Enrolled Agent (EA)
An enrolled agent is a tax professional licensed by the IRS to represent any taxpayer before the IRS on any tax matter. You earn the license by passing all three parts of the Special Enrollment Examination and a background check, or through qualifying IRS work experience.
Enrolled agents have unlimited practice rights, the same as CPAs and attorneys, but the license is federal, so it works in every state. To keep it you complete 72 hours of continuing education every three years, at least 16 hours a year, including 2 hours of ethics each year.
Example. Nadia, an EA in Ohio, can represent a client in a California audit and sign a Form 2848 for an IRS appeal without any state license.
By Binod Raj Singh, CPA (licensed in Montana) · Updated for the 2026-2027 exam windows · Last updated 2026-11-05