We publish ranges, never single figures, and we always separate the part you control from the part the IRS controls. Nothing here is shortened to look attractive.
Queue clocks can run in parallel with effort clocks. We sequence federal applications during your final modules so the waiting runs alongside your study, not after it. Our value is sequencing, not speed.
Study hours, module completion, supervised work orders
You — your study pace and instalment schedule
SEE testing windows, Form 23 review, Form 13551 review, EFIN suitability
The IRS or its test vendor — nobody at XCAPE
US-based students can usually obtain a PTIN within days. International students without a US Social Security number apply by paper and should allow four to six weeks — we help you start this early so it never blocks your progress.
Applied for online with the IRS and renewed annually.
Paper route with notarised or certified identity documents. It cannot be skipped or rushed.
Set by the IRS and subject to change
Paid supervised work is not currently operating. If later offered, it would be released by stage after PTIN verification, not by date. How quickly you would reach that stage would depend on your own study pace.
Stage release, not a calendar promise.
If later offered, PTIN would be verified before compensated preparation. It is not currently operating.
Most students studying part-time should plan for one to two years to pass all three parts of the IRS Special Enrollment Examination, followed by an IRS enrollment application that currently takes around two months to process. Exam windows and IRS processing times are set by the IRS and can change — the annual blackout (usually March–April) and international remote-testing schedules affect when parts can be sat.
Part 2 (Businesses) is consistently the longest.
Sustainable study alongside supervised work. No accelerated track is offered.
An annual March–April blackout applies. Up to four attempts per part per window; passing scores carry over three years.
Filed within one year of passing. Includes an IRS suitability and personal tax compliance check. No practice as an EA until it is granted.
2026 cycle only: the test vendor transition means US testing runs 1 July 2026 – 28 February 2027, and international remote candidates cannot sit an exam before 1 September 2026.
Set by the IRS and subject to change
Becoming a Certifying Acceptance Agent is a practice-launch milestone. Once eligible, plan for roughly three to five months: IRS-mandated training, forensic document training, and an IRS application review that currently runs about 60 days (longer in peak season). During your training stages you'll work on supervised ITIN data preparation — certification itself is always performed by an approved CAA.
Identity verification can be slower for applicants based outside the US.
The certificate must be dated within 120 days of the application.
Third-party course; the certificate is valid for four years.
Submitted electronically — mail is no longer accepted.
Background and compliance checks.
Certifying Acceptance Agent status sits at the practice-launch stage only. Throughout your training stages you prepare ITIN data under supervision and never certify.
Maintenance: a minimum of five W-7 facilitations a year. The agreement expires on 31 December of the fourth year after approval.
Set by the IRS and subject to change
Each specialist track is six modules completed at your own pace alongside supervised work orders. Most students complete a track in three to six months part-time.
No IRS queue applies — this clock is entirely yours.
Launching a practice involves federal approvals with their own clocks — an e-file authorisation typically takes around 45 days, and Certifying Acceptance Agent approval several months. We sequence these during your final level so the waiting runs in parallel with your last modules, not after them.
Includes a suitability check and fingerprinting for non-credentialed principals. Returns cannot be e-filed without it.
See the ITIN Specialist milestone.
Follows the structured formation sequence — no single figure applies.
Set by the IRS and subject to change
Most part-time students: two to three-and-a-half years from enrolment to practice launch.
Illustrative only — individual timing varies with study pace, payment schedule, exam windows, and IRS processing.
IRS-dependent figures on this page were reviewed July 2026. Re-verified every six months and before any new public page ships. Exam windows, application fees and IRS processing goals are set by the IRS and change without notice.