AFSP and SEE Part 1: Skip the AFTR Course

The IRS exemption in one sentence

SEE Part I test-passers are tax practitioners who have passed the Special Enrollment Exam Part I within the past three calendar years. For them, the IRS lists a reduced AFSP path: no AFTR course and no AFTR comprehension test. Pub 5227 and the AFSP FAQ use the shorter phrase "within the past three years" for the same group. Confirm your own status in your PTIN account and with the IRS pages linked below.

AFSP routes side by side

Both routes still require an active PTIN and consent to Circular 230 Subpart B and section 10.51. The difference is continuing education.

• Standard AFSP route: 18 CE hours each year, including the 6-hour AFTR course and its mandatory comprehension test (100 multiple-choice questions, 70 percent to pass, up to three hours), plus 10 hours federal tax law and 2 hours ethics.
• After a qualifying Part 1 pass: 15 CE hours each year for the exemption window: 10 hours federal tax law, 3 hours federal tax law updates, and 2 hours ethics. No AFTR course and no AFTR test.
• You do not need to notify the IRS that you are exempt. The IRS obtains exemption information from the testing source.
• AFSP remains voluntary. It grants limited representation rights for returns you prepare and sign. It is not enrolled agent status.

Deadlines for the 2027 filing season

Publication 5227 (Rev. 6-2026) states that to receive a Record of Completion for filing season 2027, all continuing education must be finished by December 31, 2026. Participants also need an active PTIN for the year of participation. The Record of Completion is not issued before the PTIN is renewed for the upcoming year.

What Part 1 covers if you study for the SEE

Part 1, Individuals, tests federal taxation of individuals across six PSI content domains: preliminary work and taxpayer data, income and assets, deductions and credits, taxation, advising the individual taxpayer, and specialized returns. Each form has 100 multiple-choice questions (85 scored) in 3.5 hours. Much of that map overlaps work AFSP preparers already do in season. Passing Part 1 alone does not make you an enrolled agent. Parts 2 and 3, Form 23 enrollment, and the IRS suitability check remain.

How AFSP differs from enrolled agent status

AFSP participants are otherwise unenrolled preparers who voluntarily meet CE and Circular 230 consent rules and receive limited representation rights. Enrolled agents generally have unlimited rights to represent taxpayers before the IRS. Passing all three SEE parts and completing enrollment is the exam pathway to that credential. Use this page when the question is the AFTR exemption. Use the enrolled-agent guides when the question is full practice rights.