (EA) is a federally authorized tax practitioner with unlimited practice rights before the IRS: any taxpayer, any tax matter, at any IRS office. You become one by passing the SEE (or, for certain former IRS employees, through experience) and passing a suitability check.
The steps
- Get a PTIN (preparer tax identification number). PSI will not schedule you without one.
- Schedule and pass all three SEE parts with PSI, in any order. Each passed part is valid for 3 years from the date you pass it.
- Apply for enrollment on Form 23 within 1 year of passing the last part and pay the US$140 fee.
- Pass the suitability check: the IRS reviews your own tax compliance and criminal background.
- Receive your enrollment card, then renew every 3 years on the cycle set by the last digit of your SSN.
Keeping your enrollment
Enrolled agents must complete 72 hours of continuing education every 3-year enrollment cycle, at least 16 hours each year including 2 hours of ethics (31 CFR 10.6(e)), and must follow Treasury Circular 230. In advertising you may say you are "enrolled to practice before the Internal Revenue Service" but never "certified" by the IRS (31 CFR 10.30).
Part 3 of the exam tests exactly these rules; see the Part 3 guide.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a degree to become an enrolled agent?
No. You need a PTIN, passing scores on all three SEE parts, an approved Form 23 application and a clean suitability check.
How long do I have to pass all three parts?
Each passed part is valid for 3 years from the date you pass it, so plan to pass the remaining parts within that time.
How much continuing education do enrolled agents need?
72 hours every 3-year cycle, at least 16 hours each year including 2 hours of ethics (31 CFR 10.6).
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