How to Get an EFIN for a Tax Preparation Business
How to Get an EFIN and Start E-Filing
If you plan to run your own tax preparation business, you will almost certainly need to file returns electronically, and that requires an Electronic Filing Identification Number. An EFIN is issued to a firm, not an individual, after the IRS accepts the firm's application to become an authorized IRS e-file provider. For most tax offices, the relevant role is Electronic Return Originator, or ERO, which allows the business to originate the electronic submission of returns it prepares or collects from clients.
Knowing how to get an EFIN matters because the process takes time and involves more than a form. Every principal and responsible official in the business is reviewed, most must be fingerprinted, and the IRS runs a suitability check that looks at criminal history, credit and tax compliance. Approval can take up to 45 days. This guide covers how to apply for an EFIN from start to finish, including the IRS e-file provider application itself: what to prepare, how each step works, what can delay approval and what the IRS expects once your firm is authorized. There is currently no fee to obtain an EFIN.
The EFIN Application Process, Step by Step
Before you apply. Each person who will be listed on the application should have a current PTIN if they prepare returns and should confirm that their own federal tax returns are filed and any balances are resolved or under an approved payment arrangement. Decide on your business structure first. A sole proprietor can apply using a Social Security number or an employer identification number, while partnerships, LLCs and corporations apply under the entity's EIN. Gather the legal business name, doing-business-as name, physical address of each office location, mailing address, phone number and email for the firm.
Step 1: Create IRS e-Services accounts. The e-file application is completed through IRS e-Services. Each individual listed as a principal or responsible official needs their own e-Services account, which uses secure identity verification. Setting up these accounts early avoids delays, since one missing account can hold up the entire application.
Step 2: Complete and submit the e-file application. Inside e-Services, open the e-file application and enter the firm's identifying information. Select your provider option; most tax preparation businesses choose Electronic Return Originator. Other options, such as transmitter or software developer, apply to businesses that transmit returns directly to the IRS or build tax software and involve additional testing requirements. List every principal and at least one responsible official. For a sole proprietorship, the principal is the owner. For a partnership, principals generally include partners with a 5% or greater interest. For a corporation, principals include officers such as the president and secretary. Each person listed must sign the application's terms of agreement electronically.
Step 3: Complete fingerprinting. Principals and responsible officials who are not attorneys, certified public accountants, enrolled agents or certain other exempt professionals must be fingerprinted through the IRS-authorized vendor using Livescan electronic fingerprinting. Each person schedules their own appointment, and locations are available in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and several U.S. territories. Credentialed individuals instead provide their professional status information, which the IRS verifies.
Step 4: Pass the suitability check. The IRS reviews the firm and each person listed on the application. Reviewers look at credit history, whether federal returns and payments are current, criminal records and any earlier violations of e-file rules. Among the reasons an application can be denied are a criminal conviction or indictment, failure to file accurate federal, state or local returns, failure to pay tax liabilities and the assessment of fraud penalties. Answer every question on the application truthfully; misstatements are grounds for denial on their own.
Step 5: Receive your acceptance letter. When the application is approved, the IRS issues an acceptance letter containing the firm's EFIN. Enter it in your tax software's firm setup exactly as issued, along with the firm's EIN and address. You can then begin transmitting returns once your software provider confirms your account is active.
After approval. An EFIN is tied to a specific location and cannot be sold, transferred or shared with another business. If you open another fixed office that will originate returns, it needs a separate application and its own EFIN. Any change to the information on the application, such as a new address, phone number, principal or responsible official, must be updated in e-Services within 30 days. Changing the firm's legal structure, such as converting a sole proprietorship to a corporation with a new EIN, generally requires a new application.
Core EFIN Requirements for Tax Businesses
These seven requirements come up throughout the application and the life of the EFIN.
Responsible Official
Each application names at least one responsible official, the individual who oversees e-file activity at an office and serves as the agency's main contact. If the firm breaks e-file rules, the IRS looks to this person. A multi-office firm may need a responsible official for each location.
