(a) Enrollment upon examination. The Director of Practice may grant enrollment to an applicant who demonstrates special competence in tax matters by written examination administered by, or administered under the oversight of, the Director of Practice and who has not engaged in any conduct that would justify the censure, suspension, or disbarment of any practitioner under the provisions of this part.
(b) Enrollment of former Internal Revenue Service employees. The Director of Practice may grant enrollment to an applicant who, by virtue of his or her past service and technical experience in the Internal Revenue Service, has qualified for such enrollment and who has not engaged in any conduct that would justify the censure, suspension, or disbarment of any practitioner under the provisions of this part, under the following circumstances—
(1) The former employee applies for enrollment to the Director of Practice on a form supplied by the Director of Practice and supplies the information requested on the form and such other information regarding the experience and training of the applicant as may be relevant.
(2) An appropriate office of the Internal Revenue Service, at the request of the Director of Practice, will provide the Director of Practice with a detailed report of the nature and rating of the applicant's work while employed by the Internal Revenue Service and a recommendation whether such employment qualifies the applicant technically or otherwise for the desired authorization.
(3) Enrollment based on an applicant's former employment with the Internal Revenue Service may be of unlimited scope or it may be limited to permit the presentation of matters only of the particular class or only before the particular unit or division of the Internal Revenue Service for which the applicant's former employment has qualified the applicant.
(4) Application for enrollment based on an applicant's former employment with the Internal Revenue Service must be made within 3 years from the date of separation from such employment.
(5) An applicant for enrollment who is requesting such enrollment based on his or her former employment with the Internal Revenue Service must have had a minimum of 5 years continuous employment with the Internal Revenue Service during which he or she must have been regularly engaged in applying and interpreting the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code and the regulations thereunder relating to income, estate, gift, employment, or excise taxes.
(6) For the purposes of
paragraph (b)(5) of this section, an aggregate of 10 or more years of employment in positions involving the application and interpretation of the provisions of the Internal Revenue Code, at least 3 of which occurred within the 5 years preceding the date of application, is the equivalent of 5 years continuous employment.
(c) Natural persons. Enrollment to practice may be granted only to natural persons.
Circular 230 § 10.4 — Eligibility to become an enrolled agent, enrolled retirement plan agent, or registered tax return preparer. · CFR 2007 annual edition (revised as of 2007-07-01) · https://pensionresource.website/EAMain?content=EAMain.Law&id=cfr31-10.4&asof=2003-07-01 · printed Oct 16, 2026