Enrolled Agent (EA) Continuing Education

As an enrolled agent, you hold the highest credential possible from the IRS. It's an important distinction and one you want to maintain. You probably already know that means completing the required enrolled agent continuing education courses during your renewal period. But it can be helpful to brush up on the details to make sure you're taking the enrolled agent continuing professional education (CPE) you need.  

To help, we've built this brief but thorough guide. Review it to make sure you're meeting the enrolled agent CPE requirements by the deadlines that apply to you. 

First up, let's go through a quick overview of the EA CPE requirement guidelines and the process for renewing your enrolled agent status. 

As you go through this process, it's important that you take the time to renew your preparer tax identification number (PTIN) each year sometime between the middle of October and the end of the year. You can do this online.  

PTIN aside, renewing your enrolled agent status really comes down to completing the EA CPE requirement and submitting your renewal on time.

How many Enrolled Agent continuing education hours do I need?

The IRS dictates that you need 72 hours of enrolled agent continuing education courses per three-year renewal cycle. But that doesn't mean you can wait until the last minute to knock out your hours. You're required to take 16 hours of enrolled agent CPE each year, and two of those hours need to focus on ethics. 

How do I submit my enrolled agent renewal?

Once you meet the enrolled agent CPE requirements, you just need to submit your renewal to the IRS by the deadline that applies to you. (More on that in the CE completion cycles and deadlines section below.) 

You have two options for submitting your renewal. You can either send in Form 8554 online by completing the process at Pay.gov. Or, if you'd prefer to use paper forms, you can complete and mail in the PDF of Form 8554. 

CE completion cycles and deadlines

As far as enrolled agent continuing education goes, you need to keep records that you've completed your 16 hours each year and your 72 hours per renewal cycle. As you finish courses, your education provider will report that you've finished them to the IRS. But you don't need to submit anything to the IRS until your renewal is due every three years. 

Submit your enrolled agent renewal every three years between November 1 and January 31. Where you fall in the three-year renewal cycle depends on the last digit of your social security number (SSN). 

If your SSN ends in 7, 8, or 9 or you don't have one, your renewal window runs from November 1, 2023, to January 31, 2024.

If your SSN ends in 0, 1, 2, or 3, your renewal window runs from November 1, 2024, to January 31, 2025.

If your SSN ends in 4, 5, or 6, your renewal's due between November 1, 2025, and January 31, 2026.

This should give you the broad strokes you need to stay on top of maintaining your enrolled agent status, but we went through some FAQs just in case.

Enrolled agent continuing education FAQs

How many CE credits do I need to complete if I enrolled during an enrollment cycle?

This is a pretty tricky question because the IRS adjusts your EA CPE requirement based on the exact month during which you enrolled. Know that, no matter what, you need to complete two hours of ethics training each year, even if you enrolled at the very end of the year. 

As a basic rule of thumb, you need to complete two hours of enrolled agent CPE for each month left in your renewal cycle. So if you enroll in September and your renewal would be due at the year's end, you just need eight hours to meet the enrolled agent CPE requirements. 

But if you enroll in September of the first year of the three year renewal cycle, you'll need 56 hours of enrolled agent continuing education courses by the time your renewal is due (8 hours to finish out the current year, plus 24 hours for each of the two full years of the renewal cycle). 

Again, this can get a little complicated. Fortunately, the IRS has a handy table you can use to figure out exactly how many enrolled agent CPE hours you need. Scroll to the bottom of this PDF to find that CE Requirements for an Enrollee's First Renewal Cycle table. 

Don't forget that two of your hours each year need to focus on ethics.

What's the number of instructor hours someone can earn in a year?

If you're teaching an IRS-approved CPE course, you can count some of the hours toward your requirements. Specifically, you can count six instructor hours toward your total each year.
 

I want to make sure I get the credit for the courses I have completed. How would I do that?

To ensure your enrolled agent continuing education courses count toward your EA renewal, you need to take your courses from IRS-approved CPE providers (see the next question for more details). 

Then, make sure they have the correct PTIN for you and are spelling your name correctly. You should be able to see your continuing education hours in your online PTIN account once you've finished the course and your provider has reported the hours to the IRS.
 

How can I be sure that I am taking enrolled agent CPE courses from an IRS-approved provider?

Make sure you choose a provider from the list of education providers approved by the IRS. Also, you can ask a potential provider for their Provider Number, which the IRS gives them upon approval. Some approved providers will also have the IRS-Approved Continuing Education Provider logo on their site.
 

Would excess CE hours in federal tax law updates or ethics count toward the federal tax law requirement?

You can count extra hours in federal tax law updates toward your federal tax law requirement, but those hours can't be counted toward anything else. Excess hours in ethics don't count toward the federal tax law requirement.
 

What recordkeeping requirements are there for employee retirement plan agents and enrolled agents?

As a preparer, the IRS expects you to keep records about your continuing education for four years. You need to maintain records of:

• Your continuing education provider's organization name and their program location
• The title of courses you take and the teacher's name, along with the program approval number and a copy of the content, which should include the syllabus, course outlines, and any literature
• Details on your course completion, including the date you attended and how many hours you completed
• Your certificate of completion (or a signed statement from the education provider showing you completed the hours)

Would I receive credit for taking the same training more than once?

Per the IRS, students may not receive credit for completing the same content during one renewal period.