Suitability Check
Everyone listed on the application undergoes a suitability check covering criminal history, credit, federal tax compliance and past e-file conduct. Unresolved personal tax issues are one of the most common reasons approval is delayed. The IRS can also recheck suitability after approval, so compliance has to continue.
Fingerprinting
Non-credentialed principals and responsible officials must complete Livescan fingerprinting through the IRS-authorized vendor. New principals added after approval must also be fingerprinted unless they provide qualifying credentials. Bring the required identification to the appointment.
Secure Location
List the physical address of each office where returns will be originated. Protect client records at that location with locked storage, restricted access and secure disposal, and document these safeguards in your written information security plan. Relocating the office means updating the application within 30 days.
IRS-Tested E-File Software
Transmission runs through commercial software whose developer has completed the IRS's electronic filing tests. Choose a product that supports the returns, states and security features your practice needs, including multifactor authentication. Confirm pricing, per-return fees and support hours before committing for the season.
Active E-Services
Principals and responsible officials need working e-Services access to update the application, check status and respond to IRS requests. Keep contact information current so IRS messages reach you, and never share login credentials with staff.
Annual Compliance
Keep every preparer's PTIN current, retain signed Forms 8879 for three years, follow IRS advertising rules, meet due diligence requirements for covered credits and keep the e-file application accurate year-round. The IRS may conduct monitoring visits to confirm compliance.
Next Steps for Your Tax Preparation Business
Timing is the biggest practical issue. Since the IRS can take as long as 45 days to decide, and fingerprint appointments or background questions can stretch that further, many new firm owners submit their EFIN application in the summer or early fall so the number is in hand well before January. Use the waiting period to finish the rest of your setup: select and configure software, write your information security plan, create engagement letters and intake forms, set up a secure client portal and decide how you will price returns.
Plan for the e-file requirement as well. Preparers and firms that reasonably expect to file 11 or more individual income tax returns in a calendar year are generally required to e-file them, unless a client chooses to file on paper and the preparer attaches Form 8948 explaining why. For a new practice, that makes an EFIN part of the business plan rather than an optional upgrade.
Protect the EFIN once you have it. Criminals target tax offices to steal EFINs and file fraudulent returns under them. Limit software access to authorized staff, review your firm's e-file volume during the season for returns you did not originate and contact the IRS immediately if you suspect your EFIN has been compromised. When a principal or responsible official reports a compromised EFIN and passes authentication, the IRS can deactivate the old number and issue a new one. Also keep in mind that each preparer working in your office must use their own PTIN on returns they prepare, even though all returns are transmitted under the firm's EFIN.
Remember what an EFIN does not do. It does not qualify anyone to prepare returns, it does not provide representation rights and it is not an IRS endorsement. The IRS does not permit authorized providers to advertise that they are endorsed or approved by the agency, and misusing the IRS name or logo can lead to sanctions.
The IRS outlines the full process on its page explaining how to become an authorized e-file provider. Its consumer page on how taxpayers can file is useful for explaining e-file and other options to clients. For experienced preparers building an independent ERO business, Manifest & Multiply Financials offers programs with EFIN guidance and business setup support. Program support does not itself grant EFIN approval; the application and suitability decision rest with the IRS.
Frequently Asked Questions
It identifies a firm the IRS has authorized to file returns electronically. An ERO uses its EFIN to originate the electronic submission of returns it prepares or collects from taxpayers. It is separate from each preparer's individual PTIN.
An e-Services account for each principal and responsible official, a completed e-file application, fingerprinting for non-credentialed individuals and a passed suitability check. There is currently no application fee.
The IRS says approval can take up to 45 days from submission. Missing e-Services accounts, fingerprinting delays or compliance issues can extend that, so applying months before filing season is the safer plan.
Possibly, but both are reviewed. Unfiled returns, unpaid taxes and certain convictions can lead to denial, so resolve tax issues before applying and answer all questions accurately. Hiding a problem is treated more seriously than disclosing it.
Its programs for experienced preparers include EFIN guidance, business setup, software access and mentorship. The IRS still makes the EFIN decision, and program terms are set in a written agreement.
